Polarisation in the USA: Climate Change, Party Politics, and Public Opinion in the Obama Era

Brewer, Paul R.

doi:10.1057/eps.2011.10

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Separate analyses affirm that polarization of the U.S. public's views on climate change gathered pace in the late 2000s . Brewer observes that increasing partisan disparity occurred subsequent to Obama's election in 2008 on a survey indicator examining acceptance of the reality of climate change, although a widening gap was less clear for other measures examined.…”

Section: Trends In Public Perceptions—insights From the Literaturementioning

confidence: 91%

International trends in public perceptions of climate change over the past quarter century

Capstick

Whitmarsh

Poortinga

et al. 2014

WIREs Climate Change

428

219

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Public perceptions of climate change are known to differ between nations and to have fluctuated over time. Numerous plausible characterizations of these variations, and explanations for them, are to be found in the literature. However, a clear picture has not yet emerged as to the principal trends and patterns that have occurred over the past quarter-century or the factors behind these changes. This systematic review considers previous empirical research that has addressed the temporal aspects to public perceptions. We address findings that have been obtained since the 1980s and using a range of methodologies. In this review, we consider early, seminal work examining public perceptions; survey studies carried out over long timescales and at an international scale; detailed statistical analyses of the drivers of changing perceptions; and qualitative research featuring a longitudinal component. Studies point to growing skepticism in the latter 2000s in some developed countries, underpinned by economic and sociopolitical factors. Even so, in many parts of the world, there has been growing concern about climate change in recent years. We conclude that the imbalance in the literature toward polling data, and toward studies of public perceptions in Western nations (particularly the United States), leaves much unknown about the progression of public understanding of climate change worldwide. More research is required that uses inferential statistical procedures to understand the reasons behind trends in public perceptions. The application of qualitative longitudinal methodologies also offers the potential for better appreciation of the cultural contexts in which climate change perceptions are evolving.

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Section: Trends In Public Perceptions—insights From the Literaturementioning

confidence: 91%

International trends in public perceptions of climate change over the past quarter century

Capstick

Whitmarsh

Poortinga

et al. 2014

WIREs Climate Change

428

219

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Differences in climate change beliefs between Democrats and Republicans are greatest among the most highly educated (70). This increased polarization occurs because more highly educated individuals are more likely to possess the contextual information and mental schemas necessary to acquire, judge, counterargue, and integrate new information (71).…”

Section: Imcib In Context: Global Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

An integrated model of communication influence on beliefs

Eveland

Cooper

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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How do people develop and maintain their beliefs about science? Decades of social science research exist to help us answer this question. The Integrated Model of Communication Influence on Beliefs presented here combines multiple theories that have considered aspects of this process into a comprehensive model to explain how individuals arrive at their scientific beliefs. In this article, we (i) summarize what is known about how science is presented in various news and entertainment media forms; (ii) describe how individuals differ in their choices to be exposed to various forms and sources of communication; (iii) discuss the implications of how individuals mentally process information on the effects of communication; (iv) consider how communication effects can be altered depending on background characteristics and motivations of individuals; and (v) emphasize that the process of belief formation is not unidirectional but rather, feeds back on itself over time. We conclude by applying the Integrated Model of Communication Influence on Beliefs to the complex issue of beliefs about climate change.knowledge | learning D ecades of scholarship in communication and related fields have examined the role of mass and interpersonal communication as means by which members of the public acquire information or beliefs about a variety of important topics (1, 2). However, there are several properties of this literature that make it less than ideal for succinctly answering the larger question of how scientific beliefs are formed. First, there is a tendency to focus research on a particular form of communication in isolation from others (e.g., news rather than entertainment or media rather than interpersonal discussion), with an emphasis on media effects. Second, most empirical models offer snapshots of associations among variables (3, 4) rather than consideration of how feedback processes connect communication and beliefs in both causal directions. Third, the models tested often seem to have been developed on the basis of the data available in a particular study rather than on a broader consideration of the theoretical processes involved. In those cases in which the models do seem more comprehensive, they usually eschew formal prediction in favor of offering more abstract frameworks and encouraging data exploration (5). Overall, although there is a wealth of insight and evidence relating communication and beliefs, it tends to be scattered because of emphasis on particular subprocesses rather than emphasis on the whole.Sociologist Robert Merton [ref. 6, pp. 52-53 (emphasis in original)] argued that "theories of the middle range hold the largest promise, provided that the search for them is coupled with a pervasive concern with consolidating special theories into more general sets of concepts and mutually consistent propositions" (6). The current body of research on media selection and impact on beliefs, which has, to date, been relatively circumscribed by focusing attention on subprocesses, would seem to be ripe for a comprehens...

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“…For some, perceptions are shaped instead by climate change beliefs tied to their sociopolitical identity. Despite overwhelming agreement among scientists on the reality of anthropogenic climate change, admitting that reality remains a very polarized, contentious issue among the general public in this region, as it is nationwide (Zia and Todd 2010, McCright and Dunlap 2011, Brewer 2012, Marquart-Pyatt et al 2014, Shwom et al 2015, Dunlap et al 2016, Shao 2016a). Northeast Oregon residents who reject the reality of anthropogenic climate change also reject the reality of local warming, along with scientific predictions that it will continue into the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding common ground: agreement on increasing wildfire risk crosses political lines

Hartter

Hamilton

Ducey

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Wildfire is a growing threat in the western US, driven by high fuel loads, a warming climate, and rising human activity in the wildland urban interface. Diverse stakeholders must collaborate to mitigate risk and adapt to changing conditions. Communication strategies in collaborative efforts may be most effective if they align with local perspectives on wildfire and climate change. We investigate drivers of residents' subjective perceptions regarding both issues in eastern Oregon using 2018 survey data, and examine objective evidence regarding local fuel loads, climate, and wildfire to identify trends and contextualize residents' perceptions. We find that sociopolitical identity strongly predicts climate change beliefs, and that identity and climate beliefs predict both perceptions of recent past climate and likely future trends. Political influences on climate perceptions are strongest among people whose friends mostly belong to the same party. In contrast, perceptions about future wildfire risks are largely independent of climate-change beliefs, and of individual or peer-group politics. Most people accurately perceive the rising frequency of large wildfires, and expect this trend to continue. Decision makers have an opportunity to engage diverse stakeholders in developing policies to mitigate increasing wildfire risk without invoking climate change, which remains politically polarizing in some communities.

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Polarisation in the USA: Climate Change, Party Politics, and Public Opinion in the Obama Era

Cited by 34 publications

References 12 publications

International trends in public perceptions of climate change over the past quarter century

International trends in public perceptions of climate change over the past quarter century

An integrated model of communication influence on beliefs

Finding common ground: agreement on increasing wildfire risk crosses political lines

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