Date of Award:

5-2026

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Sociology and Anthropology

Committee Chair(s)

Stacia Ryder

Committee

Stacia Ryder

Committee

Jennifer Givens

Committee

Peter Howe

Abstract

Over the past several years, Great Salt Lake has received a lot of media attention, both locally in Utah as well as nationally and even internationally. Within Utah, public perception surveys have indicated that concern about the lake varies depending on how low the lake levels are. This suggests that a concept called psychological distance might be influencing concern about the lake as well as support for strategies to help the lake. Psychological distance is the perceived distance a person has from an object, event, or person and is manifested in four ways: across physical distance (spatially), across time (temporal), across social strata (social), and across the likelihood of something happening (hypotheticality). This study evaluates what factors influence perceived spatial and temporal distance, as well as how these distances influence support for solutions. I found that those identifying as conservative, white, and male were more likely to view the drying of Great Salt Lake as distant and thus of less concern compared to all other groups of people. Additionally, decreased psychological distance is related to increased support for most types of strategies for the lake.

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