Investigating the effects of knowledge and ideology on climate change beliefs

Abstract

The divergence of public opinion and climate science in the English-speaking world, particularly the United States and Australia, has attracted a variety of explanations. One of the more interesting accounts, from a psychological perspective, is the influence of ideology on climate change beliefs. Previous work suggests that ideology trumps knowledge in shaping climate change beliefs. However, these studies have typically examined the influence of proxy measures of knowledge rather than specific climate change knowledge. The goal of the present research was to provide some clarification on the different influences of knowledge and ideology on beliefs about climate change. Specifically, we in..