Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.
Cooperation and Transformative Group, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.
Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 10;13(1):5811. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32564-x.
Due to the severe effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, urgent action is required on the part of farmers and is, indeed, critical to reducing climate change impacts. However, reports globally revealed farmers' engagement in climate change adaptation is still insufficient, ambivalent, and inconsistent and farmers do not consider adaptation to be urgent. Researchers have argued that this issue is rooted in psychological biases beside other factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate how psychological distance determines climate change beliefs, risk perception and adaptation strategies among Iranian farmers. A cross-sectional paper-based survey was conducted in the Dasht-e Azadegan county of Khuzestan province in southwest Iran. The study sample consisted of 250 farmers selected through a multi-stage random sampling process. An expert panel review and a pilot study were conducted to confirm convergent validity and reliability of the scales. The results confirm that all four dimensions of psychological distance influence water management adaptation strategies and non-farm activities. Moreover, all psychological dimensions, except the temporal dimension, affect adaptation in farming management. Thus, making climate change more proximal to decision makers could be a strategic way of encouraging individuals to take adaptive actions. This study emphasizes that concepts of psychological distance can be applied to help organizations (e.g., agriculture extension services) to understand farmers' risk perceptions and responses to climate change impacts and improve risk communication to better engage farmers in climate action.
由于气候变化对农业部门的严重影响，农民必须采取紧急行动，这对于减少气候变化的影响确实至关重要。然而，全球报告显示，农民参与气候变化适应的程度仍然不足、矛盾且不一致，并且农民并不认为适应是紧迫的。研究人员认为，除其他因素外，这个问题源于心理偏见。因此，本研究旨在评估心理距离如何决定伊朗农民的气候变化信仰、风险认知和适应策略。本研究在伊朗西南部胡齐斯坦省的 Dasht-e Azadegan 县进行了一项基于纸张的横断面调查。研究样本由通过多阶段随机抽样过程选择的 250 名农民组成。专家小组审查和试点研究证实了量表的收敛有效性和可靠性。结果证实，心理距离的所有四个维度都影响水管理适应策略和非农业活动。此外，所有心理维度，除了时间维度，都影响农业管理中的适应。因此，使决策者更接近气候变化可能是鼓励个人采取适应行动的一种策略。本研究强调，心理距离的概念可以应用于帮助组织（例如农业推广服务）了解农民对气候变化影响的风险认知和反应，并改善风险沟通，以使农民更好地参与气候行动。
