Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
Apocalypse soon? Dire messages reduce belief in global warming by contradicting just-world beliefs
Matthew Feinberg1, Robb Willer
1Psychology Department, University of California,Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-5050, USA. matthewfeinberg@berkeley.edu
Abstract:
Though scientific evidence for the existence of global warming continues to mount, in the United States and other countries belief in global warming has stagnated or even decreased in recent years. One possible explanation for this pattern is that information about the potentially dire consequences of global warming threatens deeply held beliefs that the world is just, orderly, and stable. Individuals overcome this threat by denying or discounting the existence of global warming, and this process ultimately results in decreased willingness to counteract climate change. Two experiments provide support for this explanation of the dynamics of belief in global warming, suggesting that less dire messaging could be more effective for promoting public understanding of climate-change research.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Group Polarization
Fundamental Attribution Error
What is Climate?
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Unrealistic Optimism Bias

