“Acceptance Speech” Frontiers of Knowledge Award 2023 in Social Sciences

Acceptance speech by Elke Weber, winner of the 2023 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences, honored for her research on environmental decision-making and human responses to climate change. Her interdisciplinary approach, combining psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics and environmental science, has helped explain the factors influencing individual and collective decisions in the face of environmental challenges.

Weber explains how cognitive biases, emotions and social norms shape decisions related to climate change, particularly when the benefits of action are perceived as distant or primarily affecting future generations. She highlights how understanding these mechanisms can help design more effective strategies to encourage sustainable behavior and emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. She also warns that insufficient climate action is

Acceptance speech by Elke Weber, winner of the 2023 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences, honored for her research on environmental decision-making and human responses to climate change. Her interdisciplinary approach, combining psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics and environmental science, has helped explain the factors influencing individual and collective decisions in the face of environmental challenges.

Weber explains how cognitive biases, emotions and social norms shape decisions related to climate change, particularly when the benefits of action are perceived as distant or primarily affecting future generations. She highlights how understanding these mechanisms can help design more effective strategies to encourage sustainable behavior and emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. She also warns that insufficient climate action is not simply the result of an information deficit, but also reflects cognitive, motivational and political barriers.