Science reporting on climate change does lead Americans to adopt more accurate beliefs and support government action on the issue, but these gains are fragile, a new study suggests. Researchers found that these accurate beliefs fade quickly when people are exposed to coverage skeptical of climate change.
“It is not the case that the American public does not respond to scientifically informed reporting when they are exposed to it,” said Thomas Wood, associate professor of political science at the Ohio State University. “But even truly accurate science reporting recedes from people’s frame of reference very quickly.”
Results showed that accurate science reporting didn’t persuade only politicians and people who initially rejected human-caused climate change also had their opinions shifted by reading accurate articles. The study involved 2,898 online participants who participated in four waves of the experiment during the fall of 2020.
In the first wave, they all read authentic articles in the popular media that provided information reflecting the seientifie views on climate change. In the second and third waves, they read either another scientific article, an opinion article that was skeptical of climate science, or an article on an unrelated subjeet. In the fourth wave, the participants simply were asked their beliefs about the science of climate change and their policy attitudes.
To rate participants’ scientific understanding. the researchers asked after each wave if they believed that climate change is happening and has a human cause. To measure their attitudes, researchers asked participants if they favored government action on climate change and if they favored renewable energy.
“What we found suggests that people need to hear the same accurate messages about climate change again and again. If they only hear it once, it recedes very quickly,” Wood said. It was significant that accurate reporting had positive effects on all groups, including those who originally rejected climate change. But it was even more encouraging that it affected attitudes.
12. What does the underlined word “recedes” in paragraph 2 mean?
A.Increases. | B.Graduates. | C.Disappears. | D.Strikes. |
13. What does paragraph 4 mainly tell us?
A.The research object. | B.The research result. |
C.The research purpose. | D.The research procedure. |
14. Why did researchers ask participants the second question?
A.To survey the government’s satisfaction rate. |
B.To make an assessment on their attitudes. |
C.To teach them scientific understanding. |
D.To measure action on climate change. |
15. What can be the best title for the text?
A.Science Report Of Climate Change Can Affect Minds |
B.Online Participants Joined In A Four-Wave Experiment |
C.Accurate Science Reporting Don’t Persuade Only Politicians |
D.People Should Hear Accurate Messages About Climate Change |