Belief in Science and Environmental Responses to Climate Change: A Cross-National Study

• In Event: Truth Under Siege: Science in an Era of Executive Power

Abstract

For a long time, the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory has provided an explanation for pro-environmental behaviors by emphasizing the significance of moral norms grounded on the individual's beliefs and values. However, eco-modernist and techno-optimist perspectives, which prioritize scientific and technological solutions over individual sacrifice, are influencing environmental politics in the modern era. The study explores how this perspective redefines environmental moralities from a cross-national viewpoint, adding 'belief in science' as an additional belief dimension to the VBN framework.

To determine different combinations of environmental values, norms, behaviors, and belief in science, the study employs latent class analysis with nationally representative data from the 2020 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) that covers 28 countries. The purpose of the study is to capture a cluster of moral perspectives. In the following phase, the study looks at the relationship between membership in these clusters and individual experiences with environmental issues and climate change, controlling for important sociodemographic and attitude-related factors.

According to preliminary analysis, there are four different clusters of environmental attitudes, including conservationists, ambivalents, and two types of eco-modernism with different degrees of moral commitment. Early findings show that eco-modernist perspectives are not homogeneous; one group combines strong belief in science with willingness to make personal sacrifices, while another links scientific optimism with weak environmental norms. Moreover, individual experience with climate change is associated with shifts in cluster membership, sometimes toward conservationist commitments and sometimes toward eco-modernist attitudes that maintain high trust in science. These emerging patterns indicate a more diverse moral landscape than is commonly presented in linear VBN models, leading to new inquiries into the interaction of scientific trust, moral obligation, and lived experience in influencing environmental concern. The study seeks suggestions on how to understand these cross-national patterns and how to theoretically include beliefs in science in VBN.

Author

• Maliha Mahbub, University of North Texas