A Note on the Perverse Effects of Actively Open-minded Thinking on Climate-change Polarization

This research note, published in Research & Politics, presents evidence that political polarization over the reality of human-caused climate change increases in tandem with individuals’ scores on a standard measure of Actively Open-minded Thinking. This finding is at odds with the position that attributes political conflict over facts to a personality trait of closed-mindedness associated with political conservatism.