Climate change is the world's greatest threat - In Celsius or Fahrenheit?

被引:20
作者
Chan, Eugene Y. [1 ]
机构
[1] Monash Univ, Clayton, Vic, Australia
关键词
Climate change; Numerosity; Goal pursuit; Scientific communication; PROCESSING FLUENCY; SUPPORT; PERCEPTIONS; CHOICE;
D O I
10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.09.002
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
In two experiments, participants who were told that the Earth's average temperature was -24 degrees C thought that it was more important to limit climate change than those who were told that it was-16 degrees C. However, participants who were told that the average temperature was -11 degrees F thought it was less important to reduce the carbon footprint than those who were told that it was 3 degrees F. The findings contradict each other since -24 degrees C is the same as -11 degrees F, and -16 degrees C is the same as 3 degrees F. We draw on research on numerosity and goal-pursuit from behavioral psychology to explain the intriguingly-opposite findings. We measure both the perceived influence of and actual behavior to help fight climate change. Thus, we offer the novel hypothesis that presenting climate change figures in Celsius or Fahrenheit two primary units to communicate temperature-can influence people's belief in or concern regarding climate change.
引用
收藏
页码:21 / 26
页数:6
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