A Rose By Any Other Name? What Members of the General Public Prefer to Call “Climate Change”

The study examines how different terms for anthropogenic greenhouse gas increases are perceived by the public. It finds that while 'I have no preference' was the most common response, preferences are strongly predicted by political affiliation, audience segment status, and certainty of belief. Specifically, 'global warming' is identified as a more polarizing term, preferred by those already concerned and least preferred by those who do not believe climate change is occurring.

• The strongest predictors of a person's preference for a specific climate term are their political affiliation, their audience segment status (based on the "Global Warmings Six Americas" classification), and their certainty of belief in global warming, although the most frequent response was that respondents had no preference.
• The term "global warming" is more polarizing than "climate change," as it is most preferred by individuals already concerned about the issue and least preferred by those who do not believe climate change is happening.

APA

Team, M. 4. (2011). A Rose By Any Other Name? What Members of the General Public Prefer to Call “Climate Change”. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/a-rose-by-any-other-name-climate-change/

Chicago

Team, Mason 4C. A Rose By Any Other Name? What Members of the General Public Prefer to Call “Climate Change”. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2011. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/a-rose-by-any-other-name-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=Mason 4C |title=A Rose By Any Other Name? What Members of the General Public Prefer to Call “Climate Change” |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=30 April 2011 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/a-rose-by-any-other-name-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2011rose, author = {Team, Mason 4C}, title = {{A Rose By Any Other Name? What Members of the General Public Prefer to Call “Climate Change”}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2011}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/a-rose-by-any-other-name-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }