Climate change has been in the news for over 40 years. It's usually treated as a scientific or political problem. But social scientists like me have discovered that it's feelings and values that drive people to make broad, collective change - not graphs, charts or pictures.
Polls confirm that a majority of Americans now believe climate change is real. But many adults seem too exhausted, defeated or powerless to do anything about it.
I lead a large, multi-year research project funded by the National Science Foundation that examines how to tap into morality, ethics, and spirituality to create lasting behavioral changes in these areas. In the pilot study for this project, which has not yet been published, we recently surveyed 275 American adults to understand their relationships with and feelings about the natural world.
This is a first step towards understanding how we can communicate differently about climate change. Climate change is altering weather patterns, temperatures and seasons, which people are now beginning to feel in almost every part of the world.
Many people said that when they thought about nature, it brought back pleasant memories of climbing trees, stomping in puddles, or watching sunsets. But underneath, they described a tense relationship with the environment-a tense mix of love, longing, guilt, and worry.
No predetermined answers
We used an open-ended survey where respondents could answer however they wanted, without predetermined choices. For example, we asked: "What is your personal relationship with nature?" and gave respondents a blank space to write their own interpretation.
Open-ended questions are coded line by line by a team of researchers - a time-consuming process that limits the number of survey participants. Larger surveys typically use closed-ended questions, which are easier to analyze and administer to larger numbers of people.
However, by using this approach, the responses were not limited or dictated by the ideas of a researcher. The themes we found emerged from the participants' own thoughts and feelings.
How do people think about nature and how do they deal with it?
To understand people's relationships with nature, we asked several questions. In one set, we asked, "How are people and nature connected? What is the role of people in nature?" More than half of respondents (53%) noted that we need to care for and preserve the Earth. About 45% explicitly mentioned the benefits of nature for human health and well-being. And 27% discussed how people depend on the Earth and its resources.
About a quarter of responses (26%) stated that people can choose to be positive or negative forces in nature. This was closely followed by statements that people are taking too much from nature (23%).
When analyzing another question, "What is your personal relationship with nature?" we noticed prominent themes and how participants related them. For example, participants indicated that nature represented beauty, health, joy, childhood, and escape for them.
To connect with nature, respondents said they often engaged in activities such as outdoor hiking, camping, sunset watching or gardening. However, many said barriers - such as time constraints, lack of physical access or distractions from technology - prevented them from connecting with nature in the ways they wanted.
Want to do better
Underlying all of this were strong feelings of love, longing, worry, and guilt. These emotions were most often expressed in responses-usually through literal statement, though sometimes by reference to the emotion.
When discussing love, participants were most direct, usually simply saying, "I love it, honestly," or "I love it." Longing was often expressed in slightly more varied ways, such as "It makes me sad that I don't get outside as much as I'd like," or "I wish I could go for walks and do other things to get closer."
Worry and guilt were expressed in responses such as: "I do my best to respect and care for the environment. I know I can do better"; "I take care of it as best I can, but I wouldn't say I make grand gestures either"; and "I don't appreciate it enough." One person simply responded, "Appreciation, respect, care, sadness."
This question was: "What is your personal relationship with nature?" We did not guide respondents in listing their feelings. Still, the answers were emotionally charged.
No idea how to help
The way people talk about or portray an issue-their words, symbols, phrases, or images-is called a frame. Frames emphasize a subset of an issue, which then generally becomes the primary way people think about something.
Positive self-efficacy frames - in other words, the belief that people can make a difference - are largely absent from conversations about climate change. Political or distant environmental frames are more common.
For example, prominent images often feature political figures or distant environmental impacts, such as smokestacks or melting ice, which often make people feel powerless or like they have little to offer.
Our research findings reflect these frameworks. People feel desire, guilt, and concern about the environment, with virtually no mention of hope, excitement, or empowerment.
From paralysis to involvement
Social scientists have learned from climate change research that some emotions paralyze and others catalyze. Is it possible to reduce paralysis and match love of nature with hope?
Other studies show that Americans are increasingly concerned about future generations, that they worry about harm to plants and animals, and that nearly all groups see human actions as the cause of these concerns. But until people feel personally empowered to effect change, they will not take the steps that political leaders tell them to take.
Our next phase of research will build on the findings of this study by exploring how ethical, moral, and spiritual considerations influence behavior. We want to know what it takes for these ideas to elicit a sense of personal empowerment necessary to take action.
When someone focuses on connecting with each other and future generations, they are calling upon a different set of ethics and sense of self-and that can inspire action.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization that brings you facts and reliable analysis to help you understand our complex world. It was written by: Jessica Eise, Indiana University Read more: Jessica Eise receives funding from the National Science Foundation to study how to create lasting changes in the public's environmental behavior to support actions that effectively address climate change and its impacts on society.