Toby Bolsen

Citizens’, Scientists’, and Policy Advisors’ Beliefs about Global Warming:

Numerous factors shape citizens’ beliefs about global warming, but there is very little research that compares the views of the public with key actors in the policymaking process. We analyze data from simultaneous and parallel surveys of (1) the U.S. public, (2) scientists who actively publish research on energy technologies in the United States, and (3) congressional policy advisors and find that beliefs about global warming vary markedly among them. Scientists and policy advisors are more likely than the public to express a belief in the existence and anthropogenic nature of global warming. We also find ideological polarization about global warming in all three groups, although scientists are less polarized than the public and policy advisors over whether global warming is actually occurring. Alarmingly, there is evidence that the ideological divide about global warming gets significantly larger according to respondents’ knowledge about politics, energy, and science.

Doing What Others Do Norms, Science, and Collective Action on Global Warming

Does rhetoric highlighting social norms or mentioning science in a communication affect individuals’ beliefs about global warming and/or willingness to take action? We draw from framing theory and collective-interest models of action to motivate hypotheses that are tested in two large web-based survey-experiments using convenience samples. Our results show that attitudes about global warming, support for policies that would reduce carbon emissions, and behavioral intentions to take voluntary action are strongly affected by norm- and science-based interventions. This has implications for information campaigns targeting voluntary efforts to promote lifestyle changes that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Construction of News: Energy Crises, Advocacy Messages, and Frames toward Conservation

Much of what people learn about politics comes from the mass media. How media outlets construct their reports have direct consequences for what people think about politics. Scholars and pundits have long debated about the factors that shape media choices. Yet there have been few direct investigations into how three major determinants shape political news: world events, advocacy groups, and the government. This article examines the relative impact of these factors by focusing on the construction of news related to energy conservation in the United States. Specifically, it looks at how events, messages crafted by interest groups, and government-sponsored public service announcements (PSAs) affect news frames and attributions of responsibility for the extant energy situation. It finds that events are the most important factor driving news coverage; advocacy groups are second, followed by PSAs. This suggests that news about conservation is driven more by events than messages supplied by agents seeking to influence public discourse. Thus, groups with specific agendas such as government and advocacy organizations can, at least at times, be limited in terms of their capacity to shape news coverage—which has implications for theories of media choice.

Do partisanship and politicization undermine the impact of a scientific consensus message about climate change

Scientists are in near-universal agreement that human activity is a primary cause of climate change. Yet, despite this scientific consensus, the American public remains divided when it comes to beliefs about human-induced climate change. We investigate the role of partisan group identity and the politicization of science in undermining the impact of a scientific consensus message about human-induced climate change. We do so with a survey experiment administered on a nationally representative sample, finding that partisan identity—and especially politicization—can stunt the effect of a scientific consensus statement about climate change. We conclude with a discussion about how scientists, as a group, might work with partisans to more effectively communicate scientific information.

The US News Media, Polarization on Climate Change, and Pathways to Effective Communication

ABSTRACT The news media are a central source of information about climate change for most people. Through frames, media transmit information that shape how people understand climate change as well as the actions they are ultimately willing to support to address the problem. This article reviews the rise of climate change in the US news media and the emergence of related frames in public discourse. In doing so, it traces the roots of partisan divisions over climate change and highlights the role that events, journalistic practices, technological changes, and individual-level factors such as ideological and partisan identity have played in fostering polarization. The article concludes by identifying the core challenges facing communicators who seek to build consensus for action on climate change and highlights the most viable solutions for achieving success.

A Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Approaches to Teaching Introduction to American Government

ABSTRACT This article reports results from a large study comparing four different approaches to teaching Introduction to American Government: (1) traditional, a paper textbook with 100% face-to-face lecture-style teaching; (2) breakout, a paper textbook with 50% face-to-face lecture-style teaching and 50% face-to-face small-group breakout discussion sections moderated by graduate students; (3) blended, an interactive online textbook with face-to-face full-class meetings taught with a blend of lecture, discussions, and in-class activities; and (4) online only, an interactive online textbook with (almost) no face-to-face class meetings. We find that the mode of course delivery is significantly related to student academic engagement and performance as well as civic educational outcomes. Although drop rates were higher in the online only condition, students who successfully completed the online course were significantly more likely to express interest in discussing and participating in politics. Furthermore, students in the online only and blended conditions demonstrated significantly higher levels of objective political knowledge relative to students taking the course in a more traditional format. Finally, students enrolled in sections that assigned the interactive online textbook rated their textbook as significantly more beneficial to their learning experiences than did students who used the traditional paper textbook.

Validating Conspiracy Beliefs and Effectively Communicating Scientific Consensus

AbstractA central challenge to effectively communicating scientific consensus is that people often reject information counter to their prior beliefs. People who believe that human-induced climate change is a hoax, for instance, may dismiss scientific consensus messages that human activity is a primary cause of climate change. We argue that such people can be persuaded, however. We hypothesize that validating an individual’s belief about the existence of conspiracies makes him or her more likely to accept contrary scientific consensus information. We present experimental evidence that such validation leads individuals who previously believed human-induced climate change is a hoax to become more believing in human-induced climate change following exposure to scientific consensus information.

The impact of frames highlighting coastal flooding in the USA on climate change beliefs

There is a pressing need to find ways to communicate information about climate change effectively and in terms that resonate with diverse audiences. We conducted a survey-experiment to evaluate how textual and visual frames that highlight coastal flooding in two major US cities as a result of future sea level rise shape individuals’ perceptions about the effects on coastal communities, concern for these places, and belief in climate change’s existence. We build on extant literature by focusing on the impact of an understudied frame using animated maps that illustrate future flooding that will occur as global temperatures rise. We find that exposure to such messages increases perceptions that sea level rise will have negative impacts on coastal communities, concern for these communities, and belief in climate change.