Grigoryev, Dmitry S

Gallyamova A., Komyaginskaya E., Vasyunina A., Grigoryev D.

This study investigates the links between life history strategy (LHS), IQ, and individualism/collectivism (IND/COL) across Russian regions. It is the first to examine regional differences in LHS, illustrating how biological trade-offs are linked to cultural values within a country and separately considering the role of cognitive abilities in this relationship. We hypothesize that cultural differences between regions can be understood through human behavioral ecology, specifically the trade-offs associated with LHS. Data from 83 Russian regions were used to create indices for slow LHS (sLHS) and IND/COL. The sLHS index included indicators like teenage fertility rates, rates of third or higher births, average height, educational attainment, and interest in human sexual behavior (using Google Trends data). The IND/COL index was constructed from indicators like the proportion of multigenerational and single-person households, divorce rates, and search data indicating ingroup identity expression. Regional IQ scores were derived from a large-scale online test administered to over 230.000 individuals across these regions. Our findings reveal strong positive correlations between sLHS, IQ, and IND/COL across Russian regions. Mediation analysis suggests that IQ likely fully mediates the relationship between sLHS and IND/COL. Geographical analysis showed clear patterns of spatial clustering, with gradients linked to latitude and altitude. Additionally, five latent regional profiles emerged from the data, indicating distinct patterns among the regions. These results, while acknowledging certain limitations, underscore the importance of LHS in understanding regional cultural differences. They also point to the need for Russian social policies to adapt to the unique characteristics of each region.

Gallyamova A., Grigoryev D.

Adu P., Grigoryev D., Adzovie R.H., Mbinta J., Jarvis G.E., Jurcik T.

Aunger R., Gallyamova A., Grigoryev D.

Cologna V., Mede N.G., Berger S., Besley J., Brick C., Joubert M., Maibach E.W., Mihelj S., Oreskes N., Schäfer M.S., van der Linden S., Abdul Aziz N.I., Abdulsalam S., Shamsi N.A., Aczel B., et. al.

Abstract Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

Mede N.G., Cologna V., Berger S., Besley J., Brick C., Joubert M., Maibach E.W., Mihelj S., Oreskes N., Schäfer M.S., van der Linden S., Abdul Aziz N.I., Abdulsalam S., Shamsi N.A., Aczel B., et. al.

Abstract Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries. The data were collected between November 2022 and August 2023 as part of the global Many Labs study “Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism” (TISP). The questionnaire contained comprehensive measures for individuals’ trust in scientists, science-related populist attitudes, perceptions of the role of science in society, science media use and communication behaviour, attitudes to climate change and support for environmental policies, personality traits, political and religious views and demographic characteristics. Here, we describe the dataset, survey materials and psychometric properties of key variables. We encourage researchers to use this unique dataset for global comparative analyses on public perceptions of science and its role in society and policy-making.

Eastwick P.W., Sparks J., Finkel E.J., Meza E.M., Adamkovič M., Adu P., Ai T., Akintola A.A., Al-Shawaf L., Apriliawati D., Arriaga P., Aubert-Teillaud B., Baník G., Barzykowski K., Batres C., et. al.

Ideal partner preferences (i.e., ratings of the desirability of attributes like attractiveness or intelligence) are the source of numerous foundational findings in the interdisciplinary literature on human mating. Recently, research on the predictive validity of ideal partner preference matching (i.e., Do people positively evaluate partners who match vs. mismatch their ideals?) has become mired in several problems. First, articles exhibit discrepant analytic and reporting practices. Second, different findings emerge across laboratories worldwide, perhaps because they sample different relationship contexts and/or populations. This registered report-partnered with the Psychological Science Accelerator-uses a highly powered design (

Gallyamova A., Komyaginskaya E., Grigoryev D.

Godovanets A., Monahhova E., Komyaginskaya E., Gallyamova A., Grigoryev D.

Increasing evidence links cultural influences on brain activity to various cognitive and affective processes, necessitating an integrative framework to account for the dynamic interplay between culture, behavior, and neural function. The mechanisms of cooperation and social conformity within culture exhibit variable interdependence across contexts, manifested by distinct neural patterns. To address the isolated examination of these mechanisms, we propose a NeuroCultural Interdependence Model delineating four modes (competitive interdependence, conditional interdependence, selective interdependence, communal interdependence) characterized by specific neural signatures and behavioral tendencies within cultural contexts. These modes represent varying degrees of interdependence, elucidating how individuals interact and rely upon others in their cultural milieu. The framework posits a direct linkage between cultural orientations and neural activity, offering a novel perspective on culture’s internalization and manifestation at the individual level, underscoring its embeddedness within neural processes influencing cognitive, affective, and behavioral inclinations in relation to others. Crucially, our proposed model highlights an isomorphic relationship between cultural orientations and their corresponding neural structures. It demonstrates that the mechanisms of cooperation and social conformity function concurrently at both the cultural and neural levels, revealing a direct parallel in how these elements operate. We conclude by providing recommendations for future elaboration and empirical validation of our model to be conducted using advanced neuroimaging techniques.

Doell K.C., Todorova B., Vlasceanu M., Bak Coleman J.B., Pronizius E., Schumann P., Azevedo F., Patel Y., Berkebile-Wineberg M.M., Brick C., Lange F., Grayson S.J., Pei Y., Chakroff A., van den Broek K.L., et. al.

AbstractClimate change is currently one of humanity’s greatest threats. To help scholars understand the psychology of climate change, we conducted an online quasi-experimental survey on 59,508 participants from 63 countries (collected between July 2022 and July 2023). In a between-subjects design, we tested 11 interventions designed to promote climate change mitigation across four outcomes: climate change belief, support for climate policies, willingness to share information on social media, and performance on an effortful pro-environmental behavioural task. Participants also reported their demographic information (e.g., age, gender) and several other independent variables (e.g., political orientation, perceptions about the scientific consensus). In the no-intervention control group, we also measured important additional variables, such as environmentalist identity and trust in climate science. We report the collaboration procedure, study design, raw and cleaned data, all survey materials, relevant analysis scripts, and data visualisations. This dataset can be used to further the understanding of psychological, demographic, and national-level factors related to individual-level climate action and how these differ across countries.

Yang X., Schulz J.F., Schmidt K., Kenny A.R., Pfuhl G., Gjoneska B., Dalgar I., Lewis S.C., Exner A., Buchanan E.M., Lander K., Becker M., Du H., Johri A., Selcuk E., et. al.

Biases in favor of culturally prevalent social ingroups are ubiquitous, but random assignment to arbitrary experimentally created social groups is also sufficient to create ingroup biases (i.e., the minimal group effect; MGE). The extent to which ingroup bias arises from specific social contexts versus more general psychological tendencies remains unclear. This registered report focuses on three questions. First, how culturally prevalent is the MGE? Second, how do critical cultural and individual factors moderate its strength? Third, does the MGE meaningfully relate to culturally salient real-world ingroup biases? We compare the MGE to bias in favor of a family member (first cousin) and a national ingroup member. We propose to recruit a sample of > 200 participants in each of > 50 nations to examine these questions and advance our understanding of the psychological foundations and cultural prevalence of ingroup bias.

Adu P., Mbinta J., Badu Prempeh A.S., Grigoryev D., Jurcik T.

AbstractWhile health research has demonstrated the influence of cultural disparities on health outcomes, the impact of ambivalent sexism on mental health help-seeking has not been well understood. We investigated the links between sexist attitudes, Mental Health Literacy (MHL), and sociodemographic variables regarding symptoms of Social Anxiety among Ghanaians. In 2021, we recruited 601 Ghanaians to participate in an online vignette-based experimental study. Respondents were randomly assigned to two conditions (i.e., male, and female vignettes) depicting symptoms of Social Anxiety for a hypothetical person. Participants provided their impression of the hypothetical person and further completed self-report measures. Regarding help-seeking for the symptoms of Social Anxiety, results revealed that age positively predicted professional help-seeking among men assigned to the male condition, while age negatively predicted social support among women in the same condition. Education was found to relate positively to professional and social support help-seeking options but was negatively linked with spiritual help-seeking. Benevolent sexist attitudes towards women related to the endorsement of professional help-seeking, but participants with benevolent sexist attitudes towards men were less likely to recommend social support. Findings imply that optimal interventions for mental health could benefit from understanding help-seeking patterns, idioms of psychological distress and the cultural settings of individuals.

Vlasceanu M., Doell K.C., Bak-Coleman J.B., Todorova B., Berkebile-Weinberg M.M., Grayson S.J., Patel Y., Goldwert D., Pei Y., Chakroff A., Pronizius E., van den Broek K.L., Vlasceanu D., Constantino S., Morais M.J., et. al.

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior—several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.

Pazhoohi F., Afhami R., Chegeni R., Dubrov D., Gałasińska K., Garza R., Moharrampour N.G., Grigoryev D., Kowal M., Pallesen S., Pfuhl G.

Body size and shape are sexually dimorphic in humans, with men being characterized with larger upper bodies, while women typically having broader pelvises. Such sexually dimorphic traits, quantified as shoulder to hip ratio (SHR) in men and waist to hip ratio (WHR) in women, serve as cues of an individual’s genetic fitness, reproductive potential, health, and resource holding power, and, thereby, functioning as attractiveness cues to the opposite sex. In the current study, we investigated men’s and women’s preference for the opposite sex body shape (WHR in women and SHR in men) in samples from Iran, Norway, Poland, and Russia. Women rated their preference for men’s SHR (1.20 to 1.50) and men rated their preference for women’s WHR (0.55 − 0.85). Our results showed that Iranian and Norwegian men preferred less feminine WHRs in women compared to Polish and Russian men. Moreover, Iranian women preferred less masculine SHRs in men than women from other countries. Altogether, the current research showed that there are variations in men’s preferences for women’s WHR and women’s preferences for men’s SHR among these countries.

Vaidis D.C., Sleegers W.W., van Leeuwen F., DeMarree K.G., Sætrevik B., Ross R.M., Schmidt K., Protzko J., Morvinski C., Ghasemi O., Roberts A.J., Stone J., Bran A., Gourdon-Kanhukamwe A., Gunsoy C., et. al.

According to cognitive-dissonance theory, performing counterattitudinal behavior produces a state of dissonance that people are motivated to resolve, usually by changing their attitude to be in line with their behavior. One of the most popular experimental paradigms used to produce such attitude change is the induced-compliance paradigm. Despite its popularity, the replication crisis in social psychology and other fields, as well as methodological limitations associated with the paradigm, raise concerns about the robustness of classic studies in this literature. We therefore conducted a multilab constructive replication of the induced-compliance paradigm based on Croyle and Cooper (Experiment 1). In a total of 39 labs from 19 countries and 14 languages, participants ( N = 4,898) were assigned to one of three conditions: writing a counterattitudinal essay under high choice, writing a counterattitudinal essay under low choice, or writing a neutral essay under high choice. The primary analyses failed to support the core hypothesis: No significant difference in attitude was observed after writing a counterattitudinal essay under high choice compared with low choice. However, we did observe a significant difference in attitude after writing a counterattitudinal essay compared with writing a neutral essay. Secondary analyses revealed the pattern of results to be robust to data exclusions, lab variability, and attitude assessment. Additional exploratory analyses were conducted to test predictions from cognitive-dissonance theory. Overall, the results call into question whether the induced-compliance paradigm provides robust evidence for cognitive dissonance.

Wang X., Nam B.H.

Tiwari A., Rodrigues L.C., Nalakurthi S., Gharbia S.

O’Reilly S., Griffiths J., Fox L., Weadick C.S., My Oo N., Murphy L., O’Leary R., Goulioti T., Adam V., Razis E.D., Lindholm B., Werustsky G., Cameron D., Bliss J.

Todorova B., Steininger M.O., Lamm C., Doell K.C.

Dusso A., Demirel-Pegg T.

Rode J.B., Remshard M., Groot L.J., van der Linden S.

Lange F.

Ardoin N.M., Bowers A.W.

Otterbring T., Thomassen E., Øritsland C.S., Ares G.

Fullard J.

Pfuhl G., Prazeres F., Kowal M., Aavik T., Abad-Villaverde B., Afhami R., Aguilar L., Akello G., Al-Shawaf L., Antfolk J., Atama C.S., Duyar D.A., Baiocco R., Balım S., Batres C., et. al.

Zeier P., Lange F., Rowland Z., Wessa M., Wenzel M.

Zhang X., Grisolia Santos J.M., de Dios Ortúzar J.

Gallyamova A., Komyaginskaya E., Vasyunina A., Grigoryev D.

This study investigates the links between life history strategy (LHS), IQ, and individualism/collectivism (IND/COL) across Russian regions. It is the first to examine regional differences in LHS, illustrating how biological trade-offs are linked to cultural values within a country and separately considering the role of cognitive abilities in this relationship. We hypothesize that cultural differences between regions can be understood through human behavioral ecology, specifically the trade-offs associated with LHS. Data from 83 Russian regions were used to create indices for slow LHS (sLHS) and IND/COL. The sLHS index included indicators like teenage fertility rates, rates of third or higher births, average height, educational attainment, and interest in human sexual behavior (using Google Trends data). The IND/COL index was constructed from indicators like the proportion of multigenerational and single-person households, divorce rates, and search data indicating ingroup identity expression. Regional IQ scores were derived from a large-scale online test administered to over 230.000 individuals across these regions. Our findings reveal strong positive correlations between sLHS, IQ, and IND/COL across Russian regions. Mediation analysis suggests that IQ likely fully mediates the relationship between sLHS and IND/COL. Geographical analysis showed clear patterns of spatial clustering, with gradients linked to latitude and altitude. Additionally, five latent regional profiles emerged from the data, indicating distinct patterns among the regions. These results, while acknowledging certain limitations, underscore the importance of LHS in understanding regional cultural differences. They also point to the need for Russian social policies to adapt to the unique characteristics of each region.

Kallergi A., Landeweerd L.

Abstract Science activism is often seen as a threat to scientific credibility. Yet, an increasing number of scientists participate in climate activism and challenge the morality of remaining passive when urgent action is needed. Science activism for climate action (SACA) raises intriguing questions about the source of scientific credibility and the boundaries of a scientist’s professional role responsibility. This contribution informs discussions over (the appropriateness of) SACA by explicating different conceptualizations of this phenomenon. Arguments for SACA are used to formulate three conceptual configurations that assume different relations between the role of the scientist and the role of the activist: the scientist activist as a citizen; the scientist activist as a privileged citizen; the scientist activist as a professional. To better situate these configurations, we consider the perspectives of scientists with a direct or indirect involvement in climate action. Secondary sources of empirical nature (interviews with scientist activists; proceedings of a workshop with early-career researchers) enrich our analysis with the practitioners’ reasoning over science activism, its relation to their profession, and its relation to scientific credibility. Eventually, we reflect on the implications of each configuration for the embedding of science activism in scientific conduct.

Gallyamova A., Grigoryev D.

Cologna V., Mede N.G., Berger S., Besley J., Brick C., Joubert M., Maibach E.W., Mihelj S., Oreskes N., Schäfer M.S., van der Linden S., Abdul Aziz N.I., Abdulsalam S., Shamsi N.A., Aczel B., et. al.

Abstract Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists.

Mede N.G., Cologna V., Berger S., Besley J., Brick C., Joubert M., Maibach E.W., Mihelj S., Oreskes N., Schäfer M.S., van der Linden S., Abdul Aziz N.I., Abdulsalam S., Shamsi N.A., Aczel B., et. al.

Abstract Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries. The data were collected between November 2022 and August 2023 as part of the global Many Labs study “Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism” (TISP). The questionnaire contained comprehensive measures for individuals’ trust in scientists, science-related populist attitudes, perceptions of the role of science in society, science media use and communication behaviour, attitudes to climate change and support for environmental policies, personality traits, political and religious views and demographic characteristics. Here, we describe the dataset, survey materials and psychometric properties of key variables. We encourage researchers to use this unique dataset for global comparative analyses on public perceptions of science and its role in society and policy-making.

Reif A., Taddicken M., Guenther L., Schröder J.T., Weingart P.

We developed and validated the Public Trust in Science (PuTruS) Scale to recognize the multidimensional nature of the concept. Drawing on an epistemic understanding of trust in science as a perception, we integrate prior research on different levels of trust objects, emphasizing the importance of trust in scientists. In addition, we include transparency and dialogue orientation to reflect increased public engagement expectations. Data from two German online panel surveys ( nW1 = 3,439; nW2 = 1,030) points toward a five-dimensional structure (expertise, integrity, benevolence, transparency, dialogue orientation). For external validation, we used deference to scientific authority, conspiracy beliefs, and science populism.

Joshanloo M.

Gallyamova A., Miller D.T.

This study explores the relationship between Russian citizens’ self-reported political engagement and their system justification beliefs, perceptions of the system justification beliefs of other citizens, and perceptions of their community culture. We assessed personal political engagement through self-reported past behavior of 1,143 participants. The results revealed a negative relationship between individual personal system justification scores and political engagement. However, the analyses suggested that this relationship emerged because of pluralistic ignorance among the citizenry—their tendency to assume that others hold stronger system justification beliefs than they do. This possibility seemed especially likely among those who perceived themselves to inhabit vertical collectivist communities. These results suggest that beliefs about the system justification beliefs of others ( second-order beliefs) may shape personal system justification beliefs ( first-order beliefs). More generally, the findings emphasize the substantial role of cultural factors in political engagement in Russia.

Koljević S.

A recent study has found that Polish territories with history of forced population displacement exhibit a faster life history compared to other Polish territories. Whether the spatial overlap between historical forced population displacement and faster life history represents a common pattern or merely an isolated phenomenon remains to be seen. Czechia provides an avenue to test this, since its borderlands (specifically the so-called Sudetenland) were mainly inhabited by a German-speaking population who were forcefully displaced post-WWII. Differences in life history speed amongst Czech districts were estimated based on multiple life history indicators via a factor analysis. Faster life history for Sudetenland is confirmed, a pattern consistent across numerous life history indicators. The spatial overlap between fast life history and population displacement (herein dubbed the r-displacement distribution) might be contingent on stable socioeconomic environment, potentially limiting its generality beyond socioeconomically developed societies. Further replications of r-displacement distribution might be needed to confirm its generality.

Stott I., Salguero-Gómez R., Jones O.R., Ezard T.H., Gamelon M., Lachish S., Lebreton J., Simmonds E.G., Gaillard J., Hodgson D.J.

Life history strategies, which combine schedules of survival, development, and reproduction, shape how natural selection acts on species' heritable traits and organismal fitness. Comparative analyses have historically ranked life histories along a fast-slow continuum, describing a negative association between time allocation to reproduction and development versus survival. However, higher-quality, more representative data and analyses have revealed that life history variation cannot be fully accounted for by this single continuum. Moreover, studies often do not test predictions from existing theories and instead operate as exploratory exercises. To move forward, we offer three recommendations for future investigations: standardizing life history traits, overcoming taxonomic siloes, and using theory to move from describing to understanding life history variation across the Tree of Life.

Pownall M., Azevedo F., Aldoh A., Elsherif M., Vasilev M., Pennington C.R., Robertson O., Tromp M.V., Liu M., Makel M.C., Tonge N., Moreau D., Horry R., Shaw J., Tzavella L., et. al.

Ebert T., Götz F.M., Benet-Martínez V., Rentfrow P.J.

Woodley of Menie M.A., Fieder M., Sarraf M.A., Peñaherrera-Aguirre M.

It has been argued that reduced inbreeding depression and associated increased heterosis (hybrid vigor), due to greater gene flow between human subpopulations, is the cause of the Flynn effect (rising IQ-test performance over time). Using genotypic data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, three estimates of genome-wide runs of homozygosity (ROH) are generated for a subsample of unrelated individuals of European descent. These estimates are used in a between-generation regression model to predict offspring advantage over parents in educational attainment (EA; years of schooling). After controlling for a variety of covariates, it is found that a variable combining both the numbers and lengths of ROH is a statistically significant positive predictor of the offspring EA advantage. Maternal, rather than paternal, differences are found to drive the effect when these parental influences are examined separately. Since the heterosis hypothesis (HH) explicitly predicts that this analysis would yield the opposite finding, the result constitutes substantial evidence against the HH. By contrast, the life history model of the Flynn effect (LHM) satisfactorily explains the current findings, positing that slowing life history speed increases maternal investment (MI) into offspring exhibiting greater coefficients of genetic relatedness as a means of raising inclusive fitness. According to the LHM, the Flynn effect stems, at least in part, from MI enhancing opportunities for the cultivation of narrow cognitive abilities (e.g., through greater exposure to highly predictable environments, such as in good schools). The significant independent effect of assortative mating observed here is also consistent with the LHM, as are other patterns found in these data.

Ghai S., Forscher P.S., Chuan-Peng H.

Adu P., Mbinta J., Badu Prempeh A.S., Grigoryev D., Jurcik T.

AbstractWhile health research has demonstrated the influence of cultural disparities on health outcomes, the impact of ambivalent sexism on mental health help-seeking has not been well understood. We investigated the links between sexist attitudes, Mental Health Literacy (MHL), and sociodemographic variables regarding symptoms of Social Anxiety among Ghanaians. In 2021, we recruited 601 Ghanaians to participate in an online vignette-based experimental study. Respondents were randomly assigned to two conditions (i.e., male, and female vignettes) depicting symptoms of Social Anxiety for a hypothetical person. Participants provided their impression of the hypothetical person and further completed self-report measures. Regarding help-seeking for the symptoms of Social Anxiety, results revealed that age positively predicted professional help-seeking among men assigned to the male condition, while age negatively predicted social support among women in the same condition. Education was found to relate positively to professional and social support help-seeking options but was negatively linked with spiritual help-seeking. Benevolent sexist attitudes towards women related to the endorsement of professional help-seeking, but participants with benevolent sexist attitudes towards men were less likely to recommend social support. Findings imply that optimal interventions for mental health could benefit from understanding help-seeking patterns, idioms of psychological distress and the cultural settings of individuals.

Cologna V., Kotcher J., Mede N.G., Besley J., Maibach E.W., Oreskes N.

Trust in climate science provides the foundation for evidence-based policymaking on climate change mitigation and adaptation and public perceptions of the urgency of climate change. Here we consider the possibility that lack of public trust in climate science and climate scientists may undermine the effectiveness of climate science communication. To this end, we narratively review three topics of relevance to climate science and climate scientists: 1) The current state of trust; 2) Reasons for distrust; 3) How political engagement affects trust. We then draw on insights from communication and behavioral science to recommend how climate change communicators can become more trustworthy.

Berkebile-Weinberg M., Goldwert D., Doell K.C., Van Bavel J.J., Vlasceanu M.

AbstractA major barrier to climate change mitigation is the political polarization of climate change beliefs. In a global experiment conducted in 60 countries (N = 51,224), we assess the differential impact of eleven climate interventions across the ideological divide. At baseline, we find political polarization of climate change beliefs and policy support globally, with people who reported being liberal believing and supporting climate policy more than those who reported being conservative (Cohen’s d = 0.35 and 0.27, respectively). However, we find no evidence for a statistically significant difference between these groups in their engagement in a behavioral tree planting task. This conceptual-behavioral polarization incongruence results from self-identified conservatives acting despite not believing, rather than self-identified liberals not acting on their beliefs. We also find three interventions (emphasizing effective collective actions, writing a letter to a future generation member, and writing a letter from the future self) boost climate beliefs and policy support across the ideological spectrum, and one intervention (emphasizing scientific consensus) stimulates the climate action of people identifying as liberal. None of the interventions tested show evidence for a statistically significant boost in climate action for self-identified conservatives. We discuss implications for practitioners deploying targeted climate interventions.