The moral side of the climate crisis: the effect of moral conviction on learning about climate change

ABSTRACT Objective Moral convictions have been shown to impact learning about science topics including evolution and COVID-19. However, how moral convictions influence learning about climate change – another science topic perceived as controversial – has not been studied in depth. The goal of our research was to investigate the predictive relationship between moral convictions, engagement, plausibility, emotions, and knowledge when learning about climate change. Method Undergraduate pre-service teacher students (N = 348) rated their moral convictions about climate change and read a refutation text on the topic. Results The majority of students indicated that acting to mitigate climate change was a moral imperative (n = 268) compared with those without a position (n = 80). Results indicate that whether an individual perceives acting on climate change as morally imperative is a powerful precursor to their learning experience. Moreover, those who developed a stronger moral conviction indicated deeper learning, engagement, and stronger negative emotions. Finally, stronger moral convictions, emotions, knowledge, and engagement all predicted seeing the scientific model of climate change as more plausible. Conclusion Taken together, our results have implications for how moral convictions may influence how educators should engage students and the general public about the topic of climate change.