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Date

2024-06

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Journal ISSN

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Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Changing seasonal weather patterns and increases in climate-related severe weather have resulted in billions of dollars in damages to property as well as injuries and loss of life across the United States. These climate and weather patterns are expected to continue in the coming decades, depending on the magnitude of global warming, ushering in more frequent heat waves and intensifying the water cycle, which will result in more extreme weather events including severe winter storms, flooding, severe wind, hail, drought, and fire weather (i.e., land and weather conditions that are conducive to wildfires) (IPCC, 2021). Humans do not exist independent of Earth systems, and Earth systems no longer operate independently of human influence, as evidenced by the proposal of a new geologic era - the Anthropocene (Crutzen, 2002). This increase in natural catastrophes and large-scale disasters, both observed over the last few decades and expected in the near future, cause repetitive stress and strain on society in rebuilding and mitigation efforts and create disproportionate vulnerabilities for individuals (Thomas et al., 2019). There are a few studies that focus on how attitudes and behaviors are impacted by natural disasters (e.g., Maki et al., 2019; Rudolph & Kuhn, 2018; Sun et al., 2019); however, most of these studies analyzed data that are limited in sample size, and generally looked at on an aggregated level rather than individual-level attitudes and behaviors. This is not always ideal because data on individual attitudes and behaviors can be used to inform climate-related interventions and policies, as well as increase understanding of the willingness of individuals to help others in need, post-disaster. As a first step towards filling data needs, we conducted an online survey – the inaugural wave and pilot study of the Social, Political, Earth & Environmental Survey – in 2023 (SPEER23 Survey).

Description

Report of the 2023 SPEER Social Survey which includes items on social and political tolerance, as well as weather, climate, and ecological items. Additionally the SPEER23 survey includes social, religious, psychological, political, and demographic questions. Social measures include scales for social capital and racial resentment. Religious questions include ones asking about religious service attendance, religious beliefs, biblical literalism, religious affiliation, and Christian nationalism. Psychological questions measure social dominance orientation, moral foundations, fears, conspiracy, and cultural worldviews. Political items measure party affiliation and left/right orientation. Finally, socio-demographic background questions ask about age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, family structure, marital status, education, income, urbanicity, and region.

Keywords

Sociology, General., Environmental Sciences., Psychology, Social.

Citation

Bedle, H., Beutel, A.M., Garneau, C.R.H. (2024) SPEER23 Survey Report: Investigating Climate, Weather, and Energy Attitudes in the United States through the Lens of Social and Psychological Factors.

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Sponsorship