scholarly journals How others drive our sense of understanding of policies

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
NATHANIEL RABB ◽  
JOHN J. HAN ◽  
STEVEN A. SLOMAN
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Actual Knowledge ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Cognition Model ◽  
People’S Attitudes

Abstract Five experiments are reported to compare models of attitude formation about hot-button policy issues like climate change. In broad strokes, the deficit model states that incorrect opinions are a result of a lack of information, while the cultural cognition model states that opinions are formed to maximize congruence with the group that one affiliates with. The community of knowledge hypothesis takes an integrative position. It states that opinions are based on perceived knowledge, but that perceptions are partly determined by the knowledge that sits in the heads of others in the community. We use the fact that people's sense of understanding is affected by knowledge of others’ understanding to arbitrate among these views in the domain of public policy. In all experiments (N = 1767), we find that the contagious sense of understanding is nonpartisan and robust to experimental manipulations intended to eliminate it. While ideology clearly affects people's attitudes, sense of understanding does as well, but level of actual knowledge does not. And the extent to which people overestimate their own knowledge partly determines the extremity of their position. The pattern of results is most consistent with the community of knowledge hypothesis. Implications for climate policy are considered.

scholarly journals How Is Climate Change Knowledge Distributed among the Population in Singapore? A Demographic Analysis of Actual Knowledge and Illusory Knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3782
Author(s):  
Xiaodong Yang ◽  
Lai Wei ◽  
Qi Su
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Demographic Analysis ◽  
Actual Knowledge ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Cognitive Miser

Due to the crucial role of knowledge in promoting public engagement with climate change, this study made an in-depths examination of the distribution of climate change knowledge among different demographic groups. Guided by information deficit model and cognitive miser model, two types of knowledge were investigated, including actual knowledge and illusory knowledge. Using a nationally representative survey in Singapore, this study found demographic effects in climate change knowledge distribution. Specifically, a series of independent sample t-test revealed that the males had more actual knowledge of climate change than the females. The middle aged and elderly adults had less actual knowledge but more illusory knowledge of climate change than the young adults. Compare to the more educated people, the less educated people had more illusory knowledge but less actual knowledge of climate change. People from low-income households reported lower levels of actual knowledge but higher levels of illusory knowledge than those from high-income households. Regarding these significant differences in climate change knowledge among different demographic groups, possible reasons for these variations and implications for designing public education programs are discussed.

Value of Water in a Drying Climate

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Merino Wool ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
The World ◽  
Expert Team

Are we making the best use of water? How do we judge this? Are there trade-offs between upstream and downstream water use? What are these and how are they resolved? Disputes over water allocations are, second to climate change, the dominant environmental and public policy issues of the present era. We are called upon to resolve such controversies using the principles of sustainable development, which integrates ecology, economics and ethics. This timely book establishes a template for all types of resource allocation disputes, whether in Australia or overseas. An expert team of ecologists, economists and sustainability experts spent three years interviewing people in the Little Swanport catchment, seeking answers to the optimal allocation of water on the Tasmanian East Coast. The hinterland of this area produces some of the most valuable merino wool in the world, the estuary grows mouth-watering oysters, and much of the land is in near-pristine condition, providing very valuable biodiversity resources. The book is written in an easy-to-read style and gradually evolves to become the story of everyday life of one small Australian catchment. It is about people living in rural settings in the upper catchment with soils and rainfall suitable for farming; people residing in coastal settlements in the lower catchment; people working and relaxing in the estuary where fishing and aquaculture occur; and people and their business in adjacent towns.

scholarly journals Does Knowledge about Climate Change Predict  Concern?  Concern for Climate Change and the Knowledge-Deficit Theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alana Cornforth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Actual Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Deficit ◽  
Group Outcomes ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Deficit Theory ◽  
New Zealanders

<p>The knowledge-deficit theory suggests that if people are not concerned about climate change, it is because there is a deficit in their knowledge of climate change—they do not properly comprehend the scientific consensus. So do people with higher levels of knowledge about climate change feel more concerned than those with lower knowledge levels? Existing research has been inconclusive but suggests differences between perceived and actual knowledge. This thesis comprises two studies. Study 1 tests the effect of perceived knowledge on concern for climate change with a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of 269 New Zealanders. Study 2 tests the effect of actual knowledge about climate change on concern with a sample of 452 New Zealanders recruited via snowball sampling. Results supported the knowledge-deficit theory for concern for climate change, but only when actual knowledge was tested. Participants in both Study 1 and Study 2 with high perceived knowledge did not have correspondingly high levels of concern, but Study 2 participants with high actual knowledge of climate change did also have high levels of concern. Other variables tested that consistently predicted high concern for climate change were perceived efficacy (the perception that one's actions will influence group outcomes) and environmental values. Demographic variables were not strong or consistent predictors of concern, but overall, younger female participants tended to display higher levels of concern than older male participants.</p>

Climate Statistics and Public Policy

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Guttorp
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Statistical Issues ◽  
Climate Statistics ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

The main lines of evidence for climate change are outlined. Alternative explanations to increased greenhouse gas concentrations are described. After discussing some statistical issues, attribution approaches are briefly described. Policy issues dealing with mitigation and adaptation are mentioned.

scholarly journals Does Knowledge about Climate Change Predict  Concern?  Concern for Climate Change and the Knowledge-Deficit Theory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alana Cornforth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Actual Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Deficit ◽  
Group Outcomes ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Deficit Theory ◽  
New Zealanders

<p>The knowledge-deficit theory suggests that if people are not concerned about climate change, it is because there is a deficit in their knowledge of climate change—they do not properly comprehend the scientific consensus. So do people with higher levels of knowledge about climate change feel more concerned than those with lower knowledge levels? Existing research has been inconclusive but suggests differences between perceived and actual knowledge. This thesis comprises two studies. Study 1 tests the effect of perceived knowledge on concern for climate change with a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of 269 New Zealanders. Study 2 tests the effect of actual knowledge about climate change on concern with a sample of 452 New Zealanders recruited via snowball sampling. Results supported the knowledge-deficit theory for concern for climate change, but only when actual knowledge was tested. Participants in both Study 1 and Study 2 with high perceived knowledge did not have correspondingly high levels of concern, but Study 2 participants with high actual knowledge of climate change did also have high levels of concern. Other variables tested that consistently predicted high concern for climate change were perceived efficacy (the perception that one's actions will influence group outcomes) and environmental values. Demographic variables were not strong or consistent predictors of concern, but overall, younger female participants tended to display higher levels of concern than older male participants.</p>

scholarly journals Divergent Perspectives on Expert Disagreement: Evidence from Astrophysicists, Climate Scientists, Climate Policy Experts, and Non-Experts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Beebe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Standard View ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Climate Research ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives

We report the results of an exploratory study that examines the judgments of climate scientists, climate policy experts, astrophysicists, and non-experts (N = 3,367) about the factors that contribute to the creation and persistence of disagreement within climate science and astrophysics and about how one should respond to disagreements among experts. We found that, as compared to educated non-experts, climate experts believe that within climate science (i) there is less disagreement about climate change, (ii) methodological factors play less of a role in generating existing disagreements, (iii) fewer personal or institutional biases influence the nature and direction of climate research, (iv) there is more agreement among scientists about which methods or theoretical perspectives should be used to examine the relevant phenomena, (v) disagreements about climate change should not lead people to conclude that the scientific methods being employed are unreliable, and (vi) climate science is more settled than ideological pundits would have us believe and settled enough to base public policy on it. In addition, we observed that the uniquely American political context predicted experts’ judgments about some of these factors. We also found that, in regard to disagreements concerning cosmic ray physics, and commensurate with the greater inherent uncertainty and data lacunae in their field, astrophysicists working on cosmic rays were generally more willing to acknowledge expert disagreement, more open to the idea that a set of data can have multiple valid interpretations, and generally less quick to dismiss someone articulating a non-standard view as non-expert, than climate scientists were in regard to climate science.

Democratic innovations and policy analysis: climate policy and Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly (2016–18)

2021 ◽  
pp. 219-234
Author(s):  
Clodagh Harris
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Networked Society ◽  
Governance Arrangements

This chapter focuses on public consultation and participation in Ireland, processes that directly engage citizens beyond the ballot box. Initiatives, including participatory budgeting and deliberative mini-publics like citizens’ assemblies, and citizens’ juries, endeavour to engage citizens more directly in political processes either by widening and/or deepening participation. As exercises in deliberative democracy, they endeavour to place the citizen at the heart of constitutional and policy issues as new types of governance arrangements required for a complex networked society. The methods used to facilitate public consultation, participation and deliberation in Ireland are critically assessed as to whether they make a difference to public policy, and whether effective consultation mechanisms can extend to regulatory actors.

scholarly journals Mind the climate policy gaps: climate change public policy and reality in Portugal, Spain and Morocco

2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-169
Author(s):  
João Camargo ◽  
Iñaki Barcena ◽  
Pedro M. Soares ◽  
Luísa Schmidt ◽  
Javier Andaluz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Climate Policy

The Controllability Precautionary Principle: Justification of a Climate Policy Goal Under Uncertainty

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugen Pissarskoi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Goal ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
Climate Change Policies

How can we reasonably justify a climate policy goal if we accept that only possible consequences from climate change are known? Precautionary principles seem to offer promising guidelines for reasoning in such epistemic situations. This chapter presents two versions of the precautionary principle (PP) and defends one of them as morally justifiable. However, it argues that current versions of the PP do not allow discrimination between relevant climate change policies. Therefore, the chapter develops a further version of the PP, the Controllability Precautionary Principle (CPP), and defends its moral plausibility. The CPP incorporates the following idea: in a situation when the possible outcomes of the available actions cannot be ranked with regard to their value, the choice between available options for action should rest on the comparison of how well decision makers can control the processes of the implementation of the available strategies.

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