Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries

Tobia Spampatti; Ulf J.J. Hahnel; Evelina Trutnevyte; Tobias Brosch

doi:10.1038/s41562-023-01736-0

Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Standard

Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries. / Spampatti, Tobia; Hahnel, Ulf J.J.; Trutnevyte, Evelina et al.
In: Nature Human Behaviour, Vol. 8, No. 2, 02.2024, p. 380-398.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Bibtex

@article{ce71a5078399467aacc50c8e4383bf7f,

title = "Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries",

abstract = "Decades after the scientific debate about the anthropogenic causes of climate change was settled, climate disinformation still challenges the scientific evidence in public discourse. Here we present a comprehensive theoretical framework of (anti)science belief formation and updating to account for the psychological factors that influence the acceptance or rejection of scientific messages. We experimentally investigated, across 12 countries (N = 6,816), the effectiveness of six inoculation strategies targeting these factors—scientific consensus, trust in scientists, transparent communication, moralization of climate action, accuracy and positive emotions—to fight real-world disinformation about climate science and mitigation actions. While exposure to disinformation had strong detrimental effects on participants{\textquoteright} climate change beliefs (δ = −0.16), affect towards climate mitigation action (δ = −0.33), ability to detect disinformation (δ = −0.14) and pro-environmental behaviour (δ = −0.24), we found almost no evidence for protective effects of the inoculations (all δ < 0.20). We discuss the implications of these findings and propose ways forward to fight climate disinformation.",

keywords = "Psychology, Management studies, Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics",

author = "Tobia Spampatti and Hahnel, {Ulf J.J.} and Evelina Trutnevyte and Tobias Brosch",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2023.",

year = "2024",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1038/s41562-023-01736-0",

language = "English",

volume = "8",

pages = "380--398",

journal = "Nature Human Behaviour",

issn = "2397-3374",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries

AU - Spampatti, Tobia

AU - Hahnel, Ulf J.J.

AU - Trutnevyte, Evelina

AU - Brosch, Tobias

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.

PY - 2024/2

Y1 - 2024/2

N2 - Decades after the scientific debate about the anthropogenic causes of climate change was settled, climate disinformation still challenges the scientific evidence in public discourse. Here we present a comprehensive theoretical framework of (anti)science belief formation and updating to account for the psychological factors that influence the acceptance or rejection of scientific messages. We experimentally investigated, across 12 countries (N = 6,816), the effectiveness of six inoculation strategies targeting these factors—scientific consensus, trust in scientists, transparent communication, moralization of climate action, accuracy and positive emotions—to fight real-world disinformation about climate science and mitigation actions. While exposure to disinformation had strong detrimental effects on participants’ climate change beliefs (δ = −0.16), affect towards climate mitigation action (δ = −0.33), ability to detect disinformation (δ = −0.14) and pro-environmental behaviour (δ = −0.24), we found almost no evidence for protective effects of the inoculations (all δ < 0.20). We discuss the implications of these findings and propose ways forward to fight climate disinformation.

AB - Decades after the scientific debate about the anthropogenic causes of climate change was settled, climate disinformation still challenges the scientific evidence in public discourse. Here we present a comprehensive theoretical framework of (anti)science belief formation and updating to account for the psychological factors that influence the acceptance or rejection of scientific messages. We experimentally investigated, across 12 countries (N = 6,816), the effectiveness of six inoculation strategies targeting these factors—scientific consensus, trust in scientists, transparent communication, moralization of climate action, accuracy and positive emotions—to fight real-world disinformation about climate science and mitigation actions. While exposure to disinformation had strong detrimental effects on participants’ climate change beliefs (δ = −0.16), affect towards climate mitigation action (δ = −0.33), ability to detect disinformation (δ = −0.14) and pro-environmental behaviour (δ = −0.24), we found almost no evidence for protective effects of the inoculations (all δ < 0.20). We discuss the implications of these findings and propose ways forward to fight climate disinformation.

KW - Psychology

KW - Management studies

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178240045&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41562-023-01736-0

DO - 10.1038/s41562-023-01736-0

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 38036655

AN - SCOPUS:85178240045

VL - 8

SP - 380

EP - 398

JO - Nature Human Behaviour

JF - Nature Human Behaviour

SN - 2397-3374

IS - 2

ER -

Related by journal

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries

Author Collaboration of " Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries", Cologna, V., Mede, N. G., Berger, S., Besley, J., Brick, C., Genschow, O. & Westfal, M., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Nature Human Behaviour. 22 p., e2108576118.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Insights into the accuracy of social scientists’ forecasts of societal change

Grossmann, I., Rotella, A., Hutcherson, C. A., Sharpinskyi, K., Varnum, M. E. W., Achter, S., Dhami, M. K., Guo, X. E., Kara-Yakoubian, M., Mandel, D. R., Raes, L., Tay, L., Vie, A., Wagner, L., Adamkovic, M., Arami, A., Arriaga, P., Bandara, K., Baník, G., Bartoš, F., Baskin, E., Bergmeir, C., Białek, M., Børsting, C. K., Browne, D. T., Caruso, E. M., Chen, R., Chie, B. T., Chopik, W. J., Collins, R. N., Cong, C. W., Conway, L. G., Davis, M., Day, M. V., Dhaliwal, N. A., Durham, J. D., Dziekan, M., Elbaek, C. T., Shuman, E., Fabrykant, M., Firat, M., Fong, G. T., Frimer, J. A., Gallegos, J. M., Goldberg, S. B., Gollwitzer, A., Goyal, J., Graf-Vlachy, L., Krenzler, R. & Sevincer, T., 04.2023, In: Nature Human Behaviour. 7, 4, p. 484-501 18 p.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

How young children integrate information sources to infer the meaning of words

Bohn, M., Tessler, M. H., Merrick, M. & Frank, M. C., 01.08.2021, In: Nature Human Behaviour. 5, 8, p. 1046-1054 9 p.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

A cultural theory of regimes

Welzel, C., 01.03.2020, In: Nature Human Behaviour. 4, 3, p. 231-232 2 p.

Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research

Other publications by the same author(s)

Development and test of a dual-pathway model of personal and community factors driving new energy technology adoption - The case of V2G in three European countries

Baumgartner, N., Sloot, D., Günther, A. & Hahnel, U. J. J., 01.04.2025, In: Ecological Economics. 230, 17 p., 108514.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Recurrent carbon labels induce bipartisan effects in environmental choices under risk

Rahmani Azad, Z., Cohen, D. & Hahnel, U., 02.2025, In: Judgment and Decision Making. 20, 21 p., e12.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

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., Broek, K. L. V. D., Vlasceanu, D., Constantino, S., Morais, M. J., Schumann, P., Rathje, S., Fang, K., Aglioti, S. M., Alfano, M., Alvarado-Yepez, A. J., Andersen, A., Anseel, F., Apps, M. A. J., Asadli, C., Awuor, F. J., Azevedo, F., Basaglia, P., Bélanger, J. J., Berger, S., Bertin, P., Białek, M., Bialobrzeska, O., Blaya-Burgo, M., Bleize, D. N. M., Bø, S., Boecker, L., Boggio, P. S., Borau, S., Bos, B., Bouguettaya, A., Brauer, M., Brick, C., Brik, T., Briker, R., Brosch, T., Buchel, O., Buonauro, D., Butalia, R., Carvacho, H., Chamberlain, S. A. E., Chan, H.-Y., Chow, D., Chung, D., Cian, L., Cohen-Eick, N., Contreras-Huerta, L. S., Contu, D., Cristea, V., Cutler, J., D'Ottone, S., Keersmaecker, J. D., Delcourt, S., Delouvée, S., Diel, K., Douglas, B. D., Drupp, M. A., Dubey, S., Ekmanis, J., Elbaek, C. T., Elsherif, M., Engelhard, I. M., Escher, Y. A., Etienne, T. W., Farage, L., Farias, A. R., Feuerriegel, S., Findor, A., Freira, L., Friese, M., Gains, N. P., Gallyamova, A., Geiger, S. J., Genschow, O., Gjoneska, B., Gkinopoulos, T., Goldberg, B., Goldenberg, A., Gradidge, S., Grassini, S., Gray, K., Grelle, S., Griffin, S. M., Grigoryan, L., Grigoryan, A., Grigoryev, D., Gruber, J., Guilaran, J., Hadar, B., Hahnel, U. J. J., Halperin, E., Harvey, A. J., Haugestad, C. A. P., Herman, A. M., Hershfield, H. E., Himichi, T., Hine, D. W., Hofmann, W., Howe, L., Huaman-Chulluncuy, E. T., Huang, G., Ishii, T., Ito, A., Jia, F., Jost, J. T., Jovanović, V., Jurgiel, D., Kácha, O., Kankaanpää, R., Kantorowicz, J., Kantorowicz-Reznichenko, E., Mintz, K. K., Kaya, I., Kaya, O., Khachatryan, N., Klas, A., Klein, C., Klöckner, C. A., Koppel, L., Kosachenko, A. I., Kothe, E. J., Krebs, R., Krosch, A. R., Krouwel, A. P. M., Kyrychenko, Y., Lagomarsino, M., Lamm, C., Lange, F., Cunningham, J. L., Lees, J., Leung, T. Y., Levy, N., Lockwood, P. L., Longoni, C., Ortega, A. L., Loschelder, D. D., Lu, J. G., Luo, Y., Luomba, J., Lutz, A. E., Majer, J. M., Markowitz, E., Marsh, A. A., Mascarenhas, K. L., Mbilingi, B., Mbungu, W., McHugh, C., Meijers, M. H. C., Mercier, H., Mhagama, F. L., Michalakis, K., Mikus, N., Milliron, S., Mitkidis, P., Monge-Rodríguez, F. S., Mora, Y. L., Moreau, D., Motoki, K., Moyano, M., Mus, M., Navajas, J., Nguyen, T. L., Nguyen, D. M., Nguyen, T., Niemi, L., Nijssen, S. R. R., Nilsonne, G., Nitschke, J. P., Nockur, L., Okura, R., Öner, S., Özdoğru, A. A., Palumbo, H., Panagopoulos, C., Panasiti, M. S., Pärnamets, P., Paruzel-Czachura, M., Pavlov, Y. G., Payán-Gómez, C., Pearson, A. R., Costa, L. P. D., Petrowsky, H. M., Pfattheicher, S., Pham, N. T., Ponizovskiy, V., Pretus, C., Rêgo, G. G., Reimann, R., Rhoads, S. A., Riano-Moreno, J., Richter, I., Röer, J. P., Rosa-Sullivan, J., Ross, R. M., Sabherwal, A., Saito, T., Sarrasin, O., Say, N., Schmid, K., Schmitt, M. T., Schoenegger, P., Scholz, C., Schug, M. G., Schulreich, S., Shreedhar, G., Shuman, E., Sivan, S., Sjåstad, H., Soliman, M., Soud, K., Spampatti, T., Sparkman, G., Spasovski, O., Stanley, S. K., Stern, J. A., Strahm, N., Suko, Y., Sul, S., Syropoulos, S., Taylor, N. C., Tedaldi, E., Tinghög, G., Huynh, L. D. T., Travaglino, G. A., Tsakiris, M., Tüter, İ., Tyrala, M., Uluğ, Ö. M., Urbanek, A., Valko, D., Linden, S. V. D., Schie, K. V., Stekelenburg, A. V., Vanags, E., Västfjäll, D., Vesely, S., Vintr, J., Vranka, M., Wanguche, P. O., Willer, R., Wojcik, A. D., Xu, R., Yadav, A., Zawisza, M., Zhao, X., Zhao, J., Żuk, D. & Bavel, J. J. V., 09.02.2024, In: Science Advances. 10, 6, 19 p., eadj5778.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Affective Dilemmas: The Impact of Trait Affect and State Emotion on Sustainable Consumption Decisions in a Social Dilemma Task

Tarditi, C., Hahnel, U. J. J., Jeanmonod, N., Sander, D. & Brosch, T., 01.01.2020, In: Environment and Behavior. 52, 1, p. 33-59 27 p.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

An empirical agent-based model of consumer co-adoption of low-carbon technologies to inform energy policy

van der Kam, M., Lagomarsino, M., Azar, E., Hahnel, U. J. J. & Parra, D., 20.12.2024, In: Cell Reports Sustainability. 1, 12, 16 p., 100268.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01736-0
Final published version

Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries

Standard

Harvard

APA

Vancouver

Bibtex

RIS

Related by journal

Other publications by the same author(s)

DOI