Abstract

SUAREZ ZUNIGA, Cristian; SANDOVAL-DIAZ, José  and  PENA GARAY, Matías. Social Representations of Climate Change among University Students: A Comparison across Academic Disciplines. Revista de Psicologia [online]. 2025, n.33, pp.53-76. ISSN 2223-3032.  https://doi.org/10.53287/yoec4314tv14s.

his study analyzes the social representations of climate change among university students from various academic disciplines. Its aim is to examine the representational structure, explore differences by gender and field of study, and identify dominant approaches regarding causes, consequences, human factors, and emotional dimensions of the phenomenon. A mixed-method, non-experimental design was employed, grounded in the theory of central core. Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to 103 students from a public university in Chile, yielding 515 free associations using word association and term-ranking techniques. Prototypical and categorical analyses revealed representational structures centered on environmental consequences and emotional responses, with frequent terms such as "drought," "heat," "concern," and "sadness." Although the anthropogenic origin of climate change is acknowledged, human factors appear in peripheral positions, suggesting a psychological distance from individual and collective responsibility. Gender and disciplinary differences were also observed: women expressed a higher emotional load, while men emphasized material impacts; students in the social sciences evoked more socio-emotional content than their counterparts in science and technology. These findings demonstrate how educational trajectories and sociocultural contexts shape differentiated meanings of climate change. The study concludes that social representations offer a valuable basis for designing interdisciplinary, emotionally relevant, and context-sensitive educational strategies aimed at strengthening climate engagement through higher education.

Keywords : Climate change; Emotions; Environmental Education; Higher education; Social representations.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )