Global Warming’s Six Americas
One of the first rules of effective communication is to “know thy audience.” Climate change public 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.
As part of our commitment to turning climate science into actionable public engagement, our research identified Global Warming’s Six Americas — six distinct audiences within the American public. Understanding these unique perspectives enables communicators, policymakers, and leaders to deliver targeted messaging that drives meaningful climate action.
Want to know which of the Six Americas you are in?
Understanding the Six Audiences
The Alarmed are convinced global warming is happening, human-caused, an urgent threat, and they strongly support climate policies. Most, however, do not know what they or others can do to solve the problem. The Concerned think human-caused global warming is happening, is a serious threat, and support climate policies. However, they tend to believe that climate impacts are still distant in time and space, thus climate change remains a lower priority issue. The Cautious haven’t not yet made up their minds: Is global warming happening? Is it human-caused? Is it serious? The Disengaged know little about global warming. They rarely or never hear about it in the media. The Doubtful do not think global warming is happening or they believe it is just a natural cycle. They do not think much about the issue or consider it a serious risk. The Dismissive believe global warming is not happening, human-caused, or a threat, and most endorse conspiracy theories (e.g., “global warming is a hoax”).
Six Americas Over Time
The six audiences were first 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.
Key Insights
- Over the past ten years, the Alarmed have grown more than any other audience, nearly doubling in size from 15% in 2013 to 28% in 2023 (+13 percentage points).
- Conversely, the Cautious have decreased in size the most during that time, from 26% in 2013 to 15% in 2023 (-11 percentage points).
- The percentage of Americans who are either Alarmed or Concerned has increased from 40% in 2013 to 56% in 2023 (+16 percentage points).
- The Disengaged and Dismissive audiences have remained relatively similar in size over the last decade.
- Overall, Americans are becoming more worried about global warming, more engaged with the issue, and more supportive of climate solutions.
Take the Six Americas Super Short Survey
Discover where you fall on the spectrum with the Six Americas Super Short Survey (SASSY). Based on our social science research, this quick 4-question tool helps individuals and organizations better understand climate attitudes to foster constructive conversation and equitable solutions.
Americans hold a broad range of opinions about climate change.
The groups range from the Alarmed, who are very concerned about global warming and support immediate political action, to
How SASSY Works
SASSY—the Six Americas Short Survey—is a concise questionnaire and model that sorts respondents into their respective audience groups based on just four questions.
Think of SASSY as a quick personality quiz: it helps individuals rapidly identify which of the Six Americas they belong to and see how their views compare with the broader U.S. public.
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Citation: Chryst, B., Marlon, J., van der Linden, S., Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., & Roser-Renouf, C. (2018).
Global warming’s “Six Americas Short Survey”: Audience segmentation of climate change views using a four-question instrument. Environmental Communication, 12(8), 1109-1122.
SASSY Group Scoring
If you are an educator evaluating student views, a researcher conducting experiments, or an organization seeking to understand your audience, our SASSY Group Tool can help.
The tool allows you to upload survey data in a .csv format to generate individual segment scores alongside summary graphics showing your group’s overall composition compared to national benchmarks.
To collect data for group scoring, administer the following four questions:
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How important is the issue of global warming to you personally?
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How worried are you about global warming?
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How much do you think global warming will harm you personally?
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How much do you think global warming will harm future generations of people?
Resources & Collaboration
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Guidebook: Learn how to apply audience segmentation in public engagement through the
Guidebook: Using the Six Americas Super Short Survey (SASSY) in Campaigns and Education -
Partnerships: Interested in using SASSY to inform your climate communication strategy? Reach out to our team at the
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
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