The Effect of Trust in Science and Media Use on Public Belief in Anthropogenic Climate Change: A Meta-analysis

A consensus gap exists between scientific and public opinion on the existence and causes of anthropogenic climate change (ACC). Public opinion on ACC is influenced by individual trust in science and the use of different media sources. We used systematic review and applied meta-analysis to examine how trust in science and the use of new versus traditional, and centralized versus user-generated media are related to public opinion on ACC. We compiled two data sets: trust in science (<i>n</i> = 13, <i>k</i> = 18) and media use (<i>n</i> = 12, <i>k</i> = 68). Our results showed a positive relationship between the levels of trust, media use, and ACC beliefs in line with the scientific consensus (i.e. pro-social ACC beliefs), with media use being moderated by nationality. Additionally, the effect size for using new or user-generated media sources was twice as large as using traditional or centralized media sources.

在人为气候变化（anthropogenic climate change, ACC）的存在性与成因议题上，科学界与公众舆论之间存在共识鸿沟。公众对人为气候变化的看法，会受到个体对科学的信任程度以及不同媒体来源使用习惯的影响。本研究采用系统综述与元分析方法，探讨科学信任度、新型与传统媒体以及中心化与用户生成内容媒体的使用行为，与公众对人为气候变化的舆论认知之间的关联。我们构建了两类数据集：科学信任数据集（样本量<i>n</i> = 13，研究数量<i>k</i> = 18）与媒体使用数据集（样本量<i>n</i> = 12，研究数量<i>k</i> = 68）。研究结果显示，科学信任水平、媒体使用量与契合科学共识的人为气候变化信念（即亲社会性人为气候变化信念）之间呈正相关关系，且媒体使用行为的相关强度受国籍的调节作用。此外，使用新型或用户生成内容媒体的效应量是使用传统或中心化媒体的两倍。