The
psychology behind climate change denial
Uppsala
University
In the scientific community there is a
strong consensus that humans have significantly affected the climate and that
we are facing serious challenges.
But there is a lot of misinformation about
climate change in circulation, which to a large part is created and distributed
by organised campaigns with the aim of postponing measures that could combat
climate change.
And there are people who are more prone than others to trust
this misinformation.
Previous research has consistently shown
that it is more common among politically conservative individuals to deny
climate change. In her thesis, Kirsti Jylhä has investigated this further and
in more detail. Her studies included ideological and personality variables
which correlate with political ideology, and tested if those variables also
correlate with climate change denial.
The results show that climate change
denial correlates with political orientation, authoritarian attitudes and
endorsement of the status quo.
It also correlates with a tough-minded
personality (low empathy and high dominance), closed-mindedness (low openness
to experience), predisposition to avoid experiencing negative emotions, and
with the male sex. Importantly, one variable, named social dominance
orientation (SDO), helped explain all these correlations, either entirely or
partially.
Social dominance orientation is a measure of the acceptance and advocating of hierarchical and dominant relations between social groups.
This acceptance of hierarchies also extends to accepting
human dominance over nature. The correlation between SDO and climate change
denial can perhaps be explained by considering the many injustices of climate
change.
Our current wealthy lifestyles are the primary cause of climate change,
but the most serious consequences are affecting mainly poor countries and
people, as well as animals and future generations of humans.
According to Kirsti Jylhä, it is
possible that individuals who accept the unequal distribution of the risks and
benefits of climate change, more easily can keep demanding more evidence for
climate change before admitting and addressing it.
The question then is how the issue of
climate change can best be presented to people with a high SDO to convince them
of the need for action.
“The arguments used in the climate
debate often revolve around giving up conveniences in life to help the
environment or the poor or weak. But that is maybe not a convincing argument to
someone who sees the world from a hierarchical viewpoint. It would perhaps be
better to talk in other terms and describe how everyone will benefit from the
measures instead of being affected by the consequences and that the measures
don’t have to be a threat to the current societal structure”, says Kirsti
Jylhä.
For more information, please contact:
Kirsti Jylhä, tel: + 46 18-471 6802, e-mail: Kirsti.Jylha@psyk.uu.se
The thesis Ideological roots of climate change denial: Resistance to
change, acceptance of inequality, or both? includes
the following published papers:
Häkkinen, K., & Akrami, N. (2014).
Ideology and climate change denial. Personality and Individual Differences, 70,
62–65.
Jylhä, K. M., & Akrami, N. (2015).
Social dominance orientation and climate change denial: The role of dominance
and system justification. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 108–111.
Jylhä, K. M., Cantal, C., Akrami, N.,
& Milfont, T. L. (2016). Denial of anthropogenic climate change: Social
dominance orientation helps explain the conservative male effect in Brazil and
Sweden. Personality and Individual differences, 98, 184–187
