Gibson, Charley2015-08-102015-08-102015-06https://hdl.handle.net/1794/1906026 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Political Science and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2015.This paper describes cognitive tendencies when people are confronted with politically polarized issues of high moral salience. It argues that political polarization is a result of a combination of group-preferring biases and the emotional basis of the human moral system. Suggestions for how to transcend political polarization and communicate effectively are then offered, specifically for the issue of climate change. The paper’s motivation is to work towards conveying the urgency of action to mitigate the severity of climate change to the general public.en-USCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USPolitical sciencePolitical polarizationMoralityMoral foundationsClimate changePolitical communicationEvolutionary psychologyThesis / Dissertation