12 Vetted Ways, Using Good Information, to Upgrade Folks’ Global Warming Beliefs with No Polarization

INVITATION TO A LECTURE

titled:

12 Vetted Ways, Using Good Information, to Upgrade Folks’ Global Warming Beliefs with No Polarization

Michael Andrew Ranney, University of California, Berkeley

The lecture will take place on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 13:00 in lecture hall 026 on the ground floor (Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana).

It will also be possible to attend remotely via Zoom:
https://uni-lj-si.zoom.us/j/91308875601

Please kindly confirm your attendance here by May 26.

Abstract:  Some folks (and even some researchers) mistakenly think that people generally won’t change their minds when facing crucial evidence. (Relatedly, some folks falsely think that “People will continue to believe only what they want to.”) In contrast, our experiments show that a dozen different brief (under-five-minute) “hunks” of scientific information boost acceptance that human-caused global warming is occurring and concerning (e.g., Ranney & Velautham, 2021)––reducing denial among both conservatives and liberals (i.e., without polarization). Some of the best materials involve videos, temperature (vs. stock-market) graphs, climate statistics (even mixed with misleading statistics), and texts explaining either global warming’s physical-chemical mechanism or why climatologists deserve trust (e.g., Ranney & Clark, 2016). (Our public-outreach site, HowGlobalWarmingWorks.org, offers such examples.) Other good materials involve sea-level rise, climate change’s effects, supra-nationalistic statistics, CO₂’s cognitive harms, and ways to boost hope re: climate change. Our convincing information (maybe even Ranney’s 13-word haiku) plausibly improves political decisions.

Yours sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Gregor Torkar Head of the UNESCO Chair.