Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

In 2009, we identified Global Warming’s Six Americas – the Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive – which represent distinct audiences within the American public. The Alarmed are the most worried about global warming and the most likely to support and engage in pro-climate action. The Concerned are also worried about global warming, but view it as a less urgent threat and are less motivated to act. The Cautious are uncertain and not very worried about global warming and are less motivated to take action. The Disengaged are disconnected from the issue and rarely hear about it. The Doubtful question whether global warming is happening or human-caused, and are not worried about it or motivated to act. The Dismissive reject the idea that global warming is happening and human-caused, do not believe global warming is a threat, and oppose climate action. 

Our Fall 2024 Climate Change in the American Mind nationally representative survey finds that 26% of Americans are Alarmed about global warming, and that the Alarmed outnumber the Dismissive (10%) by a ratio of about 2.5 to 1. Further, a majority of Americans (54%) are either Alarmed or Concerned. Overall, Americans are more than twice as likely to be Alarmed or Concerned than Doubtful or Dismissive (22%). 

The Six Americas Over the Last Decade

Over the past ten years, the Alarmed have grown more than any other audience, from 15% in 2014 to 26% in 2024 (+11 percentage points). Conversely, the Cautious have decreased in size the most during that time, from 23% in 2014 to 18% in 2024 (-5 percentage points). Additionally, the percentage of Americans who are either Alarmed or Concerned has increased from 47% in 2014 to 54% in 2024 (+7 percentage points). The Disengaged, Doubtful and Dismissive audiences have remained relatively similar in size over the past decade.

Communication Opportunities

More Americans have become worried about global warming over the last 10 years, and most people who have changed their opinion about climate change have become more Alarmed about it. 

Different audiences in the Six Americas have different knowledge needs. Alarmed and Concerned Americans are most interested in learning about solutions to climate change, and may be most responsive to messages asking them to get involved. The Cautious and Doubtful, in contrast, want to know more about the causes and evidence that climate change is happening, and may be most responsive to messaging that explains the scientific consensus around global warming. 

Majorities are also worried about various climate impacts and extreme weather events harming their local community, and the public increasingly understands that global warming is affecting the weather. With record-breaking temperatures and other extreme weather events on the rise, it is important to continue educating the public to understand that climate change impacts are happening here and now and will increasingly harm the people and places we love if we don’t greatly limit the pollution that causes global warming.

Resources and Data

The Six Americas Survey (SASSY) is a short, four-question online questionnaire that identifies which audience people belong to (Chryst et al., 2018). Results also show how respondents’ views about global warming compare with the views of the U.S. population as a whole.

The SASSY Group tool allows users to upload their own data (e.g., from one’s own survey, a class, members of an organization, etc.). This tool determines the Six Americas segment for each person in the dataset and provides a downloadable spreadsheet and summary graphics.

Methods

Data are from the biannual Climate Change in the American Mind survey, a nationally-representative survey of public opinion on climate change in the United States conducted jointly by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. The most recent survey was conducted from December 11-22, 2024, using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel®, a representative online panel of U.S. adults (18+). Respondents self-administered the questionnaires online in a web-based environment.

The average margin of error for each wave is +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Results are adjusted on a number of key demographic categories to align with U.S. Census parameters. Percentage points are rounded to the nearest whole number for tabulation purposes. Percentages in a given chart may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. 

Data tables for accessibility