Essay by Eric Worrall
A group of psychologists have claimed that fear drives deniers to deny the truth. But they ignore the evidence that academic groups think hysteria is the real “climate crisis”.
Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can lead to climate change denial
Published: 30 October 2024 23:40 AEDT
Jamie Goldenberg is Professor of Psychology and Area Director, Cognitive, Neuroscience and Social Psychology, University of South Florida
Emily P. Courtney Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of South Florida
Joshua Hart Professor of Psychology, Union College
When TV in Florida broadcast the highly publicized images of the hurricane hitting the coast in early October 2024, people whose homes had been destroyed less than two weeks before Hurricane Helene watched anxiously. Hurricane Milton is quickly becoming a dangerous storm, fueled by record-breaking Gulf of Mexico temperatures.
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However, many people deny that climate change is a worsening threat, or that it does not exist. As their influence becomes more visible and destructive, how can they?
One answer lies in a unique aspect of human psychology—specifically, how people manage the fear evoked by existential threats. For many people, denying the existence of the climate crisis is not only convenient, but perhaps psychologically necessary.
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Terror Management Theory
Pulitzer Prize-winning anthropologist Ernest Becker said: “The idea of ​​death, of fear, haunts the human animal like nothing else…
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Terror management theory predicts that individuals whose ideologies conflict with environmental concerns may ironically double down on these beliefs to psychologically manage the existential threat posed by climate disasters. It is similar to how reminders of death can lead people to engage in risky behaviors, such as smoking or tanning. Storms can reinforce denial and commitment to worldviews that deny climate change.
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Read more: https://theconversation.com/time-to-freak-out-how-the-existential-terror-of-hurricanes-can-fuel-climate-change-denial-242390
What is so sad about these articles is that the alarming academics who wrote them never publicly admit that they are wrong.
Because there is so much evidence, the climate crisis narrative is just Western academic mass hysteria.
The strongest evidence for hysteria and groupthink is all the academics from outside the North American and European sphere of influence who are sounding the alarm about the lack of evidence to support alarmist climate claims.
My name is Yonatan Dubi, I am a professor of chemistry and physics at Ben Gurion University, Israel. I am also one of Israel’s leading advocates for rational environmentalism and climate realism. Together with some colleagues, we have done excellent research, clarifying and quantifying the flaws in the famous consensus study by Lynas et al, which (falsely) claimed a 99% consensus. After a year long journey, our paper was finally published in the peer reviewed journal Climate, the link is https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/11/11/215.
Or from the Russian Academy of Sciences;
And of course there are people on the ground, who just call BS on some of the climate narratives they prefer.
You would think a group of psychologists like those who wrote the article at the top of the page could take an interest in the possibility of actually living through the period of hysteria of the academic group, as in the past episode I am sure they have learned. Even if he doesn’t accept his interpretation of events, he should at least mention it, and explain why he doesn’t believe that interpretation is correct.
Research that dares to expose group think will continue, to be celebrated by our descendants, just as we celebrate the academics of the past who fought against the darkness of ignorance and prejudice.
People always remember the heroes who stand in the truth. How long will people remember the name of psychologist Jordan Peterson?
But I guess even psychologists are susceptible to groupthink. It takes academics with courage and conviction to really question the imagination of society, people who are ready to accept the kind of punishment society always visits in high profile people who take the sacred cow of political convenience.
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