If it’s spooky season, it’s time for The Chapman University Survey of American Fears (CSAF) to reveal the top 10 fears in America! The CSAF is an ongoing project, now in its ninth year. Conducted annually, it follows trends over time and identifies new fears as they emerge. The survey is a nationally representative sample
Between 2009 and 2020, 1,363 people in the United States were killed and 947 more were wounded in 240 mass shootings, an average of 20 shootings each year. The number of terrorist attacks on the United States between 1995 and 2019 totals 856, killing 3,492 Americans. Despite these trends, most Americans just don’t know what
Just in time for Halloween, Sociology Professor and Department Chair Chris Bader, who specializes in studies of fear and the paranormal, led fifteen Wilkinson College students, faculty, and staff on a tour of the Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House, a “haunted” residence of one of Orange County’s first female physicians, who lived and worked there from
7th Annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears By the Fear Team The annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears provides an in-depth examination into the concerns of average Americans, tracking changes and trends over the years. The survey asks about more than 100 topics ranging from government, health, and environmental matters, to crime, COVID-19,
Just in time for Halloween, Wilkinson College Undergraduate Research Fellows in the Henley Lab and Babbie Center have completed research papers based on their participation in the Study of American Fears. Among those, Americans’ Top Fears, Fear of COVID-19 in America, and Fear of Civil Unrest. Students are involved in every aspect of the survey,
The Escalette Permanent Art Collection in Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences will receive a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support Code becomes Palette. Code Becomes Palette is among the more than 1,100 projects across America totaling nearly $27 million that were selected during this second round of
I’m passionate about undergraduate research because I’ve seen firsthand how it transforms lives. Just as important, I’ve seen how young scholars greatly contribute to successful research projects. The influence of students was central when my co-PI partners Christopher Bader, Edward Day and I first developed the Chapman University Survey of American Fears, an in-depth examination
In the past few weeks, students and workers were sent home, stock markets plummeted, and the President of the United States declared a national emergency over a continuing growing number of coronavirus-19, or COVID-19, cases in the world. Yet, one of the least talked about impacts of COVID-19 is the sociological effects—particularly the ways people
For the past six years, Wilkinson’s Babbie Center for Research has surveyed what keeps Americans awake at night. Now, their ongoing multi-year, empirical “Study of American Fears” is becoming a book. Fear Itself: The Cause and Consequences of Fear in America examines the prevalent role that fear plays in the lives of daily Americans. The
If just thinking about the upcoming 2020 election makes you feel anxious, you’re not alone. Results from the 2019 Chapman University Survey of American Fears (CSAF) reveal that 47.5% of Americans are ‘afraid or very afraid’ of the outcome of the 2020 election. This fear is the 21st highest fear that Americans have ranking just