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An experimental examination of measurement disparities in public climate change beliefs

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  • Matthew Motta

    (University of Pennsylvania
    Yale Law School)

  • Daniel Chapman

    (University of Pennsylvania
    Yale Law School)

  • Dominik Stecula

    (University of Pennsylvania
    Simon Fraser University)

  • Kathryn Haglin

    (University of Pennsylvania
    Yale Law School)

Abstract

The extent to which Americans—especially Republicans—believe in anthropogenic climate change (ACC) has recently been the subject of high profile academic and popular disagreement. We offer a novel framework, and experimental data, for making sense of this debate. Using a large (N = 7,019) and demographically diverse sample of US adults, we compare several widely used methods for measuring belief in ACC. We find that seemingly trivial decisions made when constructing questions can, in some cases, significantly alter the proportion of the American public who appear to believe in human-caused climate change. Critically, we find that some common measurement practices may nearly double estimates of Republicans’ acceptance of human-caused climate change. We conclude by discussing how this work can help improve the consumption of research on climate opinion.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Motta & Daniel Chapman & Dominik Stecula & Kathryn Haglin, 2019. "An experimental examination of measurement disparities in public climate change beliefs," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 37-47, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:154:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02406-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-019-02406-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dan M. Kahan & Ellen Peters & Maggie Wittlin & Paul Slovic & Lisa Larrimore Ouellette & Donald Braman & Gregory Mandel, 2012. "The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(10), pages 732-735, October.
    2. Jonathon P. Schuldt & Peter K. Enns & Victoria Cavaliere, 2017. "Does the label really matter? Evidence that the US public continues to doubt “global warming” more than “climate change”," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 271-280, July.
    3. Peter Groothuis & John Whitehead, 2002. "Does don't know mean no? Analysis of 'don't know' responses in dichotomous choice contingent valuation questions," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(15), pages 1935-1940.
    4. Sander L van der Linden & Anthony A Leiserowitz & Geoffrey D Feinberg & Edward W Maibach, 2015. "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(2), pages 1-8, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Catherine Chen & Bo MacInnis & Matthew Waltman & Jon A. Krosnick, 2021. "Public opinion on climate change in the USA: to what extent can it be nudged by questionnaire design features?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Lee, Nathan & Stecula, Dominik, 2020. "Subnational Bipartisanship on Climate Change: Evidence from Surveys of Local and State Policymakers," OSF Preprints znr52, Center for Open Science.
    3. Shannan K. Sweet & Jonathon P. Schuldt & Johannes Lehmann & Deborah A. Bossio & Dominic Woolf, 2021. "Perceptions of naturalness predict US public support for Soil Carbon Storage as a climate solution," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 1-15, May.
    4. A. M. Valkengoed & G. Perlaviciute & L. Steg, 2022. "Relationships between climate change perceptions and climate adaptation actions: policy support, information seeking, and behaviour," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Dimuthu Ratnadiwakara & Buvaneshwaran Venugopal, 2023. "Climate risk perceptions and demand for flood insurance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 52(2), pages 297-331, June.
    6. Nathan R. Lee & Dominik Stecula, 2021. "Subnational bipartisanship on climate change: evidence from surveys of local and state policymakers," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 1-12, January.

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