Matthew HornseyKelly FieldingEmily Harris

University of Queensland

Despite being more educated and information-rich than ever, society holds some stubbornly anti-science views.

climate change is happening and is being caused by human activity

56%

we are just witnessing a

normal fluctuation in the earth's

climate32%

don't know12%

Poll of Australians Nov 2015

Explication …If we just explain the evidence more, or more simply, or more convincingly, then people would agree (the “deficit model”)

� No reliable relationship between understanding evolutionary theory and accepting it as true

� No evidence that giving people corrective information about the myths around vaccination changes the minds of anti-vaxxers.

� Exposure to arguments often leads to attitude polarization … people become more extreme in the direction of their pre-existing attitude

People don’t act like cognitive scientists, carefully weighing up evidence. They behave more like cognitive lawyers, focusing on only one side of the argument in an effort to defend their pre-existing worldview.

So if people are motivated to reject the science, then repeating the science won’t help.

People don’t act like cognitive scientists, carefully weighing up evidence. They behave more like cognitive lawyers, focusing on only one side of the argument in an effort to defend their pre-existing worldview.

So if people are motivated to reject the science, then repeating the science won’t help.

But why would people be motivated to reject science?

Ideologies

Conspiratorial ideation

Vested interest

Social identities

Personal identity expression

Anxieties/phobias

I don’t believe in climate change

Attitude roots

Vaccines are toxicMy future is in the stars

Surface attitudes

GM food is wrong

Humans were created in their present form

Hornsey & Fielding, 2017, American

Psychologist

People who believe in the free-market – or who are comfortable with the idea of society being split into “haves” and “have-nots” – might resist scientific messages that imply government intervention or costs to big business (e.g., climate change)

0.117

0.182

0.052

-0.296

0.258

0.275

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35

Education

Knowledge

Extreme weather experience

Free market ideology

Egalitarianism

Communitarianism

Correlation with belief in climate change

Hornsey, Harris, Bain & Fielding, 2016, Nature Climate Change

0.029

0.032

0.057

0.117

0.125

0.149

0.301

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35

sex

race

income

education

age

political ideology

political affiliation

Correlation with belief in climate change

Hornsey, Harris, Bain & Fielding, 2016, Nature Climate Change

Those who intend to vote conservative are more skeptical

Those with more conservative ideology more skeptical

−0.4 0 0.2 0.6Left−Right

USAUKNew ZealandIrelandCanadaAustraliaSwedenSpainSouth KoreaSouth AfricaSingaporePortugalPolandPhilippinesMexicoJapanIndonesiaIndiaHong KongGermanyFranceChinaChileBrazilArgentina

0.44 [ 0.30, 0.57] 0.08 [−0.08, 0.25] 0.13 [−0.03, 0.28] 0.10 [−0.06, 0.25] 0.16 [ 0.01, 0.32] 0.30 [ 0.15, 0.45]

0.10 [−0.05, 0.25] 0.13 [−0.02, 0.29]−0.00 [−0.17, 0.16] 0.07 [−0.09, 0.23] 0.22 [ 0.07, 0.37]

0.08 [−0.07, 0.23] 0.16 [ 0.00, 0.32]

0.03 [−0.13, 0.19] 0.13 [−0.02, 0.28] 0.20 [ 0.05, 0.35] 0.18 [ 0.02, 0.34]

−0.20 [−0.37, −0.04]−0.06 [−0.23, 0.10]−0.04 [−0.21, 0.13] 0.01 [−0.15, 0.17]−0.02 [−0.18, 0.15]−0.08 [−0.24, 0.08] 0.08 [−0.08, 0.25] 0.06 [−0.10, 0.22]

0.09 [ 0.04, 0.15]

The further the bar is to the right, the stronger the relationship between political conservatism and climate scepticism …

Some people come to believe that it is possible for vast networks of people to execute sinister plots in near-perfect secrecy. Over time, these beliefs can consolidate into a unitary “conspiracist” worldview.

Was already deadStill alive

Wood, Douglas & Sutton, 2012, SPPS

Was already deadStill alive

.24**

Wood, Douglas & Sutton, 2012, SPPS

0.1660.449

0.2550.536

0.1650.196

0.3030.489

0.2930.387

0.3280.278

0.2440.17

0.4140.3160.3170.3210.326

0.3890.338

0.2340.353

0.4430.419

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

ARGENTINAAUSTRALIA

BRAZILCANADA

CHILECHINA

FRANCEGERMANY

HONG KONGINDIA

INDONESIAIRELAND

JAPANMEXICO

NEW ZEALANDPHILIPPINES

POLANDPORTUGAL

SINGAPORESOUTH AFRICASOUTH KOREA

SPAINSWEDEN

UKUSA

Correlation between conspiratorial beliefs and anti-vaxx attitudes

Hornsey, Harris, & Fielding 2018,

Health Psychology

-0.0150.127

0.2130.214

0.0240.138

0.2270.32

0.2320.264

0.0320.293

0.189-0.016

0.2980.154

0.2030.116

0.2060.142

0.2480.112

0.2040.196

0.279

-0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35

ARGENTINAAUSTRALIA

BRAZILCANADA

CHILECHINA

FRANCEGERMANY

HONG KONGINDIA

INDONESIAIRELAND

JAPANMEXICO

NEW ZEALANDPHILIPPINES

POLANDPORTUGAL

SINGAPORESOUTH AFRICASOUTH KOREA

SPAINSWEDEN

UKUSA

Correlation between conspiratorial beliefs and anti-nanotechnology attitudes

People who want to hide from the world that they have an excessive fear of needles and blood – or an excessive fear of contamination - may be tempted to unify and legitimize those fears within a philosophy that rejects the validity of technomedical interventions.

0.1560.363

0.3850.304

0.140.153

0.0640.265

0.110.33

0.2990.18

0.1090.182

0.2570.096

0.1950.203

0.1040.244

0.2350.042

0.2050.328

0.283

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45

ARGENTINAAUSTRALIA

BRAZILCANADA

CHILECHINA

FRANCEGERMANY

HONG KONGINDIA

INDONESIAIRELAND

JAPANMEXICO

NEW ZEALANDPHILIPPINES

POLANDPORTUGAL

SINGAPORESOUTH AFRICASOUTH KOREA

SPAINSWEDEN

UKUSA

Correlation between blood / needle disgust and anti-vaxx attitudes

In the world of motivated reasoning, argumentation about evidence is a pointless charade; analogous to shadow-boxing.

“Each contestant lands heavy blows to the opponent’s shadow, then wonders why she doesn’t fall down” (Haidt, 2001)

Jiu jitsu persuasion

Rather than taking on people’s surface attitudes directly, the goal of jiu jitsu persuasion is to identify the underlyingmotivation, and then to tailor the message so that it aligns with that motivation. For example, rather than trying to directly combat an attitude that’s based on core values and ideologies, the goal would be to yield to those values and to use them to capture attention and trigger change.

* Belief in climate science rebounds among conservatives if they’re led to believe that global warming can be remedied by solutions that are free-market friendly (Campbell & Kay, 2014, JPSP)

* Climate sceptics are more likely to engage in pro-environmental intentions when the co-benefits of mitigation for promoting green technologies are emphasised (Bain, Hornsey, Bongiorno & Jeffries, 2012, Nature Climate Change)

* A message that framed pro-environmental action as patriotic and system-preserving increased pro-environmental intentions among conservatives (Feygina, Jost & Goldsmith, PSPB, 2010)

Ideologies

Conspiratorial ideation

Vested interest

Social identities

Personal identity expression

Anxieties/phobias

I don’t believe in climate change

Attitude roots

Vaccines are toxicMy future is in the stars

Surface attitudes

GM food is wrong

Humans were created in their present form

Hornsey & Fielding, 2017, American

Psychologist

Humans evolved with God guiding

31%

God created humans in

present form42%

Humans evolved but God had no

part in the process

19%

No opinion8%

Gallup poll Americans 2014

41

37

32

31

26

25

21

21

19

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

ESP

houses can be haunted

ghosts

telepathy

clairvoyance

astrology

talking to the dead

witches

humans evolved without help from God

% believe in … Gallup polls of Americans