A study that surveyed 1,058 US adults found that high capacity for systems thinking--the tendency to perceive various phenomena as interconnected elements--positively correlated with the belief in the occurrence, seriousness, and anthropogenic origin of global warming; across the political spectrum, the links were explained by espousing a worldview that humans should care for the environment, suggesting that a systems-thinking mindset may promote pro-environmental attitudes and help both conservatives and liberals address climate change.
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Article # 18-19310: "Systems thinking as a pathway to global warming beliefs and attitudes through an ecological worldview," by Matthew T. Ballew, Matthew H. Goldberg, Seth A. Rosenthal, Abel Gustafson, and Anthony Leiserowitz.
MEDIA CONTACT: Matthew T. Ballew, Yale University, New Haven, CT; tel: 203-432-0773; email: <matthew.ballew@yale.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences