Attentional and perceptual biases of climate change

Climate change is the most significant global challenge facing humanity. Despite the unequivocal scientific evidence and the overwhelming adverse impacts of climate change, there is a growing divide in the beliefs on the anthropogenic causes of climate change. To explore the underlying cognitive mechanisms of this divide, we review recent studies revealing a number of attentional and perceptual biases that can give rise to the divergent opinions on climate change. With these cognitive insights in mind, we discuss several communication approaches (e.g. framing, visualization) that have the potential to mitigate the attentional and perceptual biases, with the broader goal of minimizing polarizing views and promoting actions to address climate change.