The clear implication is that for weak believers in man-made climate change, comforting news will have a big impact, and alarming news won’t. Strong believers will show the opposite pattern. And because Americans are frequently exposed to competing claims about the latest scientific evidence, these opposing tendencies will predictably create political polarization — and it will grow over time. In the case of information about ourselves — about how attractive others perceive us to be, or how likely we are to succeed — people normally alter their beliefs more in response to good news. In certain circumstances, that will also be true for political issues — as in the case … Continue reading Tali Sharot, Cass R. Sunstein