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Global Warming's Six Americas 2009: An Audience Segmentation Analysis
Abstract and Figures
One of the first rules of effective communication is to “know thy audience.” Climate change public
communication and engagement efforts must start with the fundamental recognition that people
are different and have different psychological, cultural, and political reasons for acting – or not acting
– to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This report identifies Global Warming’s Six Americas: six
unique audiences within the American public that each responds to the issue in their own distinct way.
The six audiences were identified using a large nationally representative survey of American adults
conducted in the fall of 2008. The survey questionnaire included extensive, in-depth measures of
the public’s climate change beliefs, attitudes, risk perceptions, motivations, values, policy preferences,
behaviors, and underlying barriers to action. The Six Americas are distinguishable on all
these dimensions, and display very different levels of engagement with the issue. They also vary in
size – ranging from as small as 7 percent to as large as 33 percent of the adult population.
The Alarmed (18%) are fully convinced of the reality and seriousness of climate change and are already
taking individual, consumer, and political action to address it. The Concerned (33%) – the
largest of the six Americas – are also convinced that global warming is happening and a serious
problem, but have not yet engaged the issue personally. Three other Americas – the Cautious (19%),
the Disengaged (12%) and the Doubtful (11%) – represent different stages of understanding and acceptance
of the problem, and none are actively involved. The final America – the Dismissive (7%)
– are very sure it is not happening and are actively involved as opponents of a national effort to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
This report introduces these Six Americas by briefly describing each audience and highlighting how
they differ from one another; it concludes with detailed demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral
profiles of each group. This research provides essential knowledge that can be leveraged by climate
educators and communicators throughout American society, including local, state, and national
governments, academic institutions, environmental organizations, businesses, faith groups, doctors
and scientists, and the media. Successfully addressing this challenge will require a diversity of messages,
messengers, and methods, each tailored to meet the needs of different target audiences. This
research provides a solid foundation, grounded in social science, to facilitate the changes required
to achieve a transition to a low-carbon future.
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... A major contribution of this work was the finding that US population falls into six distinct (e.g. Global Warming's Six Americas) groups of varying size concerning the issue of climate change: alarmed (17%), concerned (33%), cautious (19%), disengaged (12%), doubtful (11%) and dismissive (7%) (Leiserowitz et al., 2009). Moreover, these groups were distinguishable across specific issues and displayed distinctive profiles with regard to engagement with the issue of climate change. ...
... In addition, several scholars worldwide have used this instrument to support an array of research (Chryst et al., 2018). The questionnaire was developed by a research team from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at Yale University to identify different audiences within the US population regarding climate change (Leiserowitz et al., 2009). The 15-item instrument consisted of multiple-choice questions regarding climate change beliefs and attitudes, risk perceptions, motivations, values, policy preferences, behaviors and barriers related to action on behalf of the climate (Maibach et al., 2011). ...
... The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication's conducted a large nationally representative survey of US adults regarding climate change. It was found that the US population falls into six distinct groups of varying size concerning the issue of climate change: alarmed (18%), concerned (33%), cautious (19%), disengaged (12%), doubtful (11%) and dismissive (7%) (Leiserowitz et al., 2009). These groups also displayed distinctive profiles with alarmed individuals convinced global warming is happening and is an urgent threat, yet do not know what to do to solve the problem. ...
Purpose
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 is at the core of many sustainability initiatives on Mexican higher education institutions (HEIs). Yet, progress to SDG 13 and the entire 2030 Agenda might today appear unlikely to meet. To change this situation, it is necessary to form professionals aware of the impacts of climate change and competent to respond efficiently to its adaptation and mitigation. In this context, the purpose of this study is to reveal the beliefs and concerns about global warming of Mexican students enrolled in engineering bachelor's degrees at higher education institutes that promote sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
In an exploratory study, engineering university students at six large public universities in Mexico answered questions regarding their beliefs and concerns regarding climate change. The study was carried out by using the Global Warming's Six Americas survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed by a research team from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at Yale University to identify different audiences within the American public regarding climate change. Participants were recruited via convenience/snowball techniques which provided access to a diverse sample. Those who agreed to partake in the study were directed to an online platform via Google forms. Data were collected from January to April 2021. Coding and data treatment was conducted according to the developers' codebook and SPSS scripts. After running the statistical program scripts to determine the respondents' segment, a univariate descriptive analysis was performed for each item in the questionnaire to describe general properties in each variable. Subsequently, a series of correspondence analyses was conducted to examine the existence of clusters or patterns that could indicate relationships among selected questions.
Findings
The findings of this study revealed that the majority of the Mexican engineering higher education students participating in the survey fell in the segment of alarmed, 47.3%, or the segment of concerned, 46.%. Furthermore, 78.6% of higher education students in the alarmed segment were extremely sure that global warming is happening. In addition, 98% believed that it is caused mostly by human activities. Furthermore, 89% stated that global warming would harm them personally significantly and 96% thought that future generations would be harmed considerably. About 78% believed that people in Mexico and the USA are currently being harmed by global warming. On the other hand, about 45% of students in the concerned group noted they were extremely sure. In addition, 96% of them thought that global warming is being produced mostly by anthropogenic activities. Furthermore, 39% said global warming will harm them personally to a great deal. However, nearly 80% noted that global warming would also hurt future generations. Although those students in the alarmed and concerned group show similar beliefs and concerns about global warming, the magnitude of concern was more significant for those in the alarmed segment.
Research limitations/implications
There are several limitations to the study. First, the online questionnaire did not allow for clarification or follow-up on behalf of the respondents. Therefore, it could be possible that respondents misunderstood some items. However, the research team took the following measures to limit confusion: (1) The questionnaire had been previously used in several studies. None of these studies reported problems related to confusion, so the research team took this fact as evidence of the acceptable reliability of the questionnaire. (2) A face-to-face pilot test was carried out with 30 university students where no problems of comprehension were reported. (3) The target population had adequate prior knowledge of climate change, so the possibility of misunderstandings was likely low. A second limitation relates to the nature of the study. Fighting to mitigate the global climate crisis is a positive social norm. Respondents may have provided answers in line with this social norm and presented themselves as more pro-environmental than they actually are. Second, because of our selection criteria, our data may overestimate the general public's “worldviews” on climate change. Finally, this study was carried on during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have impacted items' responses. These limitations constitute future opportunities for future research. Specifically, future research might ideally use a large-scale comprehensive study evaluating the broader Mexican public's beliefs and views about climate change. Furthermore, because our data showed that our respondents were very concerned about climate change, but did little in terms of behavioral mitigation, future research should continue to examine and explore differences in various measures of climate friendly behaviors among different segments of the population.
Practical implications
This study's findings have at least twofold implications for university authorities and sustainability practitioners in their pursuit of meeting SDG 13. The first implication is related to academic life. Undoubtedly, having a high percentage of students believing in global warming and mainly that this phenomenon is by anthropogenic activities is a strong indication of their knowledge. But, indirectly, these results validate the sustainability teaching and research efforts in their HEIs, implying the commitment to sustaining and improving the quality of their sustainability-educational initiatives in all institutional areas. The second implication of our findings is related to HEIs' future commitments to address the target of SDG 13 during the present Decade of Actions. Results also lead us to reflect on the role of Mexican HEIs as agents of change, beyond offering good instruction on climate science as an agent of socialization to encourage positive mitigation and adaptation behaviors among the general population.
Social implications
The social implication behind the environmental values of younger people found in this study is that a deeper understanding of these millennials' beliefs and concerns toward global warming will help Mexican policymakers implement policies in this regard and hopefully will be endorsed by a significant proportion of the Mexican population.
Originality/value
The originality of this study is the application of the Global Warming's Six Americas survey questionnaire in higher education settings. Therefore, the knowledge generated determines the quality of the article. As findings in this study revealed, there is apparently little disagreement among the Mexican engineering higher education students about the belief of the existence of global warming and this phenomenon is being caused mainly by human-related activities. Nevertheless, a minority of students still believe that global warming is caused naturally or not occurring. However, it is not possible to claim victory, as these achievements should not be considered, in any way, a guarantee that students will carry out behaviors in their daily lives that impact a reduction in global warming. Nevertheless, the study provides insights to allow university authorities to ensure that the current beliefs and concerns will not fade in the post-pandemic times. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken a pivotal era toward the goal of increasing the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
... Such a claim is exemplified in climate change audience segmentation studies. Findings showed that the "Alarmed" climate change segment (those who thought often about global warming and were strongly worried by it) followed news on global warming, sought it out, and were more likely to watch national network news (Maibach et al., 2009). Conversely, the "Disengaged" (those who had given global warming little consideration and weren't worried about it) were more likely to watch television than the national average, but watched less news and more entertainment programming (Maibach et al., 2009). ...
... Findings showed that the "Alarmed" climate change segment (those who thought often about global warming and were strongly worried by it) followed news on global warming, sought it out, and were more likely to watch national network news (Maibach et al., 2009). Conversely, the "Disengaged" (those who had given global warming little consideration and weren't worried about it) were more likely to watch television than the national average, but watched less news and more entertainment programming (Maibach et al., 2009). ...
In 2013, the American public ranked climate change at the very bottom of 21 policy issues that they believed the President and Congress should deal with. Yet by 2021, the climate issue was at the forefront of most policy agendas and was a much more salient concern in terms of public opinion. This chapter looks at the role of television, especially entertainment viewing, to environmental concern. Does what television says about the environment have anything to do with what we think about its problems and solutions? We look, from the cultivation perspective, at how television viewing often depressed environmental concern among heavy viewers. Along with consideration of other theoretical perspectives (agenda-setting, issue cycles), we consider whether growth in environmental concern is in spite of or because of media attention to the issue.
... This continuum is an important heuristic for the entire field of climate change communication, which can be illustrated by several seminal studies covering these issues. For example, an influential audience segmentation analysis from 2009 divided the United States-american population into six segments with different attitudes towards information on climate change: alarmed, concerned, cautious, disengaged, doubtful and dismissive (Maibach et al., 2009). The study has later been adapted to other (media) geographies such as Germany . ...
In this Research Topic we are interested in the impact of online video-sharing on the public communication of science and the environment, but also on intra-scientific communication and practice. The online video format has great potential for science and environmental communication, but there are also potential problems and pitfalls that need to be reflected. We are interested in the role of online video-sharing platforms, such as YouTube, Vimeo and others, for the public communication of science and research.
Production
We are looking for various perspectives on the production of online videos, i.e. who creates and uploads videos with scientific and environmental contents and what are the intentions and purposes of these videos? What are the differences and similarities between professional, amateur, institutional and other actors who produce online videos? How do the different creators of videos about science and the environment legitimize themselves and what audiences do they want to reach and for what reasons? What are the differences in practices and intentions of journalists, YouTubers, scientists, scientific institutions and others when it comes to online video-sharing?
Content
Which scientific and environmental topics and what kinds of research and knowledge are represented in publicly available online videos and which are not? Are there certain scientific disciplines that use online videos for public and/ or intra-scientific communication more often than others? What kind of video formats, genres, videographic styles etc. are most successful, widespread and adequate for science and environmental communication? How can the quality of scientific online videos be assessed? What role do misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories play in online videos about scientific and environmental topics and what could be done to successfully counteract erroneous and problematic video content? Can differences concerning topics, frames or aesthetic aspects be found and analyzed, and if so how? What are the differences between the online videos of professional, amateur, institutional and other user/ producer cultures? Are there differences in the online videos from diverse geographical locations, languages and disciplinary communities?
Audiences, reception and communities
How are online videos on science and the environment perceived by various audiences? Do scientists and researchers also make use of the online-video format, and if so, how and why? How do different audiences make sense of the online videos they are watching and how do they affect perceptions, knowledge and attitudes? How do different users seek and find online videos about science and the environment and how do they assess the credibility of the videos? What communities emerge around specific video channels featuring science and environmental online videos and how do various audiences/ communities and video creators interact? What is the role of specific online video-sharing platforms for the dissemination, recommendation and practices of environmental and science communication via online video?
Methodological innovations
What quantitative, qualitative, computational and other methods could be used to study scientific and environmental online-videos and practices of online video-sharing?
Practical perspectives
We are also interested in perspectives of online video practitioners or researchers and others who experimented with online videos for science and environmental communication. We also welcome case studies and the experiences of science YouTubers and experience reports of exchanges with scientists, scientific institutions, journalists, filmmakers and others who use online videos for environmental and science communication.
Keywords: Science Communication, Environmental Communication, Online Video, Video Platforms, YouTube, Vimeo, Public Understanding of Science, Science of Science Communication, Social Sciences, Media, Communications, Interdisciplinarity
See also:
https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/11604/new-directions-in-science-and-environmental-communication-understanding-the-role-of-online-video-sha
... This continuum is an important heuristic for the entire field of climate change communication, which can be illustrated by several seminal studies covering these issues. For example, an influential audience segmentation analysis from 2009 divided the United States-american population into six segments with different attitudes towards information on climate change: alarmed, concerned, cautious, disengaged, doubtful and dismissive (Maibach et al., 2009). The study has later been adapted to other (media) geographies such as Germany (Metag et al., 2017). ...
The present study aims at evaluating how YouTube users understand, negotiate and appropriate science-related knowledge on YouTube. It is informed by the qualitative analysis of post-video discussions around visual scenarios of sea-level rise (SLR) triggered by climate change. On the one hand, the SLR maps have an exemplary status as contemporary visualizations of climate change risks, beyond traditional image categories such as scientific or popular imagery. YouTube, on the other hand, is a convenient media environment to investigate the situated appropriation of such visual knowledge, considering its increasing relevance as a navigational platform to provide, search, consume and debate science-related information. The paper draws on media practice theory and operationalizes digital methods and qualitative coding informed by Grounded Theory. It characterizes a number of communicative practices of articulated knowledge appropriation regarding climate knowledge. This includes “locating impacts,” “demanding representation,” “envisioning further,” “debating future action,” “relativizing the information,” “challenging the reality of anthropogenic climate change,” “embedding popular narratives,” “attributing to politics,” and “insulting others.” The article then discusses broader questions posed by the comments and related to the appropriation and discursive negotiation of knowledge within online video-sharing platforms. Ambiguity is identified as a major feature within the practice of science-related information retrieval and knowledge appropriation on YouTube. This consideration then serves as an opportunity to reconsider the relationship between information credibility and knowledge appropriation in the age of the digital. Findings suggest that ambiguity of information can have a positive impact on problem definition, future imagination and the discursive negotiation of climate change.
... Effective communication of local SLR risk facilitates community integration with adaptation planning by informing and encouraging residents to take proactive steps toward addressing their specific needs (Maibach et al. 2009;Harvatt et al. 2011). Models that synthesize SLR and climate change scenarios with natural and human vulnerability can improve risk communication in coastal communities. ...
Future maps and visualizations of sea level rise struggle to convey the salience of evolving coastal hazards on the ground. This study engaged three Norfolk, Virginia communities in the “Blue Line” project to identify the appealing components of various types of visualizations and determine which images increase risk perceptions, contribute to the selection of adaptation or mitigation strategies, and elicit protective actions. Participants viewed models of future high tide shorelines for 2050, 2080, and 2100 as digitized maps and photographs of the lines marked on the ground with tape, spray chalk, and flags at three different communities: a residential neighborhood and park; a downtown museum and open space; and a working waterfront. Results indicate that while the combination of maps and photographs were preferred for the realism conveyed, maps were better able to show a larger area and photographs were more personal. Photographs balanced the reactions to maps, which were preferred, and increased the perception of sea level rise, but also elicited built solutions. Citizens expressed greater immediacy for action in residential areas even if the perceived risk was higher in heritage areas. These results can inform the balance of visualization types utilized by planners and community organizations to create a comprehensive plan through participatory processes.
... Dove 1996;Leiserowitz 2006;Whitmarsh 2009;Porter, Weaver, and Raptis 2012;Blum et al. 2013;€ Ohman and € Ohman 2013;Plutzer et al. 2016;Kolleck et al. 2017;Verlie and CRR 15 2018), the influence of everyday life, cultural to transcultural and subcultural norms, class, gender, age, personal beliefs, emotions, imagery and metaphors, information seeking and representations, consensus claims, risk perception, coping strategies, friends, parents and family in building or dissipating concern (Stern€ ang and Lundholm 2012; Boyd and Osbahr 2010;Kenis and Mathijs 2012;Niebert and Gropengiesser 2013;Stevenson, Peterson, and Bondell 2019;cf. Bord, O'Connor, and Fisher 2000;Leiserowitz 2004;Moser 2007;Hulme 2009;Leiserowitz, Maibach, and Roser-Renouf 2009;Myers et al. 2012;Adger et al. 2013;Cook et al. 2013;Otieno et al. 2014;Byrne et al. 2014;Meeusen 2014;Capstick et al. 2015;Theobald et al. 2015;Pearse 2017;Kunkle and Monroe 2019), the role of evidence, argumentation, reasonableness, ideologies such as climate change denial, mental models and biases, cognitive challenges in comprehending visual representations and metadata projections, and expertise in designing and evaluating educational activities and communications about climate change (Shepardson et al. 2012;Bentley, Petcovic, and Cassidy 2019;Sezen-Barrie, Shea, and Borman 2019b;Waldron et al. 2019;Hestness, McGinnis, and Breslyn 2019;cf. CRED 2009;Taber and Taylor 2009;Dunlap and McCright 2011;M€ oser and Dilling 2011;Whitmarsh 2011;Kahan 2013;Niebert and Gropengiesser 2013;Moser 2016), strategies to identify 'leadership' in thought, education and politics, polarizations, disconnects, skepticism and obstacles (Boon 2010;Stevenson et al. 2014;Ojala 2015;cf. ...
This article introduces key features to the background, themes and implications of three collections available in Environmental Education Research that focus on climate change education and research. The problems and perils of scholarship and inquiry in this area are highlighted by contrasting these with some of the possibilities and potentials from a broad range of studies published in this and related fields of study, for example, in understanding who is doing the teaching and learning in climate change education, and in identifying the conceptual, policy and economic drivers and barriers related to its uptake. Key points for debate and action are identified, including for so-called ‘pyro-pedagogies’ and ‘practice architectures’, and the various philosophical, political and phenomenal aspects of climate change education that are likely to affect its prospects, at this moment and into the immediate future.
... Taking up this typology, a study by Michelsen et al. (2015) determined that the members of these groups differ as to their environmental attitudes. Some studies have already demonstrated various segmentations in society regarding climate change awareness among adults, e.g., "Global Warming's Six Americas" (Leiserowitz, Maibach, & Light, 2009) and "Global Warming's Five Germanys" (Metag et al., 2015). ...
Under the premise that the young generation of teenagers cannot be considered to be uniform, this study identified groups of teenagers based on their level of climate change awareness. Questionnaires answered by 760 teenagers (13–16 years old) from Germany and Austria were analyzed using a hierarchical cluster analysis. The teenagers were assigned to four groups that differed as to their cognitive, affective and conative aspects of climate change awareness. Based on the empirical results, the authors argue that there are different subgroups of young people in terms of climate change awareness, which climate change education should take into consideration.
... Each of these empirical studies focus attention on the larger educative context as a means of explaining how climate change education unfolds in particular ways. Monroe et al. (2015) assessed the role of social norms by administering the Six Americas survey (Maibach, Roser-Renouf, and Leiserowitz 2009) with Extension professionals. They found that similar to the general public, Extension professionals range from Alarmed to Dismissive, with approximately 35% of professionals included in the Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive categories. ...
In this commentary, we reflect on the articles in this special collection from our lens as scholars who have chosen to conduct research with a focus on climate change education. We start with statements of positionality, as certainly our own experiences and philosophical stances shape our work and reflections included here. Afterwards, we present a typology of climate change education research, utilizing a framework developed from research paradigms with an emphasis on epistemology and methodology. Lastly, we make recommendations for future research efforts based on suggestions within the research articles in the collection as well as from the typology presented.
... Second, each was an active contributor in their whole class discussions, thus providing additional data to assess their thinking throughout the entire classroom activity. Third, we wanted to consider students with relatively similar climate change profiles according to the Six America's climate change survey (Maibach, Roser-Renouf, & Leiserowitz, 2009). Megan and Luke fell in the middle range. ...
Purpose – To consider the ways two pre-service teachers evaluated digital information sources about climate change in order to highlight the challenges and possibilities of an instructional approach aimed at cultivating digital literacies about climate change among pre-service teachers.
Design – The qualitative research design focuses on two pre-service teachers’ written reflections and participation during class discussions across two sessions in a content literacy course. The theoretical framework that guided the analysis was civic media literacy.
Findings – Findings of this study highlight conceptions of reliability that two participants held (reliability as relative or as evidentiary support) as they worked with web sources about climate change. These conceptions reflected a denialist orientation to climate change science.
Practical Implications – This study contributes to the literature that considers the ways pre-service teachers work with websites about socioscientific topics. It highlights how an instructional model can help promote digital literacy practices that center on evaluating the reliability of websites about climate change. It also includes a companion framework called fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry picking, and conspiracy theories (FLICC) that can be used to guide students to better understand techniques and practices of science denial.
In an online survey of 1071 Americans conducted in October 2016, we found technological optimism, environmental beliefs, and gender to be better predictors of climate change concern than respondents’ perceived ability to visualize the year 2050 and their future optimism. An important finding from this study is that in October 2016, just before the 2016 Presidential election, 74% of responding Americans were concerned about climate change. Climate change ranked as their second most serious global threat (behind terrorism). However, when asked to describe travel in the year 2050 only 29% of participants discussed lower carbon options, suggesting that actively envisioning a sustainable future was less prevalent than climate change concern. Enabling expectations and active anticipation of a low carbon future may help facilitate mitigation efforts.
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