How do you feel about the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement? Feel being the operative word. Despite the rhetoric, Americans don’t feel very good about the decision. In fact, most Americans feel downright angry.

‘Disgusted, but not surprised.’

A recent survey conducted by Brand for Benefit in partnership with Heartbeat AI, an emotion analytics research tool asked 466 Americans, Canadians and Brits to describe their feeling about the Paris Agreement decision. Brits express the most anger, followed by Canadians. What’s interesting is that Americans may not be as divided as we think.  While 56% of Americans felt negatively about the decision and over 10% were neutral, more than 71% women and an equal number of millennials expressed shame, embarrassment and fear.

‘100% good decision.’

On the other hand, men were more likely to express feelings of optimism, admiration and pleasure, though anger was still the most dominant feeling. Yet regardless of averages, 66% of urban men were negative, as were 74% of millennial men.

Similarly, a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press and the University of Chicago’s NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that ’46 percent of Americans somewhat or strongly opposed withdrawing from the agreement. Twenty-three percent were neither in favor or opposed, and 29 percent supported the withdrawal’. Though the poll gives us some good stats on public opinion, emotion analytics helps us understand why people express support, opposition or apathy. This deep insight will be crucial when it comes to finding solutions to social challenges, especially when building consensus across broad stakeholder groups. Though we all may want the same thing, our reasons for wanting it (or not) are unique, and decidedly emotional.

Brand for Benefit                                                 

Brand for Benefit helps companies transform their business through trust, purpose, and exceptional marketing.

CEO Carolyn Ansley is an award-winning marketer, entrepreneur and mother who believes using business for good is good business.

www.brandforbenefit.com

Heartbeat AI Emotionally Intelligent Insights

Heartbeat transforms text into ten primary and one hundred secondary emotion categories to reveal deep emotion insights.

CEO Lana Novikova is an award-winning entrepreneur, market researcher, psychologist and mother who believes that understanding emotion can unlock human potential.

www.heartbeatai.com