The Consensus on Consensus Messaging

A scientist would never tolerate statements about climate change that weren't based on scientific research and empirical evidence.  However, the same evidentiary standards don't always seem to apply to statements about how to communicate about climate change.  For example, on the topic of communicating the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming, there are lots of opinions on whether communicating the scientific consensus is effective or not.  Many of these opinions are not based on the body of empirical research into consensus messaging. 

So this post is a summary of the empirical research into consensus messaging and how people think about consensus.  In psychological research, public perception of scientific consensus has been found to be so important that researchers now describe this dynamic as the Gateway Belief Model.  This model finds that communicating the scientific consensus on climate change increased beliefs about climate change, which subsequently increases public support for climate policy.  The vast majority of research in this field either confirms the Gateway Belief Model or confirms the efficacy of consensus messaging

Read more at The Consensus on Consensus Messaging0