Despite an overwhelming scientific consensus about the adverse effects of climate change and potential adaptation strategies, the uptake rates of climate adaptation practices fall short of expectations and public perceptions about the drivers and implications of climate change remain mixed. This paper examines whether farmers’ psychological traits, particularly locus of control, predict climate adaptation strategies. We focus on adoption of drought-tolerant varieties, fast-maturing varieties, early/late planting varieties, crop diversification, conservation agriculture, and water harvesting technologies using a large household survey from Ethiopia. We also explore climate change perceptions, and whether and how they align with actual climatic records. We find that farmers with a higher degree of internal locus of control are more likely to adopt various climate adaptation practices and are more likely to perceive changes in mean precipitation and temperature, while those with a higher level of external locus of control are less likely to perceive climate change and hence less likely to adopt climate-resilient practices. One standard deviation increase in internal (external) locus of control is associated with 3–5 percentage points higher (lower) probability of adopting alternative climate adaptation practices. We also find suggestive evidence that farmers’ climate adaptation responses are consistent with their climate perceptions and actual climatic records. These findings highlight the important role of behavioral attributes, including psychological traits, in explaining climate perceptions and subsequent climate actions. Read more>>