Research has found that many people view climate change as a psychologically distant, future threat, which leads them to be less motivated to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Engaging in episodic future thinking (EFT; projecting the self into the future to pre-experience future events) may facilitate the perception of future events as psychologically close, thereby increasing the perceived risk associated with those events. Therefore, engagement in EFT regarding climate change–related risks should induce higher risk perceptions and lead to acting pro-environmentally. In two experiments, we demonstrated that engaging in EFT to pre-experience climate change–related risk events was associated with a higher level of risk perception and a greater tendency toward pro-environmental behavior, including energy-saving use of air-conditioning (Experiment 1), willingness to participate in beach cleaning (Experiment 2), and choice of a meal with lower environmental impact (Experiment 2). The current research provides experimental evidence for an innovative approach to improving public engagement with climate change.

Low engagement with climate change may stem from the tendency to discount the distant benefits of mitigation action. Hence, a reduced tendency to discount the future should be associated with increased involvement in climate change mitigation. Prior research has demonstrated that episodic future thinking (EFT; i.e., envisioning future events that involve self-projection) can reduce discounting. In two laboratory studies, we showed that engaging in EFT about mitigation action was associated with a lower discounting tendency toward future environmental gains (Experiments 1 and 2) and a greater tendency to act pro-environmentally, as manifested by using air conditioning in an energy-saving manner (Experiment 1), choosing a meal with less environmental impact (Experiment 2), and willingness to participate in beach cleaning (Experiment 2). The present findings suggest that engagement in EFT about mitigation action may represent a promising strategy for improving personal involvement in climate change.

This study investigated the mediating effects of personality traits, sexism, and bystander attitudes toward sexual harassment (BASH) among female navy personnel in Taiwan. A cluster sampling method was used to recruit 281 participants, with data collected on age, sexism perceptions, and BASH via a structured questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that personnel aged 21 to 30 and with 1 to 4 years of service reported significantly lower sexism scores. Older personnel, officers, and personnel with more years of service had significantly higher BASH scores than their younger, lower-level, and less experienced counterparts. Agreeableness and openness personality traits and sexism can explain female BASH. SEM results indicated that openness was the strongest explainer of BASH (β = .30), followed by age (β = .18), with sexism perceptions fully mediating the relationship between agreeableness and openness traits and BASH. Instructional implications and recommendations are discussed.