A new study released by Professors Shahzeen Attari and John Graham from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Ben Motz, assistant professor at the IU Department of Brain and Psychological Sciences, and colleagues challenges the long-held assumption that educating the public is the key to accelerating the transition to clean energy.
The research, “Do Facts Matter: Consumer Misperceptions about Adopting Electrification Technologies,” published in Climatic Change, reveals that when it comes to technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps, personal identity and confirmation bias are far more influential than factual accuracy.
“When it comes to electric cars and heat pumps, people don’t make decisions based on facts alone — they follow stories that fit what they already believe,” Attari said. “People don’t adopt or reject EVs and heat pumps because they understand the facts better. They do it because technologies fit or threaten who they are, what they value, and what their social world reinforces.”
The project began in early 2024 when researchers at the Attari Lab noticed a surge in factually incorrect narratives regarding low-carbon technologies circulating online. Concerned that this misinformation could derail public willingness to adopt green tech, the team—including three student coauthors: Apramay Mishra, Grace Brautigam, and Ty Trapp—set out to track how these narratives shape consumer behavior.
The study’s most striking discovery flips common wisdom on its head: Owning clean technology does not make a person more knowledgeable about it. In fact, the research shows that people who own EVs or heat pumps are often less accurate about basic facts than non-owners. Ownership doesn’t protect against misinformation—it can actually make people biased toward believing flattering but false claims.
“The 'information deficit' model—the idea that people just need the right facts to make better choices—still shapes a lot of policy thinking, even though psychological science says otherwise,” Motz said. “People don’t simply process facts and make rational choices. We're meaning-makers who process information through the filter of our own identities.”
Both EVs and heat pumps are more energy efficient than their fossil-fuel counterparts, and as the grid transitions to low-carbon sources such as solar and wind power, there is the opportunity to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. However, adoption varies widely by geography and economic demographics, as well as relatively high upfront costs.
The report highlights a political aspect to the technologies. Namely, respondents who identify as conservative tend to believe negative claims more readily, while those who identify as liberal are equally prone to accepting positive falsehoods. Both groups tend to be confident in their beliefs, even when they are demonstrably wrong.
“This partially explains why climate debates feel ‘stuck,’” Attari said. “People aren’t just disagreeing. They’re experiencing different realities shaped by misinformation, politics and prior beliefs.”
The implications for policy are significant. The study suggests that the standard approach of providing more thorough fact sheets or myth-busting guides is unlikely to change minds. Instead, effective climate action must address identity and trust while also acknowledging emotional and political biases by designing policies and messaging that work with human psychology and not against it.
This work is supported by the Paul H. O’Neill professorship awarded to Professor Shahzeen Attari.