MSCL Colloquium: Why don’t we act in times of planetary crisis? Explaining cognitive action barriers from a climate psychology perspective.

This June, the MSCL kicked off the MSCL Colloquiums series – an open place for discussion and academic reflection on science communication and planetary health. The aim is to have an open space for intellectual thought and reflection on this multidisciplinary topic for the community, students, and practitioners.

On October 18th at 13:00, Ms. Kühner will tackle the question "Why don’t we act in times of planetary crisis?" Explaining cognitive action barriers from a climate psychology perspective. Climate scientists agree that the climate crisis poses an existential threat to humanity. Although this knowledge has now reached large parts of society, the collective climate protection measures taken are far from sufficient. What is holding back policy makers, society, and individuals from taking action? The talk will introduce various cognitive action barriers, such as the principle of cognitive dissonance, the bystander effect, or the single action bias.

Ms. Kühner is the MSCL’s Evaluation Coordinator. She studied psychology at the LMU and the University of Bamberg, focusing on work and organizational psychology and social psychology. She recently submitted her doctoral thesis on the connections between work and employee well-being to the University of Leipzig and is expected to receive her PhD at the end of 2022. Her work combines various statistical methods such as diary studies and meta-analyses. Parallel to her dissertation, Clara worked in a consulting company until 2022, gave lectures on work and organizational psychology at the FOM University of Applied Sciences, and has been invited by various institutions (e.g., The Akademie für Politische Bildung) to give talks and workshops on climate psychology.

This is an online event carried out in English. However, questions in German are also welcomed.

We look forward to your participation in our lively after-talk discussion!
Please register here in advance.

For further information about the MSCL Colloquiums series please visit: https://www.mscl.de/events/