The evidence for motivated reasoning in climate change preference formation
Abstract
Despite a scientific consensus, citizens are divided when it comes to climate change — often along political lines. Democrats or liberals tend to believe that human activity is a primary cause of climate change, whereas Republicans or conservatives are much less likely to hold this belief. A prominent explanation for this divide is that it stems from directional motivated reasoning: individuals reject new information that contradicts their standing beliefs. In this Review, we suggest that the empirical evidence is not so clear, and is equally consistent with a theory in which citizens strive to form accurate beliefs but vary in what they consider to be credible evidence. This suggests a new research agenda on climate change preference formation, and has implications for effective communication.
- Publication:
-
Nature Climate Change
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1038/s41558-018-0360-1
- Bibcode:
- 2019NatCC...9..111D