Table 1. Global Warming Beliefs by Audience Segment.
Survey Questions | Audience Segment | Scale Points | |||||
Alarmed | Con-cerned | Cautious | Dis-engaged | Doubtful | Dis-missive | ||
1. & 1a. Certainty global warming is occurring | 8.70 | 7.92 | 6.54 | 5.91 | 5.06 | 3.06 | 9 |
2. Human causation (% agree) | 88 | 79 | 49 | 39 | 8 | 1 | --- |
3. Scientific consensus (% agree) | 80 | 64 | 37 | 23 | 11 | 8 | --- |
4. Personal risk | 3.09 | 2.59 | 1.90 | 2.75 | 1.29 | 1.02 | 4 |
5. Risk to future generations | 3.98 | 3.78 | 2.96 | 4.00 | 1.89 | 1.04 | 4 |
6. Risk to plant & animal species | 3.97 | 3.78 | 3.00 | 3.40 | 1.94 | 1.12 | 4 |
7. Timing of harm to Americans | 5.46 | 4.83 | 3.53 | 3.85 | 1.77 | 1.01 | 6 |
8. Ability of humans to successfully mitigate warming | 3.90 | 3.74 | 3.45 | 3.38 | 2.33 | 1.57 | 5 |
9. Actions of individual can make a difference | 3.36 | 3.07 | 2.69 | 2.76 | 2.35 | 1.86 | 4 |
10. Technological optimism | 1.70 | 2.05 | 2.32 | 2.03 | 2.38 | 2.33 | 4 |
11. Perceived impact of own mitigation actions | 2.94 | 2.72 | 2.31 | 2.41 | 1.53 | 1.02 | 4 |
12. Impact of own actions if widely adopted in United States | 3.69 | 3.48 | 3.01 | 2.90 | 1.94 | 1.10 | 4 |
13. Impact of own actions if widely adopted in modern industrialized countries | 3.84 | 3.76 | 3.34 | 3.24 | 2.27 | 1.18 | 4 |
(p<.001 for all differences).