August 14th 2008
Reducing Your Brain’s Carbon Footprint
T
he American Psychological Association, hot on the heals of “proving” that abortion is not a mental health risk for women, is now rallying its legions to scrub patients’ brains ’til their free of any pesky thoughts about global warming skepticism. And they’re ready to recruit the media in their crusade, sez their brash news release:
News stories that provided a balanced view of climate change reduced people’s beliefs that humans are at fault and also reduced the number of people who thought climate change would be bad, according to research by Stanford social psychologist Jon Krosnick.
His presentation will detail a decade of American attitudes about climate change. His new experiment, conducted in May, illustrates what he says is a public misperception about global warming. He says there is scientific consensus among experts that climate change is occurring, but the nationwide online poll of 2,600 adults asked whether they believe scientists agree or disagree about it.
By editing CNN and PBS news stories so that some saw a skeptic included in the report, others saw a story in which the skeptic was edited out and another group saw no video, Krosnick found that adding 45 seconds of a skeptic to one news story caused 11% of Americans to shift their opinions about the scientific consensus. Rather than 58% believing a perceived scientific agreement, inclusion of the skeptic caused the perceived amount of agreement to drop to 47%.
I’ve always loved the phrase “global warming skeptic” because of its religious overtones; “apostate” would be better, but apparently the Warmie faith isn’t quite that dogmatic yet. Imagine Krosnick’s frustration when a mere 45 seconds of truth-speaking skepticism could drop belief in global warming to sub-majority levels! That’s concerning enough to drive the APA to pressure their friends in the media to knock out this “giving time to skeptics” ridiculousness!
Krosnick’s presentation is one of several APA members will hear about creating behavior change for Gaea (aka “brainwashing”) at the group’s upcoming convention:
Armed with new research into what makes some people environmentally conscious and others less so, the 148,000-member American Psychological Association is stepping up efforts to foster a broader sense of eco-sensitivity that the group believes will translate into more public action to protect the planet.
“We know how to change behavior and attitudes. That is what we do,” says Yale University psychologist Alan Kazdin, association president. “We know what messages will work and what will not.”
During a four-day meeting that begins today in Boston, an expected 16,000 attendees will hear presentations, including studies that explore how people experience the environment, their attitudes about climate change and what social barriers prevent conservation of resources.
So, the next time you visit your psychologist, expect a slightly different question – “Do you still hate your earth mother?” – because one well-placed word by a highly trained professional can turn you into the Manchurian candidate of the Warmie movement. (Which is why, BTW, psychiatry has been so successful at solving all the world’s other ills. Methinks Alan “We know what messages work” Kasdan could use a bit of time on the couch himself.
Hat-tip: Rush
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