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Search Marsden awards 2008–2017

Search awarded Marsden Fund grants 2008–2017

Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2011

Title: One eye on the past and one eye on the future: the role of psychological time in tackling environmental issues

Recipient(s): Dr T Milfont | PI | Victoria University of Wellington
Prof E van der Meer | AI | Humboldt University at Berlin

Public Summary: Everyone understands the need to reduce consumption during an electricity shortage, but it can also be very tempting for individuals to continue their regular use of electrical appliances. Behaviours related to the use of resources often represent a conflict between what individuals like to do and what they ought to do for the benefit of society. These situations, in which individual and collective interests are at odds, are known as environmental social dilemmas. Prior research has mainly focused on the social conflict (between individual and collective interests) inherent in environmental dilemmas, but recent research has shown that such dilemmas also entail temporal conflict, a conflict between short-term and long-term interests.

This project will test a recently developed model for investigating temporal conflicts in environmental dilemmas. My Integrative Model of Psychological Time is the first to propose an interrelation between two fundamental aspects of psychological time (time perspective and time succession). The model suggests that individuals’ perceptions concerning the future interact with their consideration of the causal consequences of their actions. The model promises to greatly improve our general understanding of the influence of psychological time on environmental dilemmas, and has direct implications for tackling environmental issues.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: Victoria University of Wellington

Contact Person: Dr T Milfont

Panel: SOC

Project ID: 11-VUW-049


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