Thinking Climate – A Mind Genomics Cartography

Abstract

The paper deals with the inner mind of the respondent about climate change, using Mind Genomics. Respondents evaluated different combinations of messages about problems and solutions touching on current and future climate change. Respondents rated each combination on a two-dimensional scale regarding believability and workability. The ratings were deconstructed into the linkage between each message and believability vs. workability, respectively. Two mind-sets emerged, Alarmists who focus on the problems that are obvious to climate change, and Investors who focus on a limited number of feasible solutions. These two mind-sets distribute across the population, but can be uncovered through a PVI, personal mind-set identifier. Introduction Importance of the Weather and Climate As of this writing, the concerns about climate i daily in written materials, whether the news or in academic articles. A search during mid-December 2020 reveal 416 million hits for ‘global warming,’ 350 million hits for ‘global cooling’ 886 million his for ‘weather storms’ and 608 million hits for ‘global weather change.’ The academic literature shows the parallel level of interest in weather and its changes. A retrospective of issues about climate change shows the increasing number of ‘hit’ over the past 20 years, as Table 1 shows. These hits suggest that issues regarding climate change are high on the list of people’s concerns. Beyond Surveys to the Inside of the Mind The typical news story about climate changes is predicated on storytelling, combining a historical overview, current economic concerns, description of behavior from a social psychology or sociological viewpoint, and often a doom and gloom prediction which demands action today to be forestalled. All aspects are correct, in theory. What is missing is a deeper understanding of the inner thinking of a person when confronting the issue of climate change. Year Global Warming Global Cooling Weather Storms Global Weather Change 2000 14,900 22,300 8,370 34,30