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Using A Visual Analogue Scale To Assess Delay, Social, And Probability Discounting Of An Environmental Loss, Brent A. Kaplan, Derek D. Reed, Todd Mckerchar

Research, Publications & Creative Work

As anthropogenic influences on climate change become more readily apparent, the role of behavioral science in understanding barriers to sustainable actions cannot be overstated. Environmental psychologists have proposed that a major barrier to sustainability is the delayed, socially distant, and probabilistic effects of public policy efforts aimed at preserving Earth’s resources. This proposal places sustainability squarely within the research topic of delay, social, and probability discounting – processes well known to behavioral scientists. To date, there has been surprisingly little behavioral research examining the role of discounting processes in environmental decision making. In the present study, we examined the degree …