Scientists are from Mars, Laypeople are from Venus: An Evidence-Based Rationale for Communicating the Consensus on Climate

The insights available from social science research are key to understanding people’s attitudes to climate change, and to developing communication outreach strategies that are effective in fostering meaningful societal action (Hackman and others 2014; Lorenzoni and Whitmarsh 2014). Social psychology explores the ways in which group dynamics and cultural values influence attitudes towards climate change. Cognitive psychology explores how people update their beliefs in response to information, using randomized experiments to explore how different groups respond to different messages. A large and increasing number of public surveys have examined attitudes towards climate change and what drives those attitudes.