Changes in adolescents' risk perception of the consequences of climate change through the use of a serious gam
A study in embedded mixed-method design
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Alexander Siegmund
Events like heavy precipitation, floods or pronounced heat and drought periods are increasingly perceived as threats. For the acceptance and implementation of measures to adapt to these unavoidable consequences of climate change, the communication of climate adaptation plays an important role. For this purpose, the digital serious game Klim:S21 is a suitable tool. The game was developed as part of the project "Kli:b – Facing climate change interactively" in the Department of Geography – Research Group for Earth Observation (rgeo) at Heidelberg University of Education. By selecting adaptation measures, the players can experience the adaptation to regional climate impacts in Germany.
In the context of the PhD, the game’s effect on the perception of climate impacts and related coping strategies will be investigated. During school visits, these aspects will be quantitatively investigated through a questionnaire in a pre- and post-test design. In addition, the background of risk perception and coping assessment of climate impacts among adolescents will be investigated qualitatively using interviews. The theoretical basis for the research is the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), which has already been used in the field of risk research of climate impacts.