How do we change the minds of climate deniers? Could learning about the science of global warming ever persuade a skeptic? Or are humans just too irrational to be persuaded by facts and evidence? These are some of the questions we’re asking in this week’s show.
Classic theories of choice posit that our preferences are transitive. So, for example, if you prefer the apple to the orange and the orange to the banana, then you’ll also prefer the apple to the banana. Now one interesting question in psychology is the extent to which human preferences are actually transitive.
为什么人们否认气候变化?一个普遍的观点是，这些人拒绝科学。但在大多数情况下，他们拒绝的并不都是科学。毕竟，大多数否认气候变化的人相信电，相信地球绕着太阳转。那么到底是怎么回事呢?在我看来，至少有五种气候否认者。
Crony beliefs are beliefs you have partly because you want to believe them. But is it really possible to form beliefs because you want to have them? Does that explain why so many people seem to believe things that serve their self-interest? Or is there another explanation for that?