The issue of climate change has become central in recent years as alarming data accumulate. It nevertheless has its critics, consisting of people denying climate change or minimizing the responsibility of human beings in the process. This skepticism partly derives from the complexity of the topic, encouraging people to rely on cognitive shortcuts to grasp the phenomenon. We question the role of analytic cognitive style, general and climate change-related knowledge, overconfidence, and political partisanship (plus additional expected confounding variables) in this process through a package of three studies (total N = 1031). In a first study, we showed that an intuitive mindset predicted greater skepticism relative to an analytical mindset while controlling for cognitive ability and the degree to which individuals value science, suggesting that reasoning cognitive style and trust are key parameters of climate change skepticism. A second study highlighted that climate science knowledge stands as strong and independent predictors of skepticism relative to analytic cognitive style. A final study revealed that analytic cognitive style and climate change knowledge generated less influence on climate change skepticism among conservatives than among liberals and moderates, suggesting that reliance on deliberative thinking and knowledgeability on climate science are not sufficient to mitigate climate change skepticism among conservatives. We discuss the critical interplay between cognitive processes and political partisanship in this ongoing debate.

随着警报数据的累积，近年来气候变化问题已成为中心问题。尽管如此，它还是有批评者，其中包括否认气候变化或将人类在此过程中的责任降至最低的人们。这种怀疑在某种程度上源于主题的复杂性，鼓励人们依靠认知捷径来掌握这一现象。我们通过三项研究（总N项）对这一过程中分析性认知风格，与气候变化相关的一般知识，过度自信和政治党派性（以及其他预期的混杂变量）的作用提出质疑。 = 1031）。在第一项研究中，我们表明，相对于分析型思维，直觉型思维模式预测的怀疑主义更高，同时控制认知能力和个人对科学的重视程度，这表明推理风格和信任是气候变化怀疑主义的关键参数。第二项研究强调，相对于分析型认知方式，气候科学知识是怀疑主义的有力且独立的预测因子。一项最终研究表明，分析型的认知风格和气候变化知识对保守主义者的气候变化怀疑论产生的影响要小于自由派和温和派对气候变化怀疑论的影响，这表明依靠协商性思考和对气候科学的了解不足以减轻保守派对气候变化怀疑论的影响。