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Causal knowledge promotes behavioral self-regulation: an example using climate change dynamics

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dc.contributor.authorSewell, D.K.
dc.contributor.authorRayner, P.J.
dc.contributor.authorShank, D.B.
dc.contributor.authorGuy, S.
dc.contributor.authorLilburn, S.D.
dc.contributor.authorSaber, S.
dc.contributor.authorKashima, Y.
dc.contributor.editorPerales, J.C.
dc.date.issued2017
dc.descriptionData source: Supporting information, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184480
dc.description.abstractAdopting successful climate change mitigation policies requires the public to choose how to balance the sometimes competing goals of managing CO 2 emissions and achieving economic growth. It follows that collective action on climate change depends on members of the public to be knowledgeable of the causes and economic ramifications of climate change. The existing literature, however, shows that people often struggle to correctly reason about the fundamental accumulation dynamics that drive climate change. Previous research has focused on using analogy to improve people’s reasoning about accumulation, which has been met with some success. However, these existing studies have neglected the role economic factors might play in shaping people’s decisions in relation to climate change. Here, we introduce a novel iterated decision task in which people attempt to achieve a specific economic goal by interacting with a causal dynamic system in which human economic activities, CO 2 emissions, and warming are all causally interrelated. We show that when the causal links between these factors are highlighted, people’s ability to achieve the economic goal of the task is enhanced in a way that approaches optimal responding, and avoids dangerous levels of warming.
dc.identifier.citationPLoS ONE, 2017; 12(9, article no. e0184480):1-19
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0184480
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11541.2/128711
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.relation.fundingARC DP130102229
dc.relation.fundingARC DE140100772 Early Career Research Award fellowship
dc.rightsCopyright 2017 Sewell et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184480
dc.subjectdecision-making
dc.subjectmental models
dc.subjectpeople know
dc.subjecteducated laypeople
dc.subjectcarbon-cycle
dc.subjectmisperceptions
dc.subjectaccumulation
dc.subjectfeedback
dc.subjectpolicies
dc.subjectinterventions
dc.titleCausal knowledge promotes behavioral self-regulation: an example using climate change dynamics
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished
ror.fileinfo12149375860001831 13149385730001831 journal.pone.0184480.pdf
ror.mmsid9916157211001831

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