The importance of assessing and communicating scientific consensus

Environmental Research Letters

Volumn 11, Issue 9, 2016, Pages

  Maibach, Edward W ^a   Van Der Linden, Sander L ^b,c  

^a GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE   (United Kingdom)

^c PRINCETON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

gateway belief model; misinformation; scientific consensus; SLAP

Indexed keywords

RECONFIGURABLE HARDWARE;

GROWING BODIES; MISINFORMATION; NOVEL METHODOLOGY; POLITICIZATION OF SCIENCE; PUBLIC DECISION MAKINGS; SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS; SLAP; SOCIETAL ISSUES;

DECISION MAKING;

DECISION MAKING; LOCAL PARTICIPATION; PERCEPTION; PSYCHOLOGY; PUBLIC ATTITUDE; SOCIAL STATUS; THEORETICAL STUDY;

EID: 84992036357     PISSN: 17489318     EISSN: 17489326     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/091003     Document Type: Review

References (22)

1. Anderegg W R L, Prall J W, Harold J and Schneider S H 2010 Expert credibility in climate change Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107 12107-9
2. Bolsen T and Druckman J N 2015 Counteracting the politicization of science J. Commun. 65 745-69
3. Cialdini R, Martin S and Goldstein N 2015 Small behavioral science informed changes can produce large policy relevant effects Behav. Sci. Policy 1 21-7
4. Cook J et al 2016 Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming Environ. Res. Lett. 11 048002
5. Cook J and Jacobs P 2014 Scientists are from Mars, laypeople are from Venus: an evidence-based rationale for communicating the consensus on climate Rep. Natl Center Sci. Educ. 34 1-3
6. DeStefano F and Thompson W W 2004 MMR vaccine and autism: an update of the scientific evidence Expert. Rev. Vaccines 3 19-22
7. Ding D, Maibach E W, Zhao X, Roser-Renouf C and Leiserowitz A 2011 Support for climate policy and societal action are linked to perceptions about scientific agreement Nat. Clim. Chang. 1 462-6
8. Hornsey M J, Harris E A, Bain P G and Fielding K S 2016 Meta-analyses of the determinants and outcomes of belief in climate change Nat. Clim. Chang.
9. Koehler D J 2016 Can journalistic 'false balance' distort public perception of consensus in expert opinion? J. Exp. Psychol.-Appl. 22 24-38
10. Lewandowsky S, Gilles G and Vaughan S 2013 The pivotal role of perceived scientific consensus in acceptance of science Nat. Clim. Change 3 399-404
11. Maibach E 2012 Knowing our options for setting the record straight, when doing so is particularly important Psychol. Sci. Public Interest 13 105
12. Mannes A E, Soll J B and Larrick R P 2014 The wisdom of select crowds J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 107 276-99
13. Mercer A M, Keith D W and Sharp J D 2011 Public understanding of solar radiation management Environ. Res. Lett. 6 044006
14. Myers T A, Maibach E, Peters E and Leiserowitz A 2015 Simple messages help set the record straight about scientific agreement on human-caused climate change: the results of two experiments PloS One 10 e0120985
15. Shearer C, West M, Caldeira K and Davis S J 2016 Quantifying expert consensus against the existence of a secret, large-scale atmospheric spraying program Environ. Res. Lett. 11 084011
16. Surowiecki J 2005 The Wisdom of Crowds (New York: Random House)
17. Taylor B et al 1999 Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association Lancet 353 2026-9
18. Tversky A and Kahneman D 1973 Availability: a heuristic for judging frequency and probability Cogn. Psychol. 5 207-32
19. van der Linden S 2015 The conspiracy-effect: exposure to conspiracy theories (about global warming) decreases pro-social behavior and science acceptance Pers. Individ. Dif. 8 171-73
20. van der Linden S, Leiserowitz A A, Feinberg G D and Maibach E W 2015a The scientific consensus on climate change as a gateway belief: experimental evidence PloS One 10 e0118489
21. van der Linden S L, Clarke C E and Maibach E W 2015b Highlighting consensus among medical scientists increases public support for vaccines: evidence from a randomized experiment BMC Public Health 15 1207
22. van der Linden S L, Leiserowitz A A, Feinberg G D and Maibach E W 2014 How to communicate the scientific consensus on climate change: plain facts, pie charts or metaphors? Clim. Change 126 255-62