Changing minds about climate change: a pervasive role for domain-general metacognition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manos Tsakiris ◽  
Neza Vehar ◽  
Stephen M Fleming ◽  
Sophie De Beukelaer ◽  
Max Rollwage
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Prior Beliefs ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
The Face ◽  
Metacognitive Abilities ◽  
Insight Into

Updating one’s beliefs about the causes and effects of climate change is crucial for altering attitudes and behaviours. Importantly, metacognitive abilities - insight into the (in)correctness of one’s beliefs- play a key role in the formation of polarized beliefs. We investigated the role of domain-general and domain-specific metacognition in updating prior beliefs about climate change across the spectrum of climate change scepticism. We also considered the role of how climate science is communicated in the form of textual or visuo-textual presentations. We show that climate change scepticism is associated with differences in domain-general as well as domain-specific metacognitive abilities. Moreover, domain-general metacognitive sensitivity influenced belief updating in an asymmetric way : lower domain-general metacognition decreased the updating of prior beliefs, especially in the face of negative evidence. Our findings highlight the role of metacognitive failures in revising erroneous beliefs about climate change and point to their adverse social effects.

Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: A cautionary tale

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252098513
Author(s):  
Claire Konkes ◽  
Kerrie Foxwell-Norton
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
James Cook ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Tenured Position

When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.

Science and Theology for Everyone: How Climate Science is Shaping Christianity in the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-157
Author(s):  
Caleb Gordon ◽  
Hannah Malcolm
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Technical Leadership ◽  
Science And Theology ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

This article analyses the growing participation of UK Christians in climate initiatives over the last five years. In many cases, climate science is cited as a necessary consideration for the fulfilment of already-existing Christian commitments. This represents a significant shift in the ways UK Christians understand the role of dialogue between theology and the sciences; previous science and theology dialogue has usually been treated as an area of expert concern, primarily offering insight into apologetics or specific ethical problems. By contrast, the dialogue between climate science and theology has seen the emergence of non-technical leadership amid the expectation that climate science plays a critical role in re-examining the meaning of Christian life, both for individuals and as communities.

Making behavioral science integral to climate science and action

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
BARUCH FISCHHOFF
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Behavioral Sciences ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Climate Research ◽  
Quantitative Estimates

Abstract The behavioral sciences were there at the beginning of the systematic study of climate change. However, in the ensuing quarter century, they largely faded from view, during which time public discourse and policy evolved without them. That disengagement and the recent reengagement suggest lessons for the future role of the behavioral sciences in climate science and policy. Looking forward, the greatest promise lies in projects that make behavioral science integral to climate science by: (1) translating behavioral results into the quantitative estimates that climate analyses need; (2) making climate research more relevant to climate-related decisions; and (3) treating the analytical process as a behavioral enterprise, potentially subject to imperfection and improvement. Such collaborations could afford the behavioral sciences more central roles in setting climate-related policies, as well as implementing them. They require, and may motivate, changes in academic priorities.

scholarly journals The impact of elite frames and motivated reasoning on beliefs in a global warming conspiracy: The promise and limits of trust

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 205316801771760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle L Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Anthropogenic Global Warming ◽  
The Face ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Original Question ◽  
Behavioral Impact ◽  
The Impact

Given the potential attitudinal and behavioral impact of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) conspiracy beliefs, it is important to understand their causes and moderators. Here, two explanations for the variation in these beliefs are engaged: the first is the choice among elites to frame AGW using the phrase ‘global warming’ (GW) as opposed to ‘climate change’ (CC); the second is partisan motivated reasoning. A theory is then developed about the role of trust in moderating the impact of the two frames on AGW conspiracy beliefs. In the case of CC, which is perceived as less severe than GW (and is therefore less identity threatening among Republicans), it is hypothesized that trust will moderate hoax beliefs among Republicans. In the case of GW, where the implications of existence beliefs have policy consequences that are more unpleasant, motivated reasoning will ‘win out’, and trust will not moderate conspiracy endorsement among Republicans. The results from an original question framing experiment are consistent with the author’s hypotheses. Whilst trust is a welcome commodity to those looking to persuade citizens to support AGW-ameliorating policies, it is not a cure-all, especially in the face of elite partisan cues that edify pre-existing attitudes/identities and arouse a strong desire to engage in motivated reasoning.

scholarly journals Agriculture's Contribution to Climate Change and Role in Mitigation Is Distinct From Predominantly Fossil CO2-Emitting Sectors

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Lynch ◽  
Michelle Cain ◽  
David Frame ◽  
Raymond Pierrehumbert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Agricultural Emissions ◽  
Stock Pollutant ◽  
Global Temperature Change

Agriculture is a significant contributor to anthropogenic global warming, and reducing agricultural emissions—largely methane and nitrous oxide—could play a significant role in climate change mitigation. However, there are important differences between carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a stock pollutant, and methane (CH4), which is predominantly a flow pollutant. These dynamics mean that conventional reporting of aggregated CO2-equivalent emission rates is highly ambiguous and does not straightforwardly reflect historical or anticipated contributions to global temperature change. As a result, the roles and responsibilities of different sectors emitting different gases are similarly obscured by the common means of communicating emission reduction scenarios using CO2-equivalence. We argue for a shift in how we report agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and think about their mitigation to better reflect the distinct roles of different greenhouse gases. Policy-makers, stakeholders, and society at large should also be reminded that the role of agriculture in climate mitigation is a much broader topic than climate science alone can inform, including considerations of economic and technical feasibility, preferences for food supply and land-use, and notions of fairness and justice. A more nuanced perspective on the impacts of different emissions could aid these conversations.

scholarly journals La economía de la conservación de la agrobiodiversidad para la seguridad alimentaria ante el cambio climático

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unai Pascual ◽  
Ulf Narloch ◽  
Stella Nordhagen ◽  
Adam G. Drucker
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Economic Perspective ◽  
Public Values ◽  
The Public ◽  
Human Wellbeing ◽  
Agrobiodiversity Conservation ◽  
The Face

<span>Subsistence-based and natural resource-dependent societies are especially vulnerable to climate change. In such contexts, food security needs to be strengthened by investing in the adaptability of food systems. This paper looks into the role of agrobiodiversity conservation for food security in the face of climate change. It identifies agrobiodiversity as a key public good that delivers necessary services for human wellbeing. We argue that the public values provided by agrobiodiversity conservation need to be demonstrated and captured. We offer an economic perspective of this challenge and highlight ways of capturing at least a subset of the public values of agrobiodiversity to help adapt to and reduce the vulnerability of subsistence based economies to climate change.</span>

scholarly journals Computer-assisted detection and classification of misinformation about climate change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Coan ◽  
Constantine Boussalis ◽  
John Cook ◽  
Mirjam Nanko
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Detailed History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Computer Assisted Detection ◽  
History Of

A growing body of scholarship investigates the role of misinformation in shaping the debate on climate change. Our research builds on and extends this literature by 1) developing and validating a comprehensive taxonomy of climate misinformation, 2) conducting the largest content analysis to date on contrarian claims, 3) developing a computational model to accurately detect specific claims, and 4) drawing on an extensive corpus from conservative think-tank (CTTs) websites and contrarian blogs to construct a detailed history of misinformation over the past 20 years. Our study finds that climate misinformation produced by CTTs and contrarian blogs has focused on attacking the integrity of climate science and scientists and, increasingly, has challenged climate policy and renewable energy. We further demonstrate the utility of our approach by exploring the influence of corporate and foundation funding on the production and dissemination of specific contrarian claims.

The Role of Perceived Authenticity in Psychological Recovery from Collective Trauma

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 419-448
Author(s):  
Joseph Maffly-Kipp ◽  
Patricia Flanagan ◽  
Jinhyung Kim ◽  
Rebecca J. Schlegel ◽  
Matthew Vess ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Collective Trauma ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
The Face ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Insight Into

Introduction: Previous research demonstrates that perceived authenticity is positively associated with psychological health and security in the face of threats. The current research extends this work by testing whether perceived authenticity promotes recovery from the negative mental health consequences of collective trauma (e.g., a natural disaster). Methods: We recruited a sample of undergraduates (N = 570), many of whom reported direct or indirect exposure to Hurricane Harvey, to complete surveys at two time points. We assessed exposure to the disaster, acute stress, post-traumatic stress, coping, and authenticity twice, once approximately 1 month after Hurricane Harvey (Time 1) and again approximately 9 weeks after Hurricane Harvey (Time 2). Results: We employed multilevel modelling to explore whether authenticity would aid in recovery from collective trauma. Results showed that perceived authentic living at Time 1 predicted a variety of indicators of stress related to the hurricane at Time 2. Specifically, those participants who reported low authentic living at Time 1 reported greater levels of stress at Time 2, compared to individuals who reported higher levels of authentic living. Importantly, these effects remained even when controlling for known predictors of stress (e.g., levels of stress at Time 1 and coping strategies). Discussion: Findings provide preliminary insight into authenticity as a part of a likely larger network of interrelated psychosocial qualities that have the potential to help one navigate recovery from trauma.

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