A shocking new study shows a dramatic gap between what Americans publicly claim and what they believe on key issues. In fact feel while discussing polarizing political topics in private.
population, a Massachusetts-based think tank recently released its first Social Pressure Index, focusing on understanding people’s private thoughts and values rather than what they say publicly. The findings indicate that Americans do not trust the government or the media and are hesitant to publicly admit their true feelings on a variety of major issues. This may be important as the presidential election approaches, as many Americans feel pressure to support specific candidates or issues publicly, but do not necessarily vote this way in private.
“I think it will be really interesting to see what happens on election night. I will also say that I think people will be surprised not only about the presidential election, but about some of the ballot initiatives and things like that. Even I would be surprised. It’s very different from public opinion,” said Todd Rose, CEO of Populous. fox news digital,
According to Todd Rose, CEO of Populous, many Americans feel pressure to publicly support a specific candidate or issue, but do not necessarily vote that way in private. (Photographer: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rose said the poll is “not bad”, but it is flawed because Americans are not honest about their personal opinions.
“Polling assumes you’re telling the truth, and we don’t,” Rose said, noting that he began private opinion research after this. of former President Trump The victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 surprised pollsters.
According to the study, a staggering 61% of Americans admit to self-silencing their true beliefs, and 58% of Americans believe that most people share their honest opinions about sensitive topics. Can’t, even if they think they’re right.
Rose said that the Social Pressure Index was the largest personal opinion study ever conducted, and that it acknowledged social pressure to have the “right” opinion and also how this pressure influences the things Americans say out loud. Ready to say. He said the study discussed 64 of the most controversial issues in American society and included a massive sample of more than 19,000 respondents and more than two dozen demographic groups.
Rose said, “On these 64 issues, every single demographic group in the country, every single one of them, is lying on many issues to such an extent that what they say in public is not what they say in private.” They believe.”
Rose described it as “appalling” that some public dishonesty could lead to policy implications.
For example, he said the study found that for a while, “Defund the Police” received support from a majority of Democrats, but only 3% of Democrats personally supported it.
“I don’t think we would have gone down the path of some of the things in Seattle and other things if we had known it was just 3%. And we’re seeing similar things right now. For example, Americans write extensively “say publicly they think unions are good for the economy, privately they don’t believe it,” Rose said.
Former President Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton surprised many pollsters. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“The good news is – when you go beyond what we say in public to what we believe in private. I was surprised to see the extent of common ground we have as Americans,” Rose said. Said further. “On two-thirds of those issues, almost every single demographic of the country agrees – is on the same side of it.”
Rose found it “unusual” that so many Americans agreed on important issues, at least privately, while the nation felt so divided.
“The thing I’m most excited about is not just that we agree, but what we agree on. There is an incredible personal preference for the meritocracy system in America, whether we’re looking at college admissions, hiring decisions, Talking about promotion decisions, who gets to be in the C-suite, the way we treat different groups,” Rose said.
He added, “Three-quarters of Americans across all demographics prefer living in a meritocracy compared to the things we’ve been doing lately.” “And I think that’s really good news for the future of the country.”
However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows as many respondents remain deeply concerned about the economy.
“One of the things we found across a variety of issues was a deep pessimism about the economy and the direction of the country,” Rose said.
The study found that Democrats are personally the most likely to suggest that the economy is thriving.
“Consistently, three out of four Americans say the economy is not good. And we asked in many different ways. We asked about their personal finances as they are right now. We asked about the state of the economy as We asked about whether the economy was better or worse now than it was five years ago. We asked about whether their personal finances were better or worse.
He added, “Of course, what you’re seeing is that most people privately believe that the economy is not doing very well. Not surprisingly, the only group that would say anything different privately is the registered Are democrats.” “He constantly says, ‘I think the economy is great.'”
Todd Rose, CEO of Populous, said the Social Pressure Index found “deep pessimism about the economy and the direction of the country.” (Photographer: Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rose said that many Democrats who insist that the economy is thriving under the Biden-Harris administration admit that their personal finances are “not so good.”
“When we asked where the country is going in the wrong direction, you find overwhelming majorities of Americans across all demographics who are acknowledging that things are not good for the country,” Rose said.
Another thing that surprised Rose was how Americans felt about institutions overall.
“So, we all know that when it comes to the government, there is a lot of distrust in the public opinion toward the government, even publicly. We asked the statement if you were willing to tell the truth. Trust the government. And that’s kind of the low point, right? It’s not like, only 4% of Americans trust the government to tell the truth.” Rose said.
“The really funny thing about this is that publicly, Democrats have the highest rate of saying they trust the government, 36%. Privately, it’s only 5%. Even they We don’t even trust the government to tell the truth,” Rose added. “When you extend this to the media, we see something similar. Only 7% of the public personally trusts the media to tell the truth.”
Social pressure index can be seen Here,
As for how the data were determined, the study’s abstract explains: “The study’s primary methodology was an inventory experiment (also known as the item count technique), a survey technique designed to maximize respondents’ confidentiality. Instead of directly asking respondents their opinions on a range of sensitive topics, list experiments combined responses to sensitive items with other items, reducing biases generated by social desirability and non-response. As hid the answers of the respondents.
“If tolerance for dissenting views and the courage to participate in the open, free exchange of ideas are markers of a healthy democracy, then America’s epidemic of self-silencing is like a five-alarm fire engulfing the key pillars of representative governance. “Most Americans hesitate to share their honest opinions, not because they fear disagreement, but because they fear judgment,” Rose said in a statement ahead of her Fox News digital interview.
Rose said, “When nearly two out of three Americans admit they don’t feel comfortable sharing their opinions, collective silence can create a dangerous illusion about a country that is much more fragmented and divided than it really is.” Polarized.” “The truth is that we are not as divided as we seem. We are too afraid to speak out.”
According to Populous, “The survey was conducted from May 16, 2024, to June 24, 2024, and was fielded by YouGov.”
