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ERIC Number: EJ1260235
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0047-231X
EISSN: N/A
Geoscience Education and Motivated Reasoning: Learning about Climate Change
Fisher, Emily; Arens, Nan Crystal
Journal of College Science Teaching, v49 n5 p36-41 May-Jun 2020
Individuals use information selectively, in ways that support group beliefs or one's psychological needs--this is motivated reasoning. Motivated reasoning is revealed in correlations between (1) opinions/knowledge and (2) individual cognitive preferences, such as need for closure, belief in a just world, and authoritarianism. We ask whether motivated reasoning around climate change persists after a 14-week college-level geoscience course, using a quasi-experimental design that compared students in nonmajor geoscience classes focusing on climate (N = 134) with students in similar courses that did not address contemporary climate change (N = 94). At the beginning of the course, students completed surveys that assessed cognitive preferences, political affiliation, general science and climate science knowledge, and opinions on anthropogenic climate change. At the end of the course, students' knowledge and opinions were reassessed. Correlations among variables indicated tendencies toward motivated reasoning at the beginning of the class. However, at the semester's end, evidence of motivated reasoning diminished: Fewer correlations between psychological variables and climate change knowledge and opinions reached significance, and those that did were less robust at the end of the semester. The effect was similar for both courses, demonstrating that a semester-long science course, irrespective of topic, may reduce motivated reasoning around climate change.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A