Values, Worldviews and Communication Challenges

@MCNisbet

Deficit Model Assumptions

@MCNisbet

If the public knew more about the technical side of

science, then the public would view issues as scientists

do, and there would be fewer controversies.

Need to return to a point in the past where science was

respected and citizens were informed.

Emphasis is on improving science literacy through formal

education and science media.

1957: Is the Past That Different from Today?

Perception is Context Dependent

@MCNisbetNational Science Board (2008). Chapter 7: Public Attitudes about Science and Technology. Science & Engineering Indicators.

The Deficit vs. Public Engagement Model

@MCNisbetGroffman, P. Stylinski, C., Nisbet, M.C. et al. (2010). Restarting the Conversation: Challenges at the Interface of Science and Society.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8, 284-291.

Viewing the Public In Binary Terms

@MCNisbetSee analysis at the Vote View blog by political scientists Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal, updated from McCarthy, Nolan,

Keith T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal. Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches. Boston, MA: MIT

Press, 2006.

Elite Cues, Heuristics and a Miserly Public

@MCNisbetSee analysis at the Vote View blog by political scientists Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal, updated from McCarthy, Nolan,

Keith T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal. Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches. Boston, MA: MIT

Press, 2006.

The Economy and Our Limited Pool of Worry

@MCNisbetNisbet, 2011; Scruggs & Benegal, 2012; Brulle et al, 2012

Climate Change as Cultural Debate:

Group, Policy and Technological Context

@MCNisbet

Climate change

Gun control

Abortion

HPV vaccine

Stem cell research

Nuclear energy

Natural gas fracking

Food biotechnology

Institutionalization of

the mentally ill

Legality of drugs

Kahan, D. (forthcoming). Cultural Cognition as a Conception of the Cultural Theory of Risk, in Handbook of Risk Theory: Epistemology, Decision

Theory, Ethics and Social Implications of Risk 725-760 (eds. Hillerbrand, R., Sandin, P., Roeser, S. & Peterson, M.) (Springer London, Limited, 2012).

Climate Change as Cultural Debate:

More Information Increases Polarization

@MCNisbetKahan, D. et al. (2012). The Polarizing Impact of Perceived Climate Change Literacy and Numeracy on Perceived Climate Change Risks. Nature

Climate Change.

Climate Change as Cultural Debate:

Telling Stories about Wicked Problems

@MCNisbet

o The more complex a problem like

climate change, the more equally

plausible discourses and

narratives exist about what should

be done.

o Climate change serves as an

opportunity for different groups to

mobilize on behalf of their values,

goals and vision for society.

o By analyzing discourses “we can at

least recognize that the sources of

our enduring disagreements…lie

within us, in our values and in our

sense of identity and purpose.”

Scientists & Environmentalists as Cultural Tribe

@MCNisbet

The Public as Distinct Interpretative Communities

@MCNisbet

The Public as Distinct Interpretative Communities

@MCNisbet

Kahneman, D. (2003) In T. Frängsmyr (Ed.), Les Prix Nobel: The Nobel

Prizes 2002 (pp. 449-489). Stockholm, Sweden: Nobel Foundation.

3. Judgments and Decisions Are Context Dependent

Kahneman, D. (2003) In T. Frängsmyr (Ed.), Les Prix Nobel: The Nobel Prizes

2002 (pp. 449-489). Stockholm, Sweden: Nobel Foundation.

3. Judgments and Decisions Are Context Dependent

Energy Resilience in an Era of Abrupt Climate Change?

@MCNisbetNisbet, Maibach, & Leiserowitz (2011). American Journal of Public Health.

Stage 1: In-Depth Interviews w/ 70 Subjects from

Six Distinct Audience Segments (Summer 2009)Maibach, E., Nisbet, M.C. et al. (2010). BMC Public Health 10: 299.

Segments 4-6:

Sentence Specific Reaction To Public Health Essay

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 B1 B2 B3 B4 C1 C2

DISENGAGED DOUBTFUL

DISMISSIVE POPULATION

Scores reflect respondent average values by segment for the difference between the number of times

each of 18 sentences were marked “especially clear or helpful” and “especially confusing or

unhelpful.”

Myers, T., Nisbet, M.C., Maibach, E.W., & Leiserowitz, A. (2012). A Public Health Frame

Arouses Hopeful Emotions about Climate Change. Climatic Change Research Letters,

1105-1121.

Stage 2: Testing Environmental, National Security Frames

vs.

Public Health Frame