Nearly three-fourths of Americans do believe in something paranormal. 48 percent fear “global warming”.
What do Americans fear most? Chapman University releases 4th annual Survey of American Fears
Chapman University recently completed its fourth annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears (2017). The survey asked respondents about 80 different fears across a broad range of categories including fears about the government, the environment, terrorism, health, natural disasters, and finances, as well as fears of public speaking, spiders, heights, ghosts and many other personal anxieties.
In addition to the set of fears examined in previous waves, the survey team took a closer look at one particular fear-related phenomena: fear of extremism.
In its fourth year, the annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears included more than 1,207 adult participants from across the nation and all walks of life that is a direct slice of the American population according to census data. The 2017 survey data is organized into four basic categories: personal fears, natural disasters, paranormal fears, and fear of extremism.
The 2017 survey shows that the top 10 things Americans fear the most are:
1) Corruption of government officials (same top fear as 2015 and 2016)
2) American Healthcare Act/Trumpcare (new fear)
3) Pollution of oceans, rivers and lakes (new in top 10)
4) Pollution of drinking water (new in top 10)
5) Not having enough money in the future
6) High medical bills
7) The U.S. will be involved in another world war (new fear)
8) Global warming and climate change
9) North Korea using weapons (new fear)
10) Air pollution
“The 2017 survey data shows us that while some of the top fears have remained, there has also been a pronounced shift to environmental fears,” said Christopher Bader, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Chapman University, who led the team effort. “We are beginning to see trends that people tend to fear what they are exposed to in the media. Many of the top 10 fears this year can be directly correlated to the top media stories of the past year.”
Environmental Quality Ranks among Americans’ Top Fears
Most striking about American fear in 2017 is that environmental fears figure more prominently than ever before. Environmental issues never cracked the top ten fears in previous surveys. Water pollution ranks third overall, followed closely by drinking water quality.
Water Pollution
- A majority of Americans [53.1 percent] fear pollution of “oceans, rivers and streams.”
The fact that water pollution has become such a prominent fear in 2017 may be traced to the reversal of environmental policies of the Obama Administration.
Drinking Water Quality
- 50.4 percent fear for the quality of their drinking water. This could be linked to the prominent news coverage of lead poisoning in the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, during the past year.
Climate Change and Air Pollution
- Americans fear climate change [48 percent] and air pollution [44.9 percent]. These are the eighth and tenth greatest fears, respectively.The sharp rise in the number of Americans who now say they fear climate change (and air pollution, which contributes to climate change) may be linked to President Trump’s controversial decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
Fear of Extremism and the Threat to National Security
Americans believe that both Islamic Extremists and White Supremacists represent a threat to national security. Three out of five Americans report they are very afraid or afraid that Islamic Extremists/Jihadists are a threat to national security. After Islamic Extremists/Jihadists, White Supremacists are the only group that a majority of Americans view as a threat to national security (51 percent).
While other types of extremist groups are a concern to large groups of Americans, only those two were identified by a majority of survey respondents. Roughly one-third of Americans identify the following four as threats: Extreme Anti-Immigration groups, the Militia/Patriot Movement, Left-Wing Revolutionaries, and Extreme Anti-Abortion groups. One in five Americans is afraid Extreme Environmentalists are a threat. “Although the trend isn’t perfect, as a general rule, Americans are more afraid of extremist groups that have been discussed in the media,” said Ed Day, Ph.D., chair of Chapman’s sociology department. “Further, differences between various factions across America on which group represents the greatest threat reflects the political divisions we see in America on other issues.”
This fear affects the daily lives of Americans and even leads some to question the value of American freedom?29 percent of Americans report being very afraid or afraid of being a victim of hate crime. One-third agree or strongly agree with the statement, “In order to curb terrorism in this country, it will be necessary to give up some civil liberties.” Even more, 35 percent, disagree or strongly disagree with the statement, “We should preserve our freedoms even if it increases the risk of terrorism.” As has been seen before, elevated fears over national security can lead to lower support for national values.
America’s Knowledge of Disaster Preparedness Outdated, Dangerous
The survey asked Americans about fears of man-made disasters, such as a nuclear melt-down, and nuclear and terror attacks, as well as natural disasters. The survey then asked about their familiarity with safety and preparedness advice/slogans propagated by ready.gov and emergency.cdc.gov
Nuclear Fears
- Nearly half of all Americans [48 percent] fear North Korea using nuclear weapons and 41 percent fear a nuclear attack generally. The prospect of a nuclear meltdown has made 31 percent afraid or very afraid.
“The survey also showed that it’s the obsolete, even dangerous, cold war slogan “Duck and Cover” that is familiar to 70 percent of all Americans, said Ann Gordon, Ph.D., director of Chapman University’s Henley Lab. “Americans need to unlearn ‘Duck and Cover’ and replace it with ‘Get inside. Stay Inside. Stay Tuned’.”
Terrorism and Mass Shooting Fears
- 48 percent fear being the victim of terrorism and 44 percent fear a terror attack in general.
The majority of Americans, 82 percent are familiar with the slogan, “If you see something, say something.” However, most Americans are unaware of what constitutes suspicious behavior that should be reported. The fear of being the victim of a mass or random shooting is on the minds of 31 percent, and 35 percent report being familiar with the advice to “Run. Hide. Fight,” which is the recommended preparedness slogan for a mass or random shooting.
Natural disasters
- Americans fear many natural disasters and 68 percent believe natural disasters are capable of harming them or their property. Only 38 percent of Americans have heard the advice, “Don’t wait. Communicate. Make your emergency plan today.” Less than half, 41 percent (up from 32 percent in 2016), actually have an emergency plan in place for their households and 26 percent have such a plan for their pets.
“Whether they’re afraid of an attack by North Korea, a pandemic (which 36 percent of Americans fear), or a natural disaster, Americans just aren’t prepared,” says Dr. Gordon. “Sheltering in place requires some preparation, such as food water, and medicine. Only 34 percent of Americans have such preparations, although 45 percent say they are familiar with the advice to “Prepare. Plan. Stay informed.” And in any disaster a battery powered radio is essential to staying informed. This would be a great step towards preparedness for American households.”
Paranormal America 2017
The 2017 Chapman University Survey of American Fears includes a battery of items on paranormal beliefs. Currently the most common paranormal belief in the United States is that ancient, advanced civilizations, such as Atlantis once exited with more than half of respondents (55 percent) agreeing or strongly agreeing with this statement. Slightly more than half (52 percent) believe that places can be haunted by spirits. More than a third (35 percent) believe that that aliens visited Earth in our ancient past and more than a fourth believe aliens have come to Earth in modern times (26 percent). Americans are the most skeptical about Bigfoot, with only 16 percent of Americans expressing belief in its existence.
“The survey shows that paranormal beliefs are quite common in the United States by examining how many such beliefs a person holds,” said Dr. Bader. “Using the seven paranormal items included on the survey, we find that only a fourth of Americans (25.3 percent) do not hold any of these seven beliefs. However, this means that nearly three-fourths of Americans do believe in something paranormal.“
The survey also looked at the personal characteristics that are significantly associated with higher levels of paranormal belief. Simply put, the person with the highest number of paranormal beliefs in the United States as of 2017 will tend to be a lower income, female living in a rural area in the Western states. She tends to be politically conservative and claims to be highly religious, although she actually attends religious services infrequently. She is either currently single or cohabitating with someone and reports her race as “other.”
Methodology
The CSAF was conducted online via the SSRS Probability Panel among adults age 18 and older who participated via the web on PC, laptop, tablet or mobile phone. It included 1,207 participants and data collection was conducted from June 28 to July 7, 2017. The SSRS Panel members are recruited randomly from a dual-frame random digit dial (RDD) sample, through the SSRS Omnibus Survey. The SSRS Omnibus survey is a national (50-state), bilingual telephone survey. The sample used for the Chapman University Survey of American Fears mirrors the demographic characteristics of the U.S. Census. For additional methodological details, see the full report.
###
A comprehensive list of the all the fears from The Chapman Survey on American Fears 2017 can be found http://www.chapman.edu/fearsurvey. In addition to Bader, Day and Gordon, student involvement was key in helping throughout the process.
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Gather round the crystal ball and watch the mysteries of Gavin’s teleconnection at work.
and more Germans fear climate change than terrorism
https://www.thelocal.de/20170801/more-germans-are-fear-climate-change-than-terrorism-poll
I think that the media and political environment in the US drives citizens views: it is different from that in Europe
amazing insight Griff. who would have thought that people would be affected by their media and political environment ?
Die Guenen got just ONE seat in the Bundestag. People even in Germany are getting sick of hearing about this BS.
I’m off there next week. I’ll ask, if I get a chance.
Try not to ask some of your friend already sharing your view, or you’ll get the kind of answer that made Hollywood disbelieving Trump could be president, while saying nothing about Harvey Weinstein.
WOW you only just worked that out. You want a basic guide to a countries concerns about CAGW just look at the green vote in elections of that country.
Many people who vote Green, do so because they are reliably one of the furthest left political parties around.
Europe is largely in D’nile about terrorism. “Gee, we ethnic euros are the bad guys”. Brexit was a result though for one country and it is growing elsewhere.
Quite as many white Irish Catholics have menaced me with their bombs as have mad islamists (as I’ve worked in London for most of last 35 years)
Wow! You’ve been menaced by Irish Catholics AND Islamists! Damn! I want to party with you, dude!
It’s not different at all, you obviously haven’t a clue about the media and politics in Europe.
The word used is concerned, Griff, not fear. I wouldn’t believe any of this garbage unless I saw the survey question, which typically slants the expected and preferred answer. Also, this is a reflection of the public’s inability to think for themselves. Especially in the face of constant government propaganda ( which the Germans practically invented) in support of their political decisions and program, which they pump as a virtue when it is actually damaging to the country’s longer term interests.
In the final analysis, what the public does or doesn’t fear is immaterial to what is true. What’s true is there has been no warming for 18 years, the ice is returning and “green” energy is not Green and a monstrous waste of time and capital. Even a Socialist should be able to find better ways to spend money. Make a few thousand more tractors that don’t run!
The griff random thought machine, fluffs yet again !!
I love this stuff, we’ve got Tony Abbott ransacking the warmies dorm and tearing the place apart, we have Donald Trump and the EPA about to take over the playground and kick the 12 yr olds out. We have Griff about to go Evel Knieval and take another sucucidal leap off the ramp to nowhere and plunge into the wilderness of useless talking points. Some days, I just love being a deplorable 🙂
Griff
You sure you really want to go with “Europeans aren’t manipulated by politicians & new reports”? It implies Europeans woke up one day and, out of the blue, and just started worrying about climate change.
I, for one, think it had more to do with fearing Europe’s dependence on Russia to heat the house thru the winter; this is a real threat, especially after Russia cut off winter supplies a few years back…
The alarmist’s ought to change the name to Ghostly Warming to whip up more support.
I’ll get my coat.
Since Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming just another paranormal belief, almost everyone believes in the paranormal.
RT., I like the humor in your statement … and, I suspect, it’s so because there’s a bunch of truth contained within.
Regarding both topics: people easily/readily duped on one, most likely, IMO, will be duped on the other … and, also probably on many other topics of evidence-absent conjecture; most the proud product of the USA govt school education system.
I think Bigfoot causes global warming. That’s why both are invisible and have never harmed anyone!
Media and fear. Duh.
But yes. They have tried so very, very hard for so very, very long – only to be upstaged by Ancient Aliens or something.
In other words, the survey primed the respondents by mentioning global warming.
If the survey just asks “What do you think is the most important problem facing the country today?”, global warming doesn’t even make it onto a rather long list. link
They need checkbox answers to process by computer.
Understood, however the difference just goes to underscore the difficulty of doing a good survey.
They need checkbox answers to produce a bogus result to wave at the public. Garbage, garbage, garbage. And you know it Greg.
Written out answers can be categorized and entered into the computer by interns.
There are some pretty funny things the 1200 people feared, height, flying, small spaces, loosing job, collapse of the power grid, personal tracking of data all ran 20-35%. I think what we found out is a bunch of them need lots of sessions with a psych.
Being worried about something means you need a session with a shrink?
Mighty intolerant of you.
Do the maths for the numbers they have on average each person has 30+ fears. If I had that many fears I would definitely seek help.
Not surprising, as I said above, most people conflate fear and worry, and would interpret such a question as, have you ever worried about these?
Most of the things you mentioned are concerns for most people.
I’m afraid of idiots who believe in AGW. Is that on the list?
No Mark I can honestly say I don’t go worrying about anything on that list, I would go so far as to say I don’t even give any of them a second thought. There is a couple like lack of money, being unemployed etc, Significant other cheating on you I might worry about under a set of circumstances.
I did have a bit of a think about things I do worry about and the biggest are always
1.) Things issues/problems revolving around work
2.) Will I get to do what I want this weekend or has the wife got something in mind.
How do we know that what they’re afraid of is not draconian legislation to prevent gullible warming?
“In other words, the survey primed the respondents by mentioning global warming.”
Exactly
You are right. I was mentored in my later years by a prominent politician who had retired for the political game. Whenever I brought up a poll his first response was show me the “banners and tabs” i.e., the numbers behind the numbers. He also taught me that any poll question with more than two answers will tell you very little. We also worked with a top environmental pollster. We had long into the evening discussion all the problems that have developed relative to polling. Even though he was left of center and my mentor was well right they agreed on most of the problems facing opinion polling. Both agreed that most of the time the news media cherry picks and mis-report polling results and heaven forbid that the media did the polling themselves. All this poll tells me is that those being polled, which is different that all Americans, have heard about these issues from the news media and most probably not though about them in any detail. The average American is too busy trying to raise their families.
Dead on! Polling biases is probably the number one source of “False Facts”. Much of it propagated if not produced by the supposedly neutral media.
Not surprising since there is about as much evidence for the existence of ghosts as there is for human caused climate change. I would bet that more Americans believe they have had a paranormal experience than will say they have witnessed or experienced first hand some effect of climate change.
Rah–everything in weather is reported to be caused by global warming so everyone will have “witnessed or experienced” the effects of global warming–it’s inescapable.
It does seem to be a rather strange methodology to suggest to people specific things that they might fear and then to ask them what they fear. Surely the question should be: List the top ten things that you fear most in order, with the first item being the thing that you are most afraid of.
This poll shows that 50% of people are afraid of EVERYTHING! Even things that are non-existent!
They lied about the percentage who fear Gorebal Warming. The picture shows 48%:
Their survey results were 46.7% who were either very afraid or afraid of Gorebal Warming:
Page 53 https://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/_files/Chapman-Survey-of-America-Fears-methodology.pdf
The survey is totally bogus because there was no option for “neither afraid nor unafraid.”
All of the following are really bad things that have happened in the past, are happening now and/or will happen in the future:
Devastating earthquake
Devastating hurricane
Devastating tornado
Devastating flood
Devastating blizzard/ Winter storm
Devastating drought
Large volcanic eruption
How can any rational person be “afraid” or “unafraid” of any of these catastrophes? Schist happens. People who are directly affected suffer because of these types of catastrophes. But, they aren’t like spiders and snakes or lions and tigers and bears… Things that actually scare people.
The survey is totally bogus because there was no option for “neither afraid nor unafraid.”
So how would describe that state of being “neither afraid nor unafraid” ? Is there a word for that?
It’s like being either thirsty or not thirsty. Maybe Bill Clinton could define a “Third Way” but it would probably end up looking a lot like being thirsty.
You can leave the answer blank, the surprising thing is so few chose to do it.
Leaving an answer blank is like admitting that you don’t know. Which many people are conditioned against doing.
Indifferent…
https://www.google.com/search?q=indifferent&oq=indifferetn&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.6811j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I am either thirsty or not thirsty. That’s a binary function.
I can like, dislike or be indifferent to an external stimulus.
I can fear, not fear or be indifferent to an external stimulus.
The state of not being either afraid or unafraid could be described as ‘not giving an aerobatic assignation.’
A lot of people equate worry and fear when answering surveys like this.
I agree with the survey being rather biased. “Don’t know, don’t give a rat’s ass” is probably what the modal response to many of the “fears” on this survey.
Hell, I’m impressed 55% of Americans claimed to know what “paranormal” means, much less, be worried/afraid of it.
I suppose the dinosaurs had a similar list on the day before the priorities changed.
Dinosaur Priority List: Herbivores
1. Eat plants.
2. Don’t get eaten by carnivores.
Dinosaur Priority List: Carnivores
1. Eat herbivores.
Dinosaur Democracy:
Four velociraptors and one brachiosaurus voting on the dinner menu.
You left out tar pits, ash falls, floods, droughts, and ghostly winged things overhead.
Carnivores don’t want to get eaten by carnivores.
Three squashed velociraptors later, the brachiosaurus asks the last one if it wants a recount.
David Middleton, stop stereotyping dinosaurs.
I prefer the Data clip!
(Hey David… what do you think of the new Star trek? I really am getting to like it. Pointy Klingons!)
There was no mention of fear of clowns. I’m really surprised.
Clowns were just ahead of zombies and blood. https://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/_files/Chapman-University-fears-by-percentage.pdf
They should have surveyed cats. From what I have seen, cucumbers would be top of the list
Assuming this list is not a hoax… it is interesting to note that hardly anybody gives a crap about any of the democrat’s key issues.
Yeah I am surprised 35 ran so low, that must have been prior to last weeks events.
So over reach by executive order did not make the list. That means it will grow over time.
‘student involvement was key in helping throughout the process’. Now that’s a worry.
Fear of advocacy over reach needs to be among the choices and on the list.
….along with fear of Californians
Isn’t fear of advocacy implicit in each category?
US fears are obviously driven by whatever the spin machine in the left wing media is pushing.
Though the right, having more money, put more into media spin…
Do you have any evidence to support either of these fantasies?
Griff
Your theory of the right’s strong strong media certainly explains why Trump gets such balanced press coverage.
Oooops – never mind.
I think both Dr Deanster and Griff are right.
anti-market stories are very marketable, pretty much like Che Guevara T-shirt sell extremely well.
You can make a living, and a good one, sell leftwing stories. Much harder to do that with rightwing stories;
rightwing people are pragmatic, willing to sell people what they want, and if they want leftwing media BS, well, let’s that be,as long as they pay (and they do, the dumbass!)
Fear of survey bias is real.
“If you see something, say something.”
I’d love to, except that if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. I’d be scared spitless to say something, have it turn out to be innocuous, then end up getting sued by the person I thought was acting suspiciously. I do not see that fear listed on the survey — — getting your a** sued into bankruptcy by some SJW with a legal-team-from-hell that you end up paying for (one way or another).
I just know that someday I’m going to sneeze at the wrong time, at the wrong place, and have some snowflake (Griff comes to mind) haul me into court because they were “offended”.
Regards to all,
Vlad
You only have to be a cartoonist in Australia and that will do it. It’s the political correctness disease that you can’t offend anyone.
Vlad
You got that right. Before I retired, I frequently attended safety meeting. Managers and some supervisors had a ‘yes but safety culture’.
If you look at statistics, one of the top five fears should be falling down stairs. If I remind a fellow engineer to use the handrail, the general response is thank you. If you remind a big deal manger the general response is anger.
If the manger was a women and from a different culture, I turn around and go the opposite direction.
Griff is a Polar ice flake. Arctic to be specific.
Despite the fact that air and water is very low and getting lower, fear of same continues to grow.
Witchcraft is well in the realm of the paranormal.
I was in Iceland a few years back, and it was very interesting, Iceland has a long cultural tradition of witches, wizards, and others. Before they converted to Christianity, they did the whole Nordic thing, with Thor, Odin, and all the rest.
Last time I was there, I was at a dinner party, and one of the guests said she was a witch, and over 1300 years old. I remarked that she did not look a day over 30. (I learned that women like that. In this case it was true.)
One of the other guests asked if, as a witch, she flew around on a broomstick.
The witch instantly asked if the questioner would like to be turned into a newt.
That settled that.
Further talks ensued.
The witch talked about predicting the future using Tarot Cards, and casting chicken bones.
Another dinner guest questioned the veracity of the techniques, and asked if she was making things up.
The witch went on a rampage!
“You want to make things up:? Look at NASA GISS! Talk about Fake! How about NOAA Temp charts? How about the “Karlisation” of SST tenps?
I tell you, I can predict the future way better that they can, and I do not need a Billion Dollar Supercomputer to do it.”
The witch then presented a strong case that Tarot Cards and Crystal Balls are at least as accurate as climate models, and do not require expensive supercomputers.
Finally, she got back to the broom issue. She said that that with the extreme winds they *always* have in Iceland, it is just not practical to fly about much. Going downwind is OK, but to get back home you must fly upwind. The combination of a headwind added to your upwind groundspeed is just brutal. It is really hard to do that while balancing on a broomstick, with all the wind and turbulence as exists in Iceland.
She went on to say that the Arabians had a really good thing going with their flying carpets. The flying carpet is big, comfortable, and roomy, and gives a great ride, compared to a broom handle. Alas, it’s large surface area makes it totally impractical in the high wind, high turbulence environment of Iceland.
Icelanders also have a strong belief in elves, it seems:
http://classiciceland.com/elf-believe-in-iceland/
They also left off Harvey Weinstein.
That one would be 50% depending on your gender 🙂
97% of people have irrational fears – fact.
Including those that helped design and conduct the survey.
I fear you may be correct!
The remaining 3% have irrational fears of people with irrational fears.
Paranormal, wifty-poofty but essentially harmless. Post Normal? Stomp that sucker down!
What Americans ‘fear’ might have been better defined had they used ‘are concerned about’. These types of surveys are degraded by bias. I suggest choice of questions and how to ask them be subject to some form of review. For instance, if you’ve just lived through some hurricanes, this must ght be conflated with climate change by many. The survey should be careful to avoid confusion on these things. For example drop the natural disasters question. Every sane person would be afraid of that! In your survey, you ruin the broad coverage aspect of your survey – all respondents in TX, LA, MS, FL, AL plus tornado states would tick that one.
Lefty surveys are foregone conclusions.
Watch for the CC shock troops to start calling climate change paranormal. They have paid commandos looking into getting the message across!
That’s a great idea!!!!
Government officials corrupted to serve climate change faith is the scariest by far.
Top fear of Warmunists: Actual science and facts.
From what I can remember of my younger days, I once designed marketing research studies and could pretty much control the answers I got through sampling methods, questionnaire development, questionnaire administration and analytical methods. Only the very grossest of results seemed to always peek through irrespective of these factors.