Understanding Societal Threat Responses

This chapter examines the psychological biases that shape society's reactions to threats, contrasting immediate responses to terrorism with the muted response to climate change. It highlights how humans are wired to respond more vigorously to agentic threats, while the abstract nature of climate change often fails to trigger similar urgency. The discussion covers adaptation to gradual threats, societal normalization of environmental degradation, and the motivational power of individual sustainable actions.