000 02002cam a2200229 4500500
005 20250121101529.0
041 _afre
042 _adc
100 1 0 _aPeretti-Watel, Patrick
_eauthor
700 1 0 _a Hammer, Béatrice
_eauthor
245 0 0 _aLay Perceptions of the Greenhouse Effect
260 _c2006.
500 _a98
520 _aUsing the data from the French Environment Barometer EDF-R&D 2004 (national representative sample of French citizens aged over 15) and surveys by ADEME between 2000 and 2005, the paper investigates lay perceptions of the causes and consequences of the greenhouse effect, which may be considered as archetypal of contemporary environmental risks. Beyond lay lack of knowledge, the greenhouse effect gives rise to coherent and meaningful cognitions, including causal explanations, shaped by the pre-existing cognitive framework. This cognitive work, based on analogic rather than scientific thought, strings together the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, air pollution and even nuclear power. The cognitive process is also fed by the individuals’ general conceptions of Nature and of the rights and duties of humankind towards Nature. People are not greatly worried about the unseen and controversial consequences of the greenhouse effect: such worry could be one of those “elite fears” mentioned by Beck. Finally, while the efficiency of public policies to counter the greenhouse effect requires extensive societal involvement, low confidence towards both political and scientific authorities may prevent the population from becoming aware of the environmental stakes tied to the greenhouse effect.
690 _aopinion survey
690 _alay perceptions
690 _asociology
690 _aFrance
690 _agreenhouse effect
786 0 _nNatures Sciences Sociétés | 14 | 4 | 2006-12-01 | p. 353-364 | 1240-1307
856 4 1 _uhttps://shs.cairn.info/journal-natures-sciences-societes-2006-4-page-353?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999 _c524960
_d524960