Victim identifiability, number of victims, and unit asking in charitable giving.

This study examines the identifiable victim effect (being more willing to help an identified victim than an unidentified), the singularity effect (i.e., being more willing to help a single identified victim than a group of identified victims), and unit asking (first asking donors for their willingness to donate for one unit and then asking for donations for multiple units) in charitable giving. In five studies (N = 7996), we vary the level of identifiability, singularity, and group size. We find that unit asking is making people more sensitive to the number of people in need. Further, while the level of identifiability influences affective reactions, this effect does not extend to donations and, thus, is not affected by unit asking. We do, however, find an "emotion asking effect" where asking donors to rate their affect before donating increase donation levels (compared to donors asked to rate affect after). Emotion asking was attenuated when combined with unit asking.

Affective responses drive the impact neglect in sustainable behavior.

We need unparalleled human behavioral changes to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, recent studies suggest that people are not good at identifying mitigative behaviors that are effective in reducing carbon emissions. Thus, even when there is an intention to engage in climate action, people are not necessarily making the most effective choices. This suggests that there is an impact of neglecting in evaluative judgments about mitigative behaviors. Here, using an online survey (N = 555), we show that people have a rather poor understanding of the mitigation potential of human behaviors, and both impact judgments and the likelihood of adoption of mitigative behaviors are largely influenced by emotional processes. These findings have potential implications for how to motivate impactful climate action in the future and point toward the importance to fully understand how affect and emotions influence impact judgments and pro-environmental behavior.

A causal link between mental imagery and affect-laden perception of climate change related risks.

Previous studies have shed light on the importance of affect in risk perception and the role of mental imagery in generating affect. In the current study, we explore the causal relationship between mental imagery, affect, and risk perception by systematically varying the level of mental imagery in three levels (i.e., enhanced, spontaneous, or prevented). In light of the increasing environmental risk of adverse events caused by climate change, we operationalize risk as participants' perceived risk of climate change. One-thousand-fifty-five participants were recruited online and randomized to one of three levels of mental imagery. As predicted, we found a causal link between the level of mental imagery, affective experience, and perceived risk of climate change, in that enhanced mental imagery caused a larger decrease in positive affective valence and a larger increase in perceived risk of climate change. We argue that mental imagery enhances the negative affect associated with the risk event by creating a perceptual experience that mimics seeing the environmental risk events.

Elderly People's Perceptions of Heat Stress and Adaptation to Heat: An Interview Study.

OBJECTIVES: Heatwaves are having a disproportionate impact on the elderly population, as demonstrated by pronounced mortality and morbidity. The present study aimed to explore elders' subjective experiences of heat impacts and adaptive strategies. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 19 elderly Swedes were conducted, focusing on their experiences of the extremely hot summer of 2018. RESULTS: Most informants suffered during the heatwave, although some found it pleasant. The readiness to implement adaptive measures was generally high among the healthiest, who were able to avoid excessive heat and adjust their daily routines. In contrast, those highly dependent on care from others had limited options for avoiding the heat, and little capacity to take up adaptive measures. DISCUSSION: With heat becoming an increasing problem, it is important to adjust elderly care so that the most vulnerable elderly people can avoid excessive heat exposure.