Cultural beliefs of time orientation and social self-construal: Influences on climate change adaptation

Abstract

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges humankind faces and adaptive behaviour is an imperative response to such change. Culture and the resulting worldview are determinants of behaviour and eminent cultural beliefs are that of time orientation (TO) and social self-construal (SSC). To date, no research focuses on these beliefs from an indigenous South African perspective or the manner in which it may subsequently affect a community’s adaptation towards climate change. Q-methodology was used to study perspectives and beliefs in three peri-urban communities in South Africa and to investigate the interrelation between themes such as TO, SSC, climate change awareness and climate change causality. It became apparent that the communities are aware of climate change, yet little to no efforts are currently being made to adapt to climatic change. This absence of motivation to adapt may be attributed to limited risk perception and cultural beliefs of TO and SSC. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of cultural beliefs and its impact on climate change adaptation behaviour in the South African context. It is concluded that TO and SSC from an indigenous South African perspective influence community adaptation to climate change.

Unpacking Q-Research: Context-Specific Considerations and Implications for Climate Change Education in Rural Areas

“…Factor 1 contributes 20% to the variance, Factor 2 contributes 12%, Factors 3 and 4 contribute 10% each, and Factor 5 contributes 6%. For more detailed results, refer to Jooste et al (2018), Schuman et al (2018), and Terblanché-Greeff et al (2018).…”

“…Since this study involved people's personal experiences regarding climate change adaptation and beliefs, as well as a determination of their subjective worldviews, it was deemed appropriate to use a mixed-method approach, such as Q-methodology. The method was successfully employed to determine community experiences and understandings of climate change adaptation while producing statistical data to test the hypothesis that there is a link between climate change adaptation and belief systems (Schuman et al, 2018;Terblanché-Greeff et al, 2018). Some of the project outputs include presentation of the work at international conferences (cf.…”

“…The communities were identified as the sampling pool based on their rural status, where low economic income and high levels of vulnerability are prevalent (Jooste et al, 2018; Terblanché-Greeff et al, 2018). Furthermore, the expectation was that rural communities might exhibit more traditional African beliefs compared to urban communities which might display higher levels of secularization (Terblanché-Greeff et al, 2018). Respondents were chosen using purposive sampling, based on their willingness to participate and failing initial recruiting, snowball sampling was used to procure additional participants (Schuman et al, 2018).…”

“…O’Brien, 2016b; Loubser, 2014b; Loubser, 2015b; Loubser, 2015c), and articles in peer-reviewed journals ( cf. Jooste et al, 2018; Schuman et al, 2018; Terblanché-Greeff et al, 2018; O’Brien, 2016a). In addition to these formal outputs, the project also facilitated the exchange of research staff between the two participating universities, as well as the training of postgraduate students who completed their degrees during the project.…”

“…In the South African context limited research has been conducted using Q-methodology ( cf. du Plessis, 2019; Finchilescu and Cooper, 2018; Hagan and Williams, 2016; Jooste et al, 2018; Schuman et al, 2018; Terblanché-Greeff et al, 2018; West et al, 2016). For this paper, a South African Q study ( cf.…”