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Between dire and hopeful:
         community
outreach, communications and
            climate



Renee Lertzman, Ph.D.
Fellow, Portland Center for Public Humanities
Portland State University
lertzman@pdx.edu
Interrupting the cycle
Where we’re at…
psychology of climate change
            communications
• Focuses primarily on cognition, information
  processing and rational processes

• Emphasis on proximity, abstraction and
  immediacy

• Using a “barriers” to engagement framework

• Focuses centrally on values and the so-called
  “attitude-behavior gap”
Reframing: from barriers to
             opportunities
• Emotions as central for how we respond to
  climate change issues (Norgaard, 2011)

• Unconscious dimensions such as
  anxiety, fear, hope and loss (Randall, 2009)

• Necessity for creative engagement and
  participation (participatory processes)
Research study: The Great Lakes and
             Green Bay
• Chose a field site ecologically
  troubled, industrial

• Interviewed ten participants in “not engaged”
  range

• Conducted interviews using psychosocial
  methods
Research study: The Great Lakes and
             Green Bay
• Chose a field site ecologically
  troubled, industrial

• Interviewed ten participants in “not engaged”
  range

• Conducted interviews using psychosocial
  methods
inspiration and context
living the Great Lakes
Desires, dilemmas, hopes, fears
• In-depth interviews

• Accounting for contradiction, dilemmas

• Attention to emotions and affect

• Exploring relations between information and
  actions
What I found
• Strong narratives of concern and care
• Ambivalence regarding action and
  involvement
• Pride and honor of place (industry)
• Sadness and dismay, despair of degradation
• Self-opting out of action
  (identity, ambivalence)
• Contradicting desires and fears
Howard, 69, Green Bay native
• Deep love of nature, water, environment

• Strong stewardship

• Father’s accident with the paper mill

• Attachment to “Paddle to the Sea”
So what does this mean for us?
The importance of emotional
         (irrational) dimensions

  Most social behavior from SUV ownership to
  frequent flying, far from being a simple response
  to inducements or threats, is mediated by
  meanings, narratives, identities and feelings.

As communicators and engagement professionals
  we need to build this into our work.
communications that allow for:
- Coexistence of conflicting desires and aspirations

- Addressing potential anxieties at the get-go

- Anticipating potential fears and loss

- Focusing on solutions and strategies in context of
  the above
Rethinking ‘engagement’
• Investing resources for exploring
  concern, fears, hopes, etc.
• Meeting people where they are
• Development of tools to encourage creative
  investment
• Accommodation for difficult or reactive
  responses (to climate-related initiatives)
• Focus on concern, rather that it’s absence
  (‘apathy’ or ‘barriers’)
How effective are our
 communications?
Between Dire and Hopeful: Understanding Emotions in Climate Communications

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Between Dire and Hopeful: Understanding Emotions in Climate Communications

  • 1. Between dire and hopeful: community outreach, communications and climate Renee Lertzman, Ph.D. Fellow, Portland Center for Public Humanities Portland State University lertzman@pdx.edu
  • 4. psychology of climate change communications • Focuses primarily on cognition, information processing and rational processes • Emphasis on proximity, abstraction and immediacy • Using a “barriers” to engagement framework • Focuses centrally on values and the so-called “attitude-behavior gap”
  • 5. Reframing: from barriers to opportunities • Emotions as central for how we respond to climate change issues (Norgaard, 2011) • Unconscious dimensions such as anxiety, fear, hope and loss (Randall, 2009) • Necessity for creative engagement and participation (participatory processes)
  • 6. Research study: The Great Lakes and Green Bay • Chose a field site ecologically troubled, industrial • Interviewed ten participants in “not engaged” range • Conducted interviews using psychosocial methods
  • 7. Research study: The Great Lakes and Green Bay • Chose a field site ecologically troubled, industrial • Interviewed ten participants in “not engaged” range • Conducted interviews using psychosocial methods
  • 10. Desires, dilemmas, hopes, fears • In-depth interviews • Accounting for contradiction, dilemmas • Attention to emotions and affect • Exploring relations between information and actions
  • 11. What I found • Strong narratives of concern and care • Ambivalence regarding action and involvement • Pride and honor of place (industry) • Sadness and dismay, despair of degradation • Self-opting out of action (identity, ambivalence) • Contradicting desires and fears
  • 12. Howard, 69, Green Bay native • Deep love of nature, water, environment • Strong stewardship • Father’s accident with the paper mill • Attachment to “Paddle to the Sea”
  • 13. So what does this mean for us?
  • 14. The importance of emotional (irrational) dimensions Most social behavior from SUV ownership to frequent flying, far from being a simple response to inducements or threats, is mediated by meanings, narratives, identities and feelings. As communicators and engagement professionals we need to build this into our work.
  • 15. communications that allow for: - Coexistence of conflicting desires and aspirations - Addressing potential anxieties at the get-go - Anticipating potential fears and loss - Focusing on solutions and strategies in context of the above
  • 16. Rethinking ‘engagement’ • Investing resources for exploring concern, fears, hopes, etc. • Meeting people where they are • Development of tools to encourage creative investment • Accommodation for difficult or reactive responses (to climate-related initiatives) • Focus on concern, rather that it’s absence (‘apathy’ or ‘barriers’)
  • 17. How effective are our communications?