Six minutes to promote change: People, not facts, alter students' perceptions on climate change.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic climate change threatens the structure and function of ecosystems throughout the globe, but many people are still skeptical of its existence. Traditional "knowledge deficit model" thinking has suggested that providing the public with more facts about climate change will assuage skepticism. However, presenting evidence contrary to prior beliefs can have the opposite effect and result in a strengthening of previously held beliefs, a phenomenon known as biased assimilation or a backfire effect. Given this, strategies for effectively communicating about socioscientific issues that are politically controversial need to be thoroughly investigated. We randomly assigned 184 undergraduates from an environmental science class to one of three experimental conditions in which we exposed

SUBMITTER: Sauer KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8207154 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature