Simone Grassini

One significant obstacle to gaining a widespread awareness of the ongoing climate change is the nature of its manifestations in relation to our perception: climate change effects are gradual, distributed, and sometimes seemingly contradictory. These features result in a lag in collective climate action and sometimes foster climate skepticism and climate denial. While the literature on climate change perception and belief has thoroughly explored its sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects, research on the potential contribution of psychophysiological factors remains scarce. In this perspective paper, we outline evidence and arguments for the involvement of psychophysiological systems such as thermoception, hygroreception, and interoception in modulating climate change awareness. We discuss psychophysiological mechanisms of climate change awareness in animals and humans, as well as possible sources of individual variance in climate change perception. We conclude by suggesting novel research questions which would be worthwhile to pursue in future studies.

Virtual reality (VR) presents numerous opportunities for training skills and abilities through the technology’s capacity to simulate realistic training scenarios and environments. This can be seen in how newer research has emphasized how VR can be used for creating adaptable training scenarios. Nevertheless, a limited number of studies have examined how personality traits can influence the training effectiveness of participants within VR. To assess individual preferences in a virtual environment, the current study examines the associations of Big Five personality traits with training effectiveness from VR, as well as sense of presence and cybersickness. Our results show that traits of high agreeableness and low conscientiousness are predictors of training transferability in the VR environment in relation to the real world. Furthermore, the results also showed that trainees experiencing higher levels of cybersickness incurred worse training outcomes.