Awareness of global environmental change as a problem for human societies and the biosphere has developed rapidly during the past decade. Humans respond positively to environmental change in one of two ways, by either adapting to changes which affect their activities or by anticipating unacceptable environmental change with the goal of preventing or minimizing its effects. The ways in which individuals respond to global environmental change as perceived is little understood and under researched. This project will focus on the public's perception of global environmental problems and how this shapes the way in which people respond to these problems. It will also examine the influence of geographical scale on public beliefs and attitudes. The study will engage focus groups of citizens in several cities on various aspects of their attitudes and beliefs about global change at different spatial scales. A national telephone survey will provide both qualitative and quantitative information about public perceptions of global change and the range of possible responses people might make to combat it. This research will improve existing knowledge of the societal response to global warming by investigating the role that behaviorally relevant beliefs play in shaping people's interest in it, their perception of its characteristics, their assumptions about its effects, and the likelihood that they will take personal action or support societal action to minimize these effects. It will enhance theoretical understandings of the human response to threats of global change, and it will inform public policy as to the ways in which global warming is perceived.
