IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcli/v10y2020i4d10.1038_s41558-020-0719-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Partisan asymmetry in temporal stability of climate change beliefs

Author

Listed:
  • Hank C. Jenkins-Smith

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma
    University of Oklahoma)

  • Joseph T. Ripberger

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma
    University of Oklahoma)

  • Carol L. Silva

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma
    University of Oklahoma)

  • Deven E. Carlson

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma
    University of Oklahoma)

  • Kuhika Gupta

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma)

  • Nina Carlson

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma)

  • Ani Ter-Mkrtchyan

    (University of Oklahoma
    National Institute for Risk and Resilience, University of Oklahoma
    University of Oklahoma)

  • Riley E. Dunlap

    (Oklahoma State University)

Abstract

Existing literature on climate change beliefs in the US suggests that partisan polarization begets climate change polarization and that the climate beliefs of those on both sides of the partisan divide are firmly held and invariable. Here, we use data from a large panel survey of Oklahoma residents administered quarterly from 2014 through 2018 to challenge this perspective. Contrary to the expectation of rough symmetry in partisan polarization on climate change, we find that partisans on the political right have much more unstable beliefs about climate change than partisans on the left. An important implication is that if climate beliefs are well anchored on the left, but less so on the right, the latter are more susceptible to change. We interpret this to suggest that, despite polarizing elite rhetoric, public beliefs about climate change maintain the potential to shift towards broader acceptance and a perceived need for action.

Suggested Citation

  • Hank C. Jenkins-Smith & Joseph T. Ripberger & Carol L. Silva & Deven E. Carlson & Kuhika Gupta & Nina Carlson & Ani Ter-Mkrtchyan & Riley E. Dunlap, 2020. "Partisan asymmetry in temporal stability of climate change beliefs," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(4), pages 322-328, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1038_s41558-020-0719-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-0719-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0719-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41558-020-0719-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Drews, Stefan & Savin, Ivan & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M. & Villamayor-Tomás, Sergio, 2022. "Climate concern and policy acceptance before and after COVID-19," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    2. Wanyun Shao & Hamed Moftakhari & Hamid Moradkhani, 2020. "Comparing public perceptions of sea level rise with scientific projections across five states of the U.S. Gulf Coast region," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 317-335, November.
    3. Tiffany H. Morrison & W. Neil Adger & Arun Agrawal & Katrina Brown & Matthew J. Hornsey & Terry P. Hughes & Meha Jain & Maria Carmen Lemos & Lucy Holmes McHugh & Saffron O’Neill & Derek Berkel, 2022. "Radical interventions for climate-impacted systems," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(12), pages 1100-1106, December.
    4. Johannes Brehm & Henri Gruhl, 2024. "Increase in concerns about climate change following climate strikes and civil disobedience in Germany," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Matthew T. Ballew & Jennifer R. Marlon & Matthew H. Goldberg & Edward W. Maibach & Seth A. Rosenthal & Emily Aiken & Anthony Leiserowitz, 2022. "Changing minds about global warming: vicarious experience predicts self-reported opinion change in the USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 1-25, August.
    6. Dylan Bugden, 2022. "Denial and distrust: explaining the partisan climate gap," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 1-23, February.
    7. Willian Sierra-Barón & Oscar Navarro & Diana Katherine Amézquita Naranjo & Eylyn Daniela Teres Sierra & Carol Marcela Narváez González, 2021. "Beliefs about Climate Change and Their Relationship with Environmental Beliefs and Sustainable Behavior: A View from Rural Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:10:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1038_s41558-020-0719-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.