The Culture Change Project is an ongoing investigation designed to uncover whether and how the current period of social, economic, and political turmoil—starting in 2020 and continuing through present-day— has led to shifts in the ways that Americans think about the world. We’re also exploring communications openings and challenges those cultural shifts create for those working for progressive change.

In our June 2022 research report, we outlined 11 trends in how Americans were thinking about important social issues— things like race, health, and the economy.

A major theme of that report was that individualistic thinking (i.e., we all have what we have as a function of how hard we try) was slowly being balanced by a more systemic mindset (i.e., what surrounds us shapes us) in American culture.

Although individualistic thinking was still dominant, we were seeing a slightly more balanced understanding of the ways in which systems, institutions, and environments affect our lives.