Connie Roser-Renouf

• Stanford University, PhD
• Professor (Associate) at George Mason University

Background: Climate change poses a major public health threat. A survey of U.S. local health department directors in 2008 found widespread recognition of the threat, but limited adaptive capacity, due to perceived lack of expertise and other resources. Methods: We assessed changes between 2008 and 2012 in local public health departments' prepare...

Key Findings From Spring to Fall of 2015 (before the Pope’s encyclical to after his visit to the U.S.)... Americans Developed a More Positive View of the Pope • More Americans (+7 percentage points), especially Catholics (+13 points), have a very positive opinion of the Pope. • Trust in the Pope as a source of information about global warming incre...

Global climate change – a threat of potentially unprecedented magnitude – is viewed from a variety of perspectives by Americans, with some dismissing the danger, some entirely unaware of its significance, and still others highly concerned and motivated to take action. Understanding the sources of these diverse perspectives is key to effective audie...

Climate change activism has been uncommon in the U.S., but a growing national movement is pressing for a political response. To assess the cognitive and affective precursors of climate activism, we hypothesize and test a two-stage information-processing model based on social cognitive theory. In stage 1, expectations about climate change outcomes a...

Building public consensus about the threat of climate change is critical for enacting meaningful action to address it. To understand how Americans are changing their beliefs about climate change, research typically relies on cross-sectional survey responses. Data that is collected from the same individuals over time– panel data– provides clearer ev...

The optimal emotional tone for climate communication has been debated by scholars and the press, but little is known about the effects of emotions on different types of policy support. In this paper we examine multiple discrete emotions people experience in reaction to climate change, and assess the strength of these emotions as predictors of suppo...

Introduction As emotions are strong predictors of climate policy support, we examined multiple discrete emotions that people experience in reaction to various types of information about climate change: its causes, the scientific consensus, its impacts, and solutions. Specifically, we assessed the relationships between four types of messages and fiv...

A message-testing experiment assessed the effectiveness of targeted video messages in changing six audience segments’ climate change understanding and concern. Participants viewed one of four short videos addressing their segment’s informational needs, as identified by survey data on their segment’s climate change beliefs. Segments that are skeptic...

Strategic communication requires the identification and understanding of target audiences for tailored communication. The Global Warming’s Six Americas analysis segments the U.S. public into six distinct, but internally consistent audiences, who each respond differently to the issue of climate change. The segments include the Alarmed, Concerned, Ca...

We report on two independent failures to conceptually replicate findings by Ballard & Lewandowsky (Ballard and Lewandowsky 2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A373, 20140464 (doi:10.1098/rsta.2014.0464)), who showed that certainty in, and concern about, projected public health issues (e.g. impacts of climate change) depend on how uncertain information is pre...

The severe threats posed by anthropogenic climate change make hope and a sense of efficacy key ingredients in effective climate communication. Yet little is known about what makes individuals hopeful–or in contrast, doubtful–that humanity can reduce the problem, or how hope relates to activism. This study uses mixed-methods with two national survey...

The Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University was established to develop and apply social science insights to help society make informed decisions that will stabilize the earth’s life-sustaining climate, and prevent further harm from climate change. In this chapter, we describe our program of research and outreach efforts,...

Audience segmentation has long been used in marketing, public health, and communication, and is now becoming an important tool in the environmental domain as well. Global Warming's Six Americas is a well-established segmentation of Americans based on their climate change beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. The original Six Americas model requires a...

This study joins a growing body of research that demonstrates the behavioral consequences of hostile media perceptions. Using survey data from a nationally representative U.S. sample, this study tests a moderated-mediation model examining the direct and indirect effects of hostile media perceptions on climate change activism. The model includes ext...

Climate change is a burgeoning public health concern, with implications for chronic health conditions; nutrition and food security; food-, water-, and vector-borne diseases; and social disruption, injuries, displacement, and death associated with extreme weather.(1) Climate change is contributing to health disparities in the United States by having...

Many people who are concerned about the issue of climate change do not engage in the collective action behaviors that are most likely to lead to societal-scale solutions. Such attitude-behavior inconsistency is a well-documented phenomenon. This study investigates whether exposure to an effectively framed message from a highly credible source can i...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey- Climate Change in the American Mind- conducted by Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: November 18-December 1, 2016.

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: November 18-­‐December 1, 2016.

In the years prior to his election, President Trump repeatedly referred to climate change as a “hoax” in tweets, speeches, and media interviews. However, as we reported during the primaries, our spring 2016 national survey found that then-­‐candidate Trump was out of sync with many of his supporters on the issue, many of whom said global warming is...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey—Climate Change in the American Mind—conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: March 18–31, 2016.

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Interview dates: M...

This report examines how consistent a moral framing of climate change is with the values and beliefs Americans already hold. It explores the values and beliefs of Americans regarding spirituality, religion, and humans' relationships with each other and the natural world. The analysis describes the spiritual and environmental perspectives of Global...

This report focuses on how Americans (registered voters) across the political spectrum view global warming and how they think citizens and government should address it. Consistent with our prior surveys, we find that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be convinced that human-caused global warming is happening and to support climate actio...

Key Findings • Two in three (67%) Americans think global warming is happening. By contrast, only about one in six Americans (16%) thinks global warming is not happening. • About half of Americans (53%) think that global warming, if it is happening, is mostly human caused. One in three (33%) say they believe it is due mostly to natural changes in th...

Given the Pope’s stature as a global religious leader, and the large number of Catholic Americans, we decided to assess whether the Pope’s teachings have had an influence on Americans’, particularly Catholics’, understanding, opinions, and dialogue about climate change. This report examines a large, representative cohort of American adults who were...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Interv...

Background: Global warming has significant negative consequences for human health, with some groups at greater risk than others. The extent to which the public is aware of these risks is unclear; the limited extant research has yielded discrepant findings. Objectives: This paper describes Americans' awareness of the health effects of global warm...

Key Findings This report examines the global warming beliefs, attitudes, risk perceptions, policy preferences, and related moral values of three major groups of American Christians – Catholics, non-evangelical Protestants, and born again/evangelical Christians. It also investigates how different American Christians currently view Pope Francis and...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Interv...

This report examines the global warming beliefs, attitudes, risk perceptions, policy preferences, and related moral values of three major groups of American Christians – Catholics, non-evangelical Protestants, and born again/evangelical Christians.1 It also investigates how different American Christians currently view Pope Francis and to what exten...

This report focuses on how Americans (registered voters) across the political spectrum–Democrats, Independents, and Republicans and liberals, moderates, and conservatives–view global warming and how they think citizens and government should address it. Consistent with prior surveys, we find that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be conv...

Ever-increasing global warming has created a societal imperative to reach and engage youth, whose futures are at risk. In this paper, we evaluate the climate science knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, behavior and communication impact of an entertainment-education high school assembly program in a random sample of 49 schools (from population of 779 tha...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climatecommunication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Intervi...

This report, the seventh on Global Warming’s Six Americas, focuses on the segments' understanding of the human health consequences of global warming, as recently described in the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Our findings indicate that even the segments most concerned about global warming have little understanding of its human health consequenc...

Climate change activism has been uncommon in the U.S., but a growing national movement is pressing for a political response. To assess the cognitive and affective precursors of climate activism, we hypothesize and test a two-stage information-processing model based on social cognitive theory. In stage 1, expectations about climate change outcomes a...

This report provides results from three studies that collectively find that global warming and climate change are often not synonymous—they mean different things to different people—and activate different sets of beliefs, feelings, and behaviors, as well as different degrees of urgency about the need to respond.

This report focuses on how Americans (registered voters) across the political spectrum – Democrats, Independents, and Republicans and liberals, moderates, and conservatives – view global warming and how they think citizens and government should address it. Consistent with prior surveys, we find that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climatecommunication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Intervi...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Interv...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Interv...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (http://environment.yale.edu/climatecommunication) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (http://www.climatechangecommunication.org). Intervi...

This report contains topline results of a national survey of 726 adults who recently identified as a Republican or a Republican-leaning Independent. The sample was drawn from 938 people who – during their participation in one of three nationallyrepresentative Climate Change in the American Mind surveys conducted by Yale and George Mason University...

In this paper, we address the chicken-or-egg question posed by two alternative explanations for the relationship between perceived personal experience of global warming and belief certainty that global warming is happening: Do observable climate impacts create opportunities for people to become more certain of the reality of global warming, or does...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: April 8 - 15, 2013. Interviews: 1,045 Adults (18+) Total average margin of error: +/-...

In this national survey, we investigated four types of climate and energy-related behavior – consumer, civic, household and transportation (energy use), and communication. This report focuses on the first three types. Consumer behavior has become an important way Americans express their values and concerns, leading to new products and services, cre...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: April 8 – 15. Interviews: 1,045 Adults (18+). Total average margin of error: +/- 3 pe...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: April 8 - 15, 2013. Interviews: 1,045 Adults (18+) Total average margin of error: +/-...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: April 8 - 15, 2013. Interviews: 1,045 Adults (18+) Total average margin of error: +/-...

This report contains results from a nationally representative survey of American adults conducted in April and May 2012. The survey examined public beliefs about federal agencies that are engaged in climate change research, and assessed which agencies the public looks to for answers to their questions on the issue. Furthermore, participants visited...

This report contains results from a nationally representative survey of American adults conducted in April and May 2012. The survey examined public beliefs about federal agencies that are engaged in climate change research, and assessed which agencies the public looks to for answers to their questions on the issue. Furthermore, participants visited...

This brief report examines findings from our previously released September 2012 nationwide Climate Change in the American Mind survey and previous research to answer the question: Do political leaders stand to benefit, or not, from talking about and supporting action to address global warming?

This brief report examines findings from our previously released September 2012 nationwide Climate Change in the American Mind survey and previous research to answer the question: Do political leaders stand to benefit, or not, from talking about and supporting action to address global warming?

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: April 8 - 15, 2013. Interviews: 1,045 Adults (18+) Total average margin of error: +/-...

Survey participants were asked a range of questions including their perceptions of federal agencies that conduct research on climate change and their beliefs about climate change. They also reviewed NASA's climate change website, and responded to questions about the site. In this section we report selected key findings that will likely be of intere...

Climate change threatens human health through multiple avenues, including extreme weather, changes in rainfall, spreading vector-borne diseases, and reduced air quality; public health departments face the growing challenge of protecting Americans from these threats. A survey by the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) a...

Today's children face a changing climate, and the lessons they learn at home about sustainable, climate-friendly behavior may help reduce the health threats they will face in the future. Family norms to conserve or consume may support or inhibit sustainable behavior; given that multiple individuals must cooperate in conservation, interpersonal comm...

In 2008, using nationally representative survey data on global warming beliefs, behaviors and policy preferences in the United States, we identified six distinct groups of Americans – “Global Warming’s Six Americas.” Since then, we have tracked the size of these six audiences – and the ongoing evolution of their beliefs, behaviors and policy prefer...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: August 31, 2012 – September 12, 2012. Interviews: 1,061 Adults (18+). Total average m...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: August 31, 2012 – September, 2012. Interviews: 1,061 Adults (18+) Total average margi...

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: August 31, 2012 – September 12, 2012. Interviews: 1,061 Adults (18+). Total average m...

Nationally representative surveys conducted in 2008 and 2010 found significant declines in Americans’ climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and trust in scientists. Drawing upon the Social Amplification of Risk Framework, this analysis empirically examines the impact of “climategate”—an international scandal resulting from the unauthorized rele...

Overall, majorities of Americans say that global warming and clean energy should be among the nation’s priorities, want more action by elected officials, corporations and citizens themselves, and support a variety of climate change and energy policies, including holding fossil fuel companies responsible for all the “hidden costs” of their products....

In March 2012 we conducted a nationally representative survey and found that a large majority of Americans say they personally experienced an extreme weather event or natural disaster in the past year. A majority of Americans also say the weather in the United States is getting worse and many report that extreme weather in their own local area has...

We conducted a nationally representative survey (n = 1,008) to assess public climate change understanding, risk perceptions, policy support, and climate and energy-related behaviors from March 12, 2012 – March 30, 2012. This report describes Americans’ actions to conserve energy, reduce waste, and limit global warming drawing on this and our prior...

This report extends and updates an ongoing program of research analyzing Americans’ interpretations of and responses to climate change. The research segments the American public into six audiences that range along a spectrum of concern and issue engagement from the Alarmed , who are convinced of the reality and danger of climate change and highly s...

Global climate change is likely to have significant impacts on public health. Effective communication is critical to informing public decision making and behavior to mitigate climate change. An effective method of audience segmentation, the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework has been previously tested with other health behaviors and classifie...

This study examines climate change coverage on the three major cable news channels and assesses the relationship between viewership of these channels and beliefs about global warming. Evidence from a content analysis of climate change coverage on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC during 2007 and 2008 demonstrates that Fox takes a more dismissive tone toward...

That the climate science community has not been entirely effective in sharing what it knows about climate change with the broader public - and with policy makers and organizations that should be considering climate change when making decisions - is obvious. Our research shows that a large majority of the American public trusts scientists (76%) and...