Goal
The goal of this module is to explore some of the factors that might be associated with an individual's level of concern about the environment and global warming. Crosstabulations, frequency distributions, and bar charts will be used.
Concept
There has been much discussion in the media over the condition of the natural environment and what can be done to decrease pollution and preserve natural resources. Activists have adopted an approach that appeals toward educating the general public and pressuring national governments and policymakers to act in ways that demonstrate a greater concern for the quality of the natural environment. Much of the discussion in the media over the past two decades has centered upon global warming.
Although most people are concerned about the condition of the natural environment, there is some diversity in the amount of concern both across and even within nations. The issue is interesting because it has a scientific basis, yet there is some disagreement between scientists regarding the potential severity of the issue. These disagreements allow both business leaders and environmentalists to draw upon scientific arguments to support their case when addressing policymakers. Focusing upon the U.S. experience of the global warming debate, it seems that the issue has become politicized.
Social researchers are often interested in studying attitude formation and why certain groups of individuals seem to have similar attitudes about issues. Global warming is a relatively new issue to the non-scientist community and this newness allows the researcher to explore the early phases of attitude formation.
In this guide, we will consider the results of a national poll focused upon the environment and global warming.
Examples of research questions regarding attitudes about the environment:
This ABC/Stanford/Time Magazine special topic poll, conducted March 9-14, 2006, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. The focus of this particular data collection was on environmental issues. Respondents rated the condition of the natural environment and identified the most important environmental problems facing the world. Several questions asked how important the issue of global warming was to respondents, how much they knew about it, how serious a problem it was, and how much could be done to prevent future global warming and reduce its effects. Additional topics addressed changing local and worldwide weather patterns, scientists' assessments of the environment and global warming, whether the federal government should require companies and individuals to take measures to reduce global warming, and what type of vehicle respondents drove. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, religious preference, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), whether respondents had any children or grandchildren, and whether they considered themselves born-again or evangelical Christians.
The responses of the participants in the study should be representative of the adult population in the United States at the time the study was conducted.
This exercise will use the following variables:
For ease of interpretation, recoding variables is sometimes necessary or helpful. (Note: the online analysis package used here requires recoding variables for the sole reason of modifying or adding labels.) The following variables were recoded:
In this module, we will examine some of the factors that may be associated with the level of concern that an individual respondent has with the environment in general and with global warming in particular. Specifically, we will look at some demographic variables including party ID, education, religiosity, being a parent or grandparent, race, and gender.
Political Party and Attitudes about Environment and Global Warming
Looking specifically at the issue of global warming, what percentage of respondents rate the issue of global warming as either extremely important or very important? Because combining or collapsing categories is a useful way of simplifying our data for the purposes of future analyses, recall that we have created a recoded version of this variable called GWIMPORTANCE. What percentage of respondents feel the issue of global warming is less important?
From media coverage, we know that the issues of climate change and global warming have become
politicized in the United States. Therefore, it is no surprise to see the large differences
between Republicans and Democrats with regard to their feelings about environmental issues and
global warming. However, how do independents feel about these issues? Examine the
Demographic Characteristics and Concerns about Global Warming
In addition to political party identification, there are likely to be other demographic factors that are also associated with these attitudes. Consider the potential relationship between gender and concern about global warming and look at the results of the crosstab. Does the observed difference between males and females in level of concern about global warming appear to be statistically significant?
It is also possible that the respondent's racial identification may be associated with level of concern about global warming. Consider the results from the following two crosstabs of concern about global warming by RACE4 and then by RACE2. Which racial group appears to have the least concern with global warming? Which of these two race variables would you use for this analysis and why?
Education is another demographic characteristic that is often related to individuals' attitudes or opinions. As with race, the original survey has two different education variables, one with six categories, and the second with only three categories. From other research, we expect that those with higher levels of education are generally more liberal in their worldview than those with less education. Look at the two different crosstabs of global warming concern by the three-category variable (EDUBREAK) and then by the six-category education variable (q909) Considering both tables, is there evidence to support the notion that those with more education are more likely to be more concerned with global warming than those with less education?
The age of the respondent could also be important. In general, younger respondents are thought to hold more liberal positions on issues. Look at the crosstab of global warming concern by age (age groupings created in original survey). Which age group seems most concerned about global warming? Which age group seems least concerned?
Parents and grandparents often are more concerned about the welfare of their children or grandchildren than for their own welfare. As a result, whether or not the respondent has children or grandchildren under the age of 18 might also be associated with concern about global warming. Examine two separate crosstabs using our global warming variable first by whether or not the respondent has kids under the age of 18 and then by whether or not the respondent has grandchildren under the age of 16. Does there seem to be a significant difference in level of concern about global warming between those who have children or grandchildren and those who do not?
It is possible that there will be a difference in the level of concern of these parents or grandparents based upon how far in the future they believe that global warming will be a problem. For those who think that global warming is already a problem, it is possible that having children or grandchildren will have no effect upon the respondent's level of concern. However, for those who see the problem as being at least 20 years in the future, we might see a difference in concern based on parent/grandparent status. In the original survey, respondents were asked "About how many years from now do you think global warming will become a serious problem?" and the responses ranged from 1-9999 (Q24). We can limit our analysis to only the respondents who feel that global warming is at least 20 years from being a serious problem. We do this using the selection filter function in the SDA frequencies/crosstabs program. The specifics are noted below.
Look at the crosstab of concern about global warming by having children or grandchildren under the age of 18 only for those respondents who believe that the serious impact of global warming is at least 20 years away (using selection filter, "Q24 (20-9999)"). Are parents/grandparents more concerned about the impending threat of global warming?
Think about your answers to the application questions before you click through to the interpretation guide for help in answering them.
Political Party and Attitudes about Environment and Global Warming
What percentage of respondents rate the issue of global warming as either extremely important or very important? What percentage of respondents feel the issue of global warming is less important?
Do respondents who identify their political party preference as 'Independent' tend to look more like the Democrats or Republicans when considering environmental issues?
Demographic Characteristics and Concerns about Global Warming
Does it appear that females are more concerned about global warming than males?
Which racial group appears to have the least concern with global warming?
Is there evidence to support the notion that those with more education are more concerned about global warming than those with less education?
Which age group seems most concerned about global warming? Which age group seems least concerned?
Are parents or grandparents more concerned about global warming than those who do not have a child or grandchild under age 18? Is this still true if we consider only the respondents who feel that global warming is a problem that is at least 20 years in the future?
Things to think about in interpreting the results:
Reading the results:
Summary
The goal of this module was to explore some of the factors that might be associated with a respondent's level of concern regarding the environment and global warming. Not surprisingly, there are significant differences between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to their outlooks on the environment and their levels of concern about global warming. Some demographic characteristics, such as gender and race, are also associated with level of concern about global warming. Age and education also seem to be associated with level of concern about global warming, but not in the fairly straight-forward way that we may have expected. Instead, the relationship may be better described as curvilinear. Another demographic characteristic, being a parent or grandparent, does not seem to have any association with level of concern about global warming.
Future research might consider the relationship between attitudes about a variety of environmental issues and the respondents' concern about global warming. Additionally, researchers may want to study the effects of additional knowledge about environmental issues and concern for the environment including global warming.