Political Typology Quiz
Category: Politics...
Posted Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 02:13 PM [GMT-6]

Jim over at Serotoninrain has discovered, via NPR, a very interesting online quiz purporting to provide you with your "Political Typology." The quiz is provided by The Pew Research Center and thus comes with strong credentials (in my mind, at least).

Unlike Jim, who was mortified at the results of his first pass with the test, I'm quite satisfied with my characterization as "Upbeat."

Upbeats express positive views about the economy, government and society. Satisfied with their own financial situation and the direction the nation is heading, these voters support George W. Bush’s leadership in economic matters more than on social or foreign policy issues. Combining highly favorable views of government with equally positive views of business and the marketplace, Upbeats believe that success is in people’s own hands, and that businesses make a positive contribution to society. This group also has a very favorable view of immigrants.

That blurb doesn't fit me to a "t"; I'm a bit less comfortable with the immigration issue, for example, and I don't disagree with the President's foreign policy decisions as much as this makes it sound. But, overall, this isn't too far offbase.

The demographics of who falls into each category are fascinating. It's worth spending some time on the website just to see if you are outraged, encouraged or at least edified by the results of the survey.

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Comments

I know you're having technical difficulties, but this is double posted.

Posted by: jen at May 11, 2005 02:49 PM

Thanks, Jen. I hadn't noticed; I've deleted the duplicate.

Ain't technology wonderful? ;-)

Posted by: Eric at May 11, 2005 03:11 PM

Thanks for the lnik--

And you do seem to be a pretty upbeat guy. Though, I wonder from your dancin' post at how steady that beat might be. :-)

(BTW I have any number of left feet and avoid dance floors almost as much as political discussions).

Jim

Posted by: Jim at May 11, 2005 03:13 PM

Well, I'm upbeat going into the class; coming out, I'm just beat up.

And, as near as I can tell, it's perfectly OK to have two left feet, as long as you can keep 'em together. (It's those left feet that got you in trouble the first time you took that test, you know.)

Posted by: Eric at May 11, 2005 03:27 PM

ha, ha.

Very funny Junior Barnes (what cultural reference is THAT, buster?)

Posted by: Jim at May 11, 2005 04:33 PM

I'm not mortified like Jim, but according to Pew Research Associates, "Social Conservatives" like me are:

Predominantly white (91%), female (58%) and the oldest of all groups (average age is 52; 47% are 50 or older); nearly half live in the South."

Well, one out of four is better than nothing, I suppose. I'd better change my name to Miss Freen ("Ms." is too liberal sounding), double my age (or so), and move to Texas.

Pew Research also explained that "half of Social Conservatives cite newspapers as a main source of news; the Fox News Channel (34%) and network evening news (30%) are their major TV news sources."

Gee. I'm supposed to be reading the newspaper instead of blogs. I hope nobody tells on me.

Posted by: Miss Freen at May 11, 2005 04:46 PM

Jim, I haven't the faintest idea who Junior Barnes is, but I suspect he's some sort of liberal icon. ;-) Actually, I started to guess "Hee Haw," but that was Junior Sample.

M. Freen, you could address most of the issues simply by moving to Texas. Everything else falls into place when you cross the state line.

Posted by: Eric at May 11, 2005 05:06 PM

I'm not horrified with my results on the quiz, but I am amused. I'm an Enterpriser.

Apparently, it's not a Star Trek fan- it's a polite way of saying "partisan hack for GWB". Now, I do support my CiC, and I am pro-business, pro-military, and a Christian. I don't however, believe we should screw the poor... I've just seen firsthand how many of our "safety nets" are abused.

I know, I know, this is supposed to be the closest category for me, not a completely accurate one. I still think those that set up these quizzes end up limiting the choices to reflect their own pre-conceived notions of what "x" believes.

If I'm an example of an "extremely partisan Republican"- the party (of which I'm not a member) is either in big trouble, or the media has done an awful job of portraying what really motivates Republicans. Probably the latter.

Posted by: Jack Grey at May 11, 2005 09:28 PM

Jack, there's no reason to believe that this "quiz" is any more accurate than any similarly simplistic and generalized survey. Perhaps its real value is in stimulating thought and discussion like we're seeing here...and in demonstrating that all of us are a lot more complex than the pollsters would make us out to be.

Posted by: Eric at May 11, 2005 10:03 PM

"all of us are a lot more complex than the pollsters would make us out to be"

-- I certainly got a complex the first time around.

Posted by: Jim at May 12, 2005 12:44 PM
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