Increasing Influence of Party Identification on Perceived Scientific Agreement and Support for Government Action on Climate Change in the United States, 2006–12

Bibliographic Data

ID22331986
AuthorsAaron M Mccright (0000-0001-6251-5251, Michigan State University), Riley E Dunlap (0000-0002-7047-3757, Oklahoma State University), Chenyang Xiao (0000-0002-5946-0584, American University)
Year2014
Volume6
Issue2
Pages194-201
Publication date2014-04-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWeather, Climate, and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1948-8327 • E-ISSN: 1948-8335
PublisherAmerican Meteorological Society (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1175/wcas-d-13-00058.1
OpenAlexW1963565386
LanguageEN
Citations received54
References cited23

Since the mid-2000s, U.S. conservative leaders and Republican politicians have stepped up efforts to challenge the reality and seriousness of anthropogenic climate change (ACC). Especially with the rise of the Tea Party in 2009, ACC denial has become something of a litmus test for Republican politicians to prove their conservative bona fides. Two recent studies find that misperception of scientific agreement on ACC is associated with lower levels of support for government action to deal with ACC. Using nationally representative survey data from 2006 and 2012, the analytical model developed in those two studies was applied to investigate whether the effect of political orientation on perceived scientific agreement and support for government action to reduce emissions has increased since the heightened ACC denial by Republican politicians beginning in 2009. The results indicated that political ideology and party identification are moderately strong predictors of perceived scientific agreement; beliefs about the timing, human cause, seriousness, and threat of global warming; and support for government action in both 2006 and 2012. Further, as expected, the effect of party identification on perceived scientific agreement and support for government action increased from 2006 and 2012, evidence that rank-and-file Republicans in the general public are more strongly embracing the ACC denial espoused by Republican politicians in recent years. Such increased partisanship poses a formidable barrier to public understanding of ACC

Denial · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Seriousness · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Law · Psychology · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy · Social Psychology

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