Latest news with #ScottPruysers
Forbes
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
New Science Shows Why Some People Just Don't Care About Climate
TURIN, ITALY - OCTOBER 11: Fridays for future protesters take part during the Fridays For Future' ... More Climate Protest on October 11, 2024 in Turin, Italy. Fridays for the Future movement is protesting in main squares in urban centers across on world to denounce perceived governments inaction towards climate change. (Photo by) What if the real obstacle to climate action isn't just political polarization, misinformation, or economic inertia—but personality? A recent study from Dalhousie University suggests that personality traits—specifically those associated with the so-called 'Dark Triad' of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—may significantly influence whether someone believes climate change is real. It's a striking idea. Not just that our politics shape our perception of science, but that the architecture of our psychology might help determine whether we accept or reject climate change altogether. The study, led by political scientist Scott Pruysers and published in Climatic Change, surveyed more than 1,700 Canadians and asked them to rank agreement with statements like 'Climate change is a scam' or 'Government should do more to address climate change.' Then it compared these answers to participants' self-assessed personality traits—using more than 160 descriptors to build out a detailed psychological profile. The results were sobering: 22% of Canadians surveyed agreed that human-caused climate change is exaggerated, and over 10% disagreed that government should be doing more to address it. Those most skeptical of climate change scored higher on scales associated with narcissism (self-importance), Machiavellianism (manipulativeness), and psychopathy (callousness). In contrast, climate believers were more likely to show traits like honesty, emotionality, openness, and humility. In other words, it's not just what you believe about climate change that matters—it's who you are. People with more empathy believe in climate change; people who lack it, don't. We're used to thinking about climate skepticism as a product of ideology, disinformation, or economic interest—and those things matter, deeply. The study acknowledges this too. In fact, the biggest single predictor of climate denial wasn't personality, but political ideology: those on the right of the spectrum were far more likely to reject climate science than those on the left. Men were more skeptical than women. Education and income also helped shape belief. But here's the twist: the second strongest predictor of climate skepticism was not age, education, or income. It was openness—a personality trait associated with curiosity, creativity, and willingness to consider new ideas. That means the shape of your character may be more determinative than your diploma or your paycheck when it comes to how you think about the planet's future. This matters, because climate action is not just a technological problem—it's a human one. As the world races to decarbonize, behavioral change is becoming just as critical as innovation. And if personality plays a role in shaping belief, then it also influences whether people are willing to make sacrifices, adopt greener habits, or vote for climate-forward policies. There's no vaccine for narcissism. We can't legislate openness. You can't change people's personalities. But we can design systems and messages that meet people where they are. Advances in artificial intelligence—particularly in analyzing social media behavior—could allow for micro-targeted communications tailored to personality types. That could mean, for example, emphasizing the status signaling of eco-friendly behavior to appeal to narcissists ('drive this EV to show you're ahead of the curve'), or using stories of personal harm and community disruption to engage those who may not respond to statistics. In fact, we already do this—just not systematically. Advertisers have long known that emotion and identity sell more than facts. The climate movement, historically grounded in scientific consensus and future-oriented morality, is starting to adopt this logic. Climate-conscious brands now market solar panels and electric cars not just as responsible choices, but as aspirational ones. Policymakers are experimenting with incentives and social norms to drive change. To be clear: this doesn't mean all climate skeptics are sociopaths. The study doesn't pathologize individuals—it works on a spectrum. Most of us have at least a few drops of the Dark Triad in us, just as we all have moments of altruism or doubt. But it does mean that the old model—present data, expect belief—isn't enough. The climate crisis is a test of our technologies, our institutions, and increasingly, our psychologies. If we want to reach the remaining skeptics, we may need to stop preaching and start profiling—not to divide, but to understand. The planet doesn't care why you act, only that you do. But to get there, we need to understand who doesn't care—and why.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Personality plays a role in whether you believe in climate change, Dalhousie study finds
Personality plays a role in whether people believe in climate change, a recent study has found — and that could have implications for efforts to combat climate skepticism. The research from Dalhousie University in Halifax found people who are more skeptical about climate change are more likely to rank higher on scales of narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy — traits that reflect a tendency to be self-centred, manipulative, callous and socially aversive. People who are less skeptical about climate change are more likely to have pro-social personality traits of openness, agreeableness, honesty, humility and emotionality. Scott Pruysers is an associate professor in the political science department at Dalhousie University and the lead author of the study, published in March in the journal Climatic Change. He says understanding the personality roots of climate skepticism can help develop more effective strategies to encourage environmentally conscious behaviour. "The precursor to developing good policy or understanding why people care about this issue is understanding who doesn't care about it, who remains skeptical," he said. "And so we're going to have to get kind of creative and smarter with the messaging." The researchers analyzed data from a survey of 1,725 Canadians conducted in 2020. The survey respondents were asked to rate how much they agreed or disagreed with the following statements: I am certain that climate change is happening. Claims that human activities are changing the climate are exaggerated. Floods and heat waves are not increasing; there is just more reporting of it in the media these days. Climate change is just a result of natural variation in the climate. Climate change is a scam. Government should do more to address climate change. Pruysers says while researchers have previously looked at the roots of climate skepticism, some of those studies had limitations that the Dalhousie study tried to overcome. While other studies have relied primarily on undergraduates as participants, his study ensured the participants reflected the income, gender and age distribution of the Canadian population. In addition, previous studies have used as few as 10 descriptors (for example, reserved/quiet, or disorganized/careless) to assess personality. Pruysers's study used more robust measures that included more than 160 descriptors. There is worldwide scientific consensus that the Earth's climate is changing, and that human activity has unequivocally caused climate change. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which produces assessments written by hundreds of leading scientists, has found that climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health, and that changes must be made to ensure a liveable and sustainable future. The Dalhousie study found that more than 20 per cent of participants believe claims that human activity is changing the climate are exaggerated, 17 per cent believe climate-related events such as floods or heat waves are not increasing, and more than 10 per cent disagree that governments should be doing more to address climate change. More recent data has also found similar levels of skepticism among Canadians and dwindling concern about climate change. Demographic and political factors do affect climate skepticism. For instance, the study found that men and people who are more right wing are more skeptical, while those with higher education levels, income and political knowledge are less skeptical. While the participants' self-placement on the left-right ideology scale was the factor that most accurately predicted climate skepticism, openness was the second most predictive factor, outperforming factors such as age, education, income and political interest and knowledge. The study made it clear to Pruysers that personality does play a role, so in order to convince skeptics to adopt planet-friendly practices, he says different tactics may be needed. For example, Pruysers said, other research has shown that people who score higher in narcissism are more likely to buy environmentally friendly products if they might be seen and admired by others while doing it. Pruysers emphasized that the study is not labelling climate skeptics as narcissists or psychopaths. "When people hear something like narcissism or psychopathy, right, it's jarring. We're not talking about clinical levels of these things," he says. Rather, he says, the traits are measured on a spectrum and most people will exhibit elements of those traits. Matthew Hornsey is a professor in the business school at the University of Queensland in Australia who researches the psychological motivations for rejecting scientific consensus, including climate change skepticism. He said the Dalhousie study is "one of the more authoritative statements" around the role of personality and climate skepticism and its methodology is more sophisticated than other studies on the topic. While the data makes it clear there is a relationship between climate skepticism and darker personality traits, and pro-social traits and acceptance of climate science, those relationships are not particularly strong. "Just because something is there, doesn't mean it's a big, big effect," Hornsey said. "You would have a hard time predicting people's climate change views just from their personality." He said putting the study's findings to use would be challenging. "What do you do with this information? You can't change people's personalities, and so it's not easy to have an intervention around that." Hornsey did note, however, that developments in artificial intelligence have improved the ability to detect personality from the media people consume and how they write on social media. That ability could be harnessed to develop "micro-targeted" messages based on personality. "But, you know, that's a whole can of worms," he said. MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
30-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
Personality plays a role in whether you believe in climate change, Dalhousie study finds
Personality plays a role in whether people believe in climate change, a recent study has found — and that could have implications for efforts to combat climate skepticism. The research from Dalhousie University in Halifax found people who are more skeptical about climate change are more likely to rank higher on scales of narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy — traits that reflect a tendency to be self-centred, manipulative, callous and socially aversive. People who are less skeptical about climate change are more likely to have pro-social personality traits of openness, agreeableness, honesty, humility and emotionality. Scott Pruysers is an associate professor in the political science department at Dalhousie University and the lead author of the study, published in March in the journal Climatic Change. He says understanding the personality roots of climate skepticism can help develop more effective strategies to encourage environmentally conscious behaviour. "The precursor to developing good policy or understanding why people care about this issue is understanding who doesn't care about it, who remains skeptical," he said. "And so we're going to have to get kind of creative and smarter with the messaging." How the study was done The researchers analyzed data from a survey of 1,725 Canadians conducted in 2020. The survey respondents were asked to rate how much they agreed or disagreed with the following statements: I am certain that climate change is happening. Claims that human activities are changing the climate are exaggerated. Floods and heat waves are not increasing; there is just more reporting of it in the media these days. Climate change is just a result of natural variation in the climate. Climate change is a scam. Government should do more to address climate change. Pruysers says while researchers have previously looked at the roots of climate skepticism, some of those studies had limitations that the Dalhousie study tried to overcome. While other studies have relied primarily on undergraduates as participants, his study ensured the participants reflected the income, gender and age distribution of the Canadian population. In addition, previous studies have used as few as 10 descriptors (for example, reserved/quiet, or disorganized/careless) to assess personality. Pruysers's study used more robust measures that included more than 160 descriptors. Scientific consensus There is worldwide scientific consensus that the Earth's climate is changing, and that human activity has unequivocally caused climate change. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which produces assessments written by hundreds of leading scientists, has found that climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health, and that changes must be made to ensure a liveable and sustainable future. The Dalhousie study found that more than 20 per cent of participants believe claims that human activity is changing the climate are exaggerated, 17 per cent believe climate-related events such as floods or heat waves are not increasing, and more than 10 per cent disagree that governments should be doing more to address climate change. More recent data has also found similar levels of skepticism among Canadians and dwindling concern about climate change. Different strategies may be needed Demographic and political factors do affect climate skepticism. For instance, the study found that men and people who are more right wing are more skeptical, while those with higher education levels, income and political knowledge are less skeptical. While the participants' self-placement on the left-right ideology scale was the factor that most accurately predicted climate skepticism, openness was the second most predictive factor, outperforming factors such as age, education, income and political interest and knowledge. The study made it clear to Pruysers that personality does play a role, so in order to convince skeptics to adopt planet-friendly practices, he says different tactics may be needed. For example, Pruysers said, other research has shown that people who score higher in narcissism are more likely to buy environmentally friendly products if they might be seen and admired by others while doing it. Pruysers emphasized that the study is not labelling climate skeptics as narcissists or psychopaths. "When people hear something like narcissism or psychopathy, right, it's jarring. We're not talking about clinical levels of these things," he says. Rather, he says, the traits are measured on a spectrum and most people will exhibit elements of those traits. Hard to put findings to use Matthew Hornsey is a professor in the business school at the University of Queensland in Australia who researches the psychological motivations for rejecting scientific consensus, including climate change skepticism. He said the Dalhousie study is "one of the more authoritative statements" around the role of personality and climate skepticism and its methodology is more sophisticated than other studies on the topic. While the data makes it clear there is a relationship between climate skepticism and darker personality traits, and pro-social traits and acceptance of climate science, those relationships are not particularly strong. "Just because something is there, doesn't mean it's a big, big effect," Hornsey said. "You would have a hard time predicting people's climate change views just from their personality." He said putting the study's findings to use would be challenging. "What do you do with this information? You can't change people's personalities, and so it's not easy to have an intervention around that." Hornsey did note, however, that developments in artificial intelligence have improved the ability to detect personality from the media people consume and how they write on social media. That ability could be harnessed to develop "micro-targeted" messages based on personality. "But, you know, that's a whole can of worms," he said.
