Depolarizing climate change communication: A simulation-based experience shifts climate change beliefs and worldview among people who value individualism and social hierarchy

Abstract:

Cultural cognition is an important driver of climate change beliefs, affect, and intent to act. People who hold an individualistic-hierarchical worldview value individual freedom, competition, and clearly defined social hierarchies. In contrast, communitarian-egalitarians value interdependence and equal status across gender, age, heritage, ethnicity, etc.. In the US, individualistic-hierarchs tend to have lower risk perception and intent to act on climate change than communitarian-egalitarians. These beliefs are often firmly entrenched because people rely on them to define their social identity. They can therefore form a powerful barrier to learning about climate change. Recent research indicates that simulation-based experiences, such as the World Climate simulation, enable people to learn for themselves and may help overcome this barrier. World Climate is a socially rich and scientifically rigorous simulation, combining role-play with a computer simulation that gives participants immediate feedback on the expected climate impacts of their own decisions. We used a general linear mixed model approach to analyze interactions between participants' worldview and gains in climate change knowledge, affect, and intent pre- and post-World Climate. Survey responses from >1000 participants in the US were analyzed. As expected, an individualist-hierarchical worldview was associated with a lower sense of urgency, knowledge, and intent, and higher hope. However, participants who began the simulation with an individualist-hierarchical worldview made significant gains across all constructs and made substantially greater gains in urgency than communitarian-egalitarians. Participants’ worldviews also shifted from pre- to post-simulation: those with individualistic-hierarchical values before the simulation showed a statistically significant and substantial shift toward a communitarian-egalitarian worldview. These results indicate that World Climate may help reduce polarization and foster productive science-based conversations about climate change.