Using different types of humor to communicate the risks of climate change

It is widely accepted that anthropogenic greenhouse gases significantly contribute to global climate change. However, many “climate skeptics” in the United States challenge the concept, while others deny it altogether. Science educators need to employ better means of communicating climate change risks, as a well-informed populace will more likely mitigate environmentally harmful behavior. Humor has been used to deescalate social conflict and make speakers seem more approachable. We investigated the impact of humor on the effectiveness of a video that communicates the risks of climate change. To explore this relationship, a survey was conducted on undergraduate students in a General Entomology and a Natural Resources Management class at North Dakota State University (n = 100). Respondents took a pretest that asked for their opinions and knowledge of climate change and their need for cognition (predisposition to regularly exert intense mental effort). Respondents then viewed one of three climate change videos: 1) a video with no humor, 2) a video that presented the exact same information using sarcastic humor that berates the audience, and 3) a video that presented exactly the same information using “goofy” humor that does not target the audience. Participants then took a post-test that asked for their opinions and knowledge of climate change, sense of humor, comprehension of the video’s content, and likelihood of taking actions to mitigate the effects of climate change. The results of this study can help educators consider different communicative approaches to presenting potentially threatening or controversial information to undergraduate audiences.