Mind: What's the Temperature Today? Your Answer Depends on Your Political Beliefs

Researchers looked at three years of surveys on the weather, divided them up by zip code, and compared residents' answers to the actual weather in each area. It turned out that people correctly observed trends in weather events, such as floods and droughts. But on average, their perceptions of temperature trends had nothing to do with the actual climate. Instead, the best predictor of people's answers was cultural affiliation.

Strong individualists, whose dislike of rules makes them opposed to environmental regulations, believed that temperatures were the same, while egalitarians, who prioritize their group identities, were more likely to state that temperatures had increased. Because we have incorporated belief in climate change into our political and cultural identities—-and temperature is strongly associated with global warming—-the need to maintain our identities skews our perception of reality.

For more, see What's the Temperature Today? Your Answer Depends on Your Political Beliefs by Sophie Bushwick, July 21, 2012 at 80beats.