Edward Maibach
Biographic Data
| ID | 1322822 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Edward Maibach |
| GIVEN NAMES | Edward |
| FAMILY NAME | Maibach |
| SIGNATURE | MAIBACH E |
| AFFILIATIONS | George Mason University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
A mixed methods evaluation of an online climate change and health certificate program for working professionals
The evaluations demonstrate the overall importance of educational offerings in CCH. Our case study demonstrated that working professionals in public health, allied health professions, and non-health professions express desire, benefit, and appreciation for educational opportunities on this important intersection. They especially valued strong, relevant course content, professional networking and peer-to-peer learning, and acquisition of effective…
Transforming Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine to Address the Climate Crisis
OBJECTIVE: The climate crisis poses the largest threat to human health and survival and has been a public health emergency for many years. It is causing harmful consequences for physical and mental health and is amplifying existing health inequities. In this call to action, we highlight the relevance of the health psychology and behavioral medicine communities in addressing the health impacts of climate change. METHOD: We identify mitigation and …
The “Think-and-do Tank” Model
Since its founding in 2007, the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication has pursued an approach to climate science communication that we call a “think-and-do tank” model. The “thinking” element involves strategic communication research intended to illuminate strategies to improve public engagement with climate change that, if applied at scale, will cultivate public and political will for climate solutions. The “doing” elem…
Americans’ support for climate justice
Race/Ethnicity and Climate Change Reporting
In light of the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, there is merit in seeking to understand any differences in climate change beliefs and reporting behaviors for news professionals of non-White ethnicities. Unsurprisingly, considering the greater environmental hazards that many minority communities contend with, there is a racial gap in environmental concern in the United States. This disparity in concern exten…
Exposure to Scientific Consensus Does Not Cause Psychological Reactance
In a recent article, Ma, Dixon, and Hmielowski (2019. Psychological Reactance from Reading Basic Facts on Climate Change: The Role of Prior Views and Political Identification. Environmental Communication, 13(1), 71–86) explore whether scientific consensus messages activate psychological reactance. They find no main effect of the consensus message on psychological reactance, but a subsequent moderation analysis appears to show reactance among audi…
Hot dry days increase perceived experience with global warming
Broadcast Meteorologists’ Views on Climate Change
Broadcast meteorologists—highly skilled professionals who work at the intersection between climate scientists and the public—have considerable opportunity to educate their viewers about the local impacts of global climate change. Prior research has shown that, within the broadcast meteorology community, views of climate change have evolved rapidly over the past decade. Here, using data from three census surveys of U.S. broadcast meteorologists co…
Climate Silence on the Web Sites of US Health Departments
Climate Silence on the Web Sites of US Health Departments Edward Maibach PhD, MPH, Howard Frumkin MD, DrPH, and Connie Roser-Renouf PhD Affiliation Edward Maibach and Connie Roser-Renouf are with the Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Howard Frumkin is with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle.CopyRightCorrespondence …
Discussing global warming leads to greater acceptance of climate science
Climate change is an urgent global issue, with demands for personal, collective, and governmental action. Although a large body of research has investigated the influence of communication on public engagement with climate change, few studies have investigated the role of interpersonal discussion. Here we use panel data with 2 time points to investigate the role of climate conversations in shaping beliefs and feelings about global warming. We find…
Local TV News Viewer Reactions to Weathercasters Reporting the Local Impacts of Climate Change
Most Americans misperceive climate change as distant risk; TV weathercasters can help correct this misperception by reporting on the current local impacts of climate change. Some weathercasters, however, are concerned that such reporting may alienate skeptical viewers. The goal of this study was to develop a better understanding of how viewers respond to climate change information delivered by weathercasters. Interviews were conducted with 30 loc…
Perceived Collective Efficacy and Trust in Government Influence Public Engagement with Climate Change-Related Water Conservation Policies
Water insecurity, induced or intensified due to climate change, has emerged as a key policy challenge in poor and developing countries such as India. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this paper examines the role of perceived collective efficacy—people's shared beliefs about their group's capabilities to accomplish collective tasks—and trust in government as factors influencing Indians' engagement with government water conservation policies. Us…
Fossil fuels are harming our brains
To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess how people respond to information about the neurological health harms of air pollution from fossil fuels. While efforts to communicate the cardio-pulmonary health harms of air pollution are well established, our study suggests that efforts should now be organized to communicate the neurological effects of air pollution from fossil fuels, especially the neuro-developmental effects on babies and c…
Attributes of Weathercasters Who Engage in Climate Change Education Outreach
This research explores the role of weathercasters as local climate change educators and identifies attributes of those who present climate science to their viewers. In 2015, the authors attempted to survey all television weathercasters currently working in the United States (n = 2128); 478 participated, yielding a 22.5% participation rate. Using logistic regression to identify attributes of weathercasters who report on climate change on-air, it w…
Global Warming’s “Six Americas Short Survey”
Audience segmentation has long been used in marketing, public health, and communication, and is now becoming an important tool in the environmental domain as well. Global Warming's Six Americas is a well-established segmentation of Americans based on their climate change beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. The original Six Americas model requires a 36 question-screener and although there is increasing interest in using these segments to guide educ…
A framework for climate change engagement through video games
Video games have the potential to educate and engage people—especially young people—in climate change and energy issues by facilitating the development of helpful thoughts, feelings, and actions. The objective of the present article is to propose a set of game attributes that could maximise the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement of players, and lay the foundations for future work. We have used semi-structured interviews with experts…
Predictors of trust in the general science and climate science research of US federal agencies
In this article, we focus on a key strategic objective of scientific organizations: maintaining the trust of the public. Using data from a nationally representative survey of American adults ( n = 1510), we assess the extent to which demographic factors and political ideology are associated with citizens’ trust in general science and climate science research conducted by US federal agencies. Finally, we test whether priming individuals to first c…
Scientific agreement can neutralize politicization of facts
The Role of Collective Efficacy in Climate Change Adaptation in India
Research on adaptive capacity often focuses on economics and technology, despite evidence from the social sciences finding that socially shared beliefs, norms, and networks are critical in increasing individuals’ and communities’ adaptive capacity. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this paper builds on the first author’s Ph.D. dissertation and examines the role of collective efficacy—people’s shared beliefs about their group’s capabilities to…
The effect of industry activities on public support for 'fracking
Research suggests that previous, current, and prospective extractive industry activities influence perceptions of new development. Studies that have drawn this conclusion, however, have usually focused on specific projects in specific communities. Here, these factors are examined on an aggregate, national scale. Combining geospatial data on extractive industry activities and survey data from a nationally representative sample (N = 1061), the infl…
Improving Public Engagement With Climate Change
Despite being one of the most important societal challenges of the 21st century, public engagement with climate change currently remains low in the United States. Mounting evidence from across the behavioral sciences has found that most people regard climate change as a nonurgent and psychologically distant risk-spatially, temporally, and socially-which has led to deferred public decision making about mitigation and adaptation responses. In this …
Extending the Impacts of Hostile Media Perceptions
Researchers recently have begun to examine how hostile media perceptions may promote discursive activities aimed at correcting the media’s perceived negative influence. We use nationally representative survey data to test a moderated-mediation model that finds that hostile media perceptions significantly affect support for climate mitigation policies through the mediator of discussion and that the link between discussion and policy support is mod…
An attack on science? Media use, trust in scientists, and perceptions of global warming
There is a growing divide in how conservatives and liberals in the USA understand the issue of global warming. Prior research suggests that the American public's reliance on partisan media contributes to this gap. However, researchers have yet to identify intervening variables to explain the relationship between media use and public opinion about global warming. Several studies have shown that trust in scientists is an important heuristic many pe…
Framing Peak Petroleum as a Public Health Problem
Between December 2009 and January 2010, we conducted a nationally representative telephone survey of US adults (n = 1001; completion rate = 52.9%) to explore perceptions of risks associated with peak petroleum. We asked respondents to assess the likelihood that oil prices would triple over the next 5 years and then to estimate the economic and health consequences of that event. Nearly half (48%) indicated that oil prices were likely to triple, ca…
No More “Business as Usual”
Hot dry days increase perceived experience with global warming
The effect of industry activities on public support for 'fracking
Research suggests that previous, current, and prospective extractive industry activities influence perceptions of new development. Studies that have drawn this conclusion, however, have usually focused on specific projects in specific communities. Here, these factors are examined on an aggregate, national scale. Combining geospatial data on extractive industry activities and survey data from a nationally representative sample (N = 1061), the infl…
Scientific agreement can neutralize politicization of facts
A framework for climate change engagement through video games
Video games have the potential to educate and engage people—especially young people—in climate change and energy issues by facilitating the development of helpful thoughts, feelings, and actions. The objective of the present article is to propose a set of game attributes that could maximise the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement of players, and lay the foundations for future work. We have used semi-structured interviews with experts…
Extending the Impacts of Hostile Media Perceptions
Researchers recently have begun to examine how hostile media perceptions may promote discursive activities aimed at correcting the media’s perceived negative influence. We use nationally representative survey data to test a moderated-mediation model that finds that hostile media perceptions significantly affect support for climate mitigation policies through the mediator of discussion and that the link between discussion and policy support is mod…
No More “Business as Usual”
Negative and Positive Television Messages
Framing Peak Petroleum as a Public Health Problem
Between December 2009 and January 2010, we conducted a nationally representative telephone survey of US adults (n = 1001; completion rate = 52.9%) to explore perceptions of risks associated with peak petroleum. We asked respondents to assess the likelihood that oil prices would triple over the next 5 years and then to estimate the economic and health consequences of that event. Nearly half (48%) indicated that oil prices were likely to triple, ca…
Negative and Positive Television Messages
Social marketing for the environment
This paper proposes social marketing as one approach for developing solutions to many environmental problems currently facing the global community. The social marketing approach applies generic marketing and marketing research strategies to the promotion of social programs or products (e.g., programs or products that benefit society). Diverse literatures have been synthesized to develop a set of guiding principles for pro-social communication The…
Competencies for the Health Communication Specialist of the 21st Century
This article reports the results of an expert working group convened to define competencies required to function effectively as a health communication specialist. Participants were surveyed before the working group meeting on a range of issues related to training master's-level public health communication specialists. Survey responses were used to initiate the discussion at a subsequent two-day working group meeting. Survey and working group resu…
Why Americans Eat What They Do
Social Cognitive Predictors of Sexual Risk Behavior Change Among STD Clinic Patients
No More “Business as Usual”
Framing Peak Petroleum as a Public Health Problem
Between December 2009 and January 2010, we conducted a nationally representative telephone survey of US adults (n = 1001; completion rate = 52.9%) to explore perceptions of risks associated with peak petroleum. We asked respondents to assess the likelihood that oil prices would triple over the next 5 years and then to estimate the economic and health consequences of that event. Nearly half (48%) indicated that oil prices were likely to triple, ca…
An attack on science? Media use, trust in scientists, and perceptions of global warming
There is a growing divide in how conservatives and liberals in the USA understand the issue of global warming. Prior research suggests that the American public's reliance on partisan media contributes to this gap. However, researchers have yet to identify intervening variables to explain the relationship between media use and public opinion about global warming. Several studies have shown that trust in scientists is an important heuristic many pe…
Improving Public Engagement With Climate Change
Despite being one of the most important societal challenges of the 21st century, public engagement with climate change currently remains low in the United States. Mounting evidence from across the behavioral sciences has found that most people regard climate change as a nonurgent and psychologically distant risk-spatially, temporally, and socially-which has led to deferred public decision making about mitigation and adaptation responses. In this …
Extending the Impacts of Hostile Media Perceptions
Researchers recently have begun to examine how hostile media perceptions may promote discursive activities aimed at correcting the media’s perceived negative influence. We use nationally representative survey data to test a moderated-mediation model that finds that hostile media perceptions significantly affect support for climate mitigation policies through the mediator of discussion and that the link between discussion and policy support is mod…
The Role of Collective Efficacy in Climate Change Adaptation in India
Research on adaptive capacity often focuses on economics and technology, despite evidence from the social sciences finding that socially shared beliefs, norms, and networks are critical in increasing individuals’ and communities’ adaptive capacity. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this paper builds on the first author’s Ph.D. dissertation and examines the role of collective efficacy—people’s shared beliefs about their group’s capabilities to…
The effect of industry activities on public support for 'fracking
Research suggests that previous, current, and prospective extractive industry activities influence perceptions of new development. Studies that have drawn this conclusion, however, have usually focused on specific projects in specific communities. Here, these factors are examined on an aggregate, national scale. Combining geospatial data on extractive industry activities and survey data from a nationally representative sample (N = 1061), the infl…
Predictors of trust in the general science and climate science research of US federal agencies
In this article, we focus on a key strategic objective of scientific organizations: maintaining the trust of the public. Using data from a nationally representative survey of American adults ( n = 1510), we assess the extent to which demographic factors and political ideology are associated with citizens’ trust in general science and climate science research conducted by US federal agencies. Finally, we test whether priming individuals to first c…
Scientific agreement can neutralize politicization of facts
Attributes of Weathercasters Who Engage in Climate Change Education Outreach
This research explores the role of weathercasters as local climate change educators and identifies attributes of those who present climate science to their viewers. In 2015, the authors attempted to survey all television weathercasters currently working in the United States (n = 2128); 478 participated, yielding a 22.5% participation rate. Using logistic regression to identify attributes of weathercasters who report on climate change on-air, it w…
Global Warming’s “Six Americas Short Survey”
Audience segmentation has long been used in marketing, public health, and communication, and is now becoming an important tool in the environmental domain as well. Global Warming's Six Americas is a well-established segmentation of Americans based on their climate change beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. The original Six Americas model requires a 36 question-screener and although there is increasing interest in using these segments to guide educ…
A framework for climate change engagement through video games
Video games have the potential to educate and engage people—especially young people—in climate change and energy issues by facilitating the development of helpful thoughts, feelings, and actions. The objective of the present article is to propose a set of game attributes that could maximise the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement of players, and lay the foundations for future work. We have used semi-structured interviews with experts…
Discussing global warming leads to greater acceptance of climate science
Climate change is an urgent global issue, with demands for personal, collective, and governmental action. Although a large body of research has investigated the influence of communication on public engagement with climate change, few studies have investigated the role of interpersonal discussion. Here we use panel data with 2 time points to investigate the role of climate conversations in shaping beliefs and feelings about global warming. We find…
Local TV News Viewer Reactions to Weathercasters Reporting the Local Impacts of Climate Change
Most Americans misperceive climate change as distant risk; TV weathercasters can help correct this misperception by reporting on the current local impacts of climate change. Some weathercasters, however, are concerned that such reporting may alienate skeptical viewers. The goal of this study was to develop a better understanding of how viewers respond to climate change information delivered by weathercasters. Interviews were conducted with 30 loc…
Perceived Collective Efficacy and Trust in Government Influence Public Engagement with Climate Change-Related Water Conservation Policies
Water insecurity, induced or intensified due to climate change, has emerged as a key policy challenge in poor and developing countries such as India. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this paper examines the role of perceived collective efficacy—people's shared beliefs about their group's capabilities to accomplish collective tasks—and trust in government as factors influencing Indians' engagement with government water conservation policies. Us…
Fossil fuels are harming our brains
To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess how people respond to information about the neurological health harms of air pollution from fossil fuels. While efforts to communicate the cardio-pulmonary health harms of air pollution are well established, our study suggests that efforts should now be organized to communicate the neurological effects of air pollution from fossil fuels, especially the neuro-developmental effects on babies and c…
Broadcast Meteorologists’ Views on Climate Change
Broadcast meteorologists—highly skilled professionals who work at the intersection between climate scientists and the public—have considerable opportunity to educate their viewers about the local impacts of global climate change. Prior research has shown that, within the broadcast meteorology community, views of climate change have evolved rapidly over the past decade. Here, using data from three census surveys of U.S. broadcast meteorologists co…
Climate Silence on the Web Sites of US Health Departments
Climate Silence on the Web Sites of US Health Departments Edward Maibach PhD, MPH, Howard Frumkin MD, DrPH, and Connie Roser-Renouf PhD Affiliation Edward Maibach and Connie Roser-Renouf are with the Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Howard Frumkin is with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle.CopyRightCorrespondence …
Hot dry days increase perceived experience with global warming
Race/Ethnicity and Climate Change Reporting
In light of the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, there is merit in seeking to understand any differences in climate change beliefs and reporting behaviors for news professionals of non-White ethnicities. Unsurprisingly, considering the greater environmental hazards that many minority communities contend with, there is a racial gap in environmental concern in the United States. This disparity in concern exten…
Political science (24 works) · Psychology (23 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (22 works) · Environmental Education and Sustainability (16 works) · Climate change (15 works) · Public relations (13 works) · Social Psychology (11 works) · Medicine (9 works) · Business (8 works) · Ecology (8 works)