Fear and Anxiety: The Effects of Global Climate Change Perceptions SUNY Oswego- Global Labs UNIBE Courtney Bledsoe, Augustus McGiver
Abstract This research centers around climate change and our physiological and psychological responses to it. We used 4 types of physiological measures: Pulse, Galvanic skin response (GSR), Electromyogram (EMG) and Respiration.
Introduction There are several human behavioral contributions to climate change. It is often discussed that, to keep the climate from changing drastically, humans must change certain behaviors. There are many psychological barriers that limit behavioral changes. There has been a multitude of research done to show that climate change can lead to a psychological response of anxiety or fear. This study topic has been chosen to help further analyze these psychological barriers.
Location This study took place in San Jose, Costa Rica. UNIBE- Universidad de Iberoamerica.
Objectives The objectives of this experiment are as follows: To observe whether or not there are changes in physiological responses when stimulated with video of a natural disaster. To view first hand, the factors that might influence the responses.
Hypothesis There will be a significant increase in physiological and psychological responses when exposed to natural disaster stimuli
Methods Participants were chosen from students that attend UNIBE and also from the U.S.A They were given a consent form to sign; then the participants were asked several pre-stimuli questions to answer. Following that, they were asked to sit down and the equipment was hooked up to them. A two minute baseline, to test the equipment, was taken and then they were shown a fifteen minute video clip of a natural disaster. After the video, the participants were asked to answer a few post-stimuli questions.
Measurements - Pulse Monitor Measures heart rate - Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) Measures electrical conductance of sweat glands - Respiratory Band Measures breathing rate - Electromyogram (EMG) Measures electrical activity produced by muscles
Gender FrequencyPercentage Female Male Total48100
Location of Studies LocationFrequencyPercentage Costa Rica United States Total48100
Respiration Results Paired Samples t-test Respiration (baseline vs. experimental) tdf Sig. (2- tailed) RES1-1:30 RES 3: RES 1-1:30 RES 4: RES 1-1:30 RES 5-5:
Discussion Our data supported the notion that respiration rate was significantly decreased during multiple sections of the video when compared to the baseline. Upon further analysis we hope to look at EMG and GSR data. We also would like to compare the differences between independent variables such as gender, major, location, etc. In future experiments we'd like to compare data with a larger sample size across multiple cultures.
Contact Information Courtney: Augustus: