The Patriotic Sorting Hat

2023-02-08

Should the government do more to advance society’s goals, even if it means limiting the freedom and choices of individuals?

If your preferred candidate loses the next presidential election, will you be suspicious about the results?

If you feel strongly about either (or both) of these questions, you may want to try our Patriotic Sorting Hat and see where you fall on the spectrum of mindsets toward American democracy. 

 

Last year the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University organized the 2022 Collaborative Midterm Survey, a project designed to promote innovation in survey research, as well as understand the midterm election results. From dozens of applicants The Roper Center chose a team of three research organizations, including Gradient, in partnership with Survey 160, to understand the American public via a 19,000-person survey using both a shared section of questions and a unique set of questions and methodologies across teams.

 

Gradient’s winning methodology relied on a segmentation designed to shed light on Americans’ distinct mindsets toward American democracy and government. Gradient’s portion of the survey included a battery of 25 questions about democratic values, which ultimately classified respondents into one of five mindset-based segments resulting from the responses. 

 

Why a segmentation? Traditional public opinion surveys conducted by news media or polling firms can tell us everything from which brands certain generations prefer to the most likely candidate to win a presidential election. A mindset-based segmentation analysis provides more texture to topline survey results by helping us understand that public opinion is shaped by more than just demographic characteristics.

 

So, where do you fall on the democracy mindsets spectrum? Find out for yourself by taking a subset of the same survey (also known as a typing tool*). You will be asked to agree or disagree with statements you might find provocative, which help us sharpen the precision with which we classify the American public. Please don't cast any revenge spells on us if you end up as the Slytherin of American democracy.

 

 

*A typing tool segmentation is a shortened version of a longer questionnaire that was originally used to produce a mindset-based segmentation. It can also be used in market and quantitative research by brands and other organizations looking to classify their customer segments.