
ISTPP Director Vedlitz, along with ISTPP Fellows Douglas Oxley and Sammy Zahran, and co-authors Jeremy Brooks and Charles Lindsey, have published their article, “Abnormal Daily Temperature and Concern about Climate Change Across the United States,” in Review of Policy Research. In this study, the researchers sought to examine the relationship of environmental conditions on attitudes toward climate change. Using results from two national surveys of US adults along with data on mean temperatures the dates of the surveys, the authors demonstrate that both abnormally warm temperatures as well as abnormally cool temperatures effect the public’s level of concern for climate change. The researchers’ explore how the theoretical frameworks of availability bias, mental models, and implicit stimuli may explain their findings and develop implications for climate policy.
This article was based on a research project conducted by ISTPP under two grants awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Jeremy Brooks, Douglas Oxley, Arnold Vedlitz, Sammy Zahran, and Charles Lindsey. 2014. “Abnormal Daily Temperature and Concern about Climate Change Across the United States.” Review of Policy Research 31(3): 199–217. DOI: 10.1111/ropr.12067.