Psychological Distance and the Mitigation of Interpersonal Risks

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

In our increasingly inter-connected society, many of the daily decisions individuals make can create, contribute to, or alter the risks that other people face. Perhaps more than in any other setting, individuals' decisions to prepare (or not) for hazards and natural disasters - such as wildfires, extreme storm events and invasive pests - can hugely impact the severity and likelihood of risks faced by others, including their neighbors. This project will seek to uncover some of the key factors that shape whether people are willing to invest in personally costly but mutually beneficial efforts to reduce the risks that natural hazards pose not only to themselves but also to those around them. In particular, the PI will explore how the physical and psychological distance people feel and perceive between themselves and others who could be affected by their actions influences how much risk-reducing action individuals are willing to take. The project will examine these factors in the context of two particularly relevant problems many people in the U.S. face: wildfire mitigation and invasive forest pest management. Using a combination of surveys and decision-making experiments, the PI will test how these feelings of distance influence the decisions people make in these two settings. The knowledge gained from this research will be widely applicable to other contexts involving these types of "interpersonally produced" risks, such as reckless driving, childhood vaccination, and financial investments. The project will also provide policymakers and others with guidance for developing effective ways to encourage individuals and communities to take proactive action to reduce these sorts of risks. Understanding the key factors that influence individuals' willingness to invest in costly mitigation of natural hazards-related interpersonal risks is critical in order to improve decision-making across a wide range of decision contexts. The production of interpersonal risks refers to the process of individual actions changing the probabilities or payoffs of risks that others face, hence the name "interpersonally produced risks" (IPRs). IPRs occur when the actions of one individual modify either the likelihood of another person's experiencing a risk or the severity of the risk. The study of IPRs contributes to our understanding of interdependent risks and the social aspects of risk. In this project, the PI investigates one possible driver of IPR decision-making, psychological distance. Psychological distance is a concept that captures the perceived distance between an individual's present state of being and an object or concept. The research will investigate the relationship between psychological distance and the production of IPRs in two impactful decision-making contexts: wildfire mitigation and invasive forest pest management. IPRs are highly relevant in these contexts as decisions made by individuals directly affect risks faced by others. The proposed set of studies will contribute new knowledge to multiple literatures within economics, psychology, and natural resources management. Results will contribute to our theoretical understanding of processes underlying IPRs, social aspects of risky decisions, and the relationship between psychological distance dimensions and IPRs. The proposed work will also help federal, state and local agencies develop better methods for engaging individual citizens in IPR mitigation behaviors.