Motivation and climate change: A review

Abstract

This paper reviews how people react to climate change and integrates recent findings into the BUCkET model of core social motives (Fiske, 2018). We argue that environmentalism is not the main cause of thoughts or behaviors about climate change. Rather, the evolved social needs for Belongingness, Understanding, Control, self-Enhancement, and Trust are more practical intervention targets than creating environmentalist beliefs or identities. We used database searches on motivation and climate change to reveal the key research areas on motivation and climate change. Synthesizing articles into the BUCkET model reveals limiting assumptions of previous approaches and reinforces the effectiveness of targeting existing motives rather than creating new values or worldviews.