How Would you Want to be Described?

Of the following terms, which would Americans most want to be described as: Attractive, Funny, Honest, or Loyal?

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YouGov

AP US Government and Politics

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. What most surprised you about this data?

3. What is the big story these charts tell?

4. Describe one trend you see in the charts.

5. What is the best explanation for that trend?

6. What is the biggest consequence of that trend?

7. How would you most/least want to be described? Explain your personal answer to these questions:

8. What does this chart tell us about Americans, in general?

9. Based on the charts, what generalizations can you make about Americans as they age?

10. We've seen that the answers to these questions change as people age. Explain how different you think these answers are for women and men?

11. What are some other words that you think made the top ten list of words people least/most like to be described as?*

12. How does the information from the chart above relate to U.S. politics?

13. It’s interesting that the word people most want to be described as is honest and the word people least want to be described as is liar. Yet, most people don’t trust the government, or even trust each other. How do you explain that?

14. How do you think the current coronavirus pandemic will impact the way people wish to be regarded?

15. How do you think the current coronavirus pandemic will impact the qualities people wish for in a president?

16. According to the data, Americans most want to be seen as honest yet we have a president who is consistently and overwhelmingly shown to be dishonest and to be perceived as dishonest. How do you think that impacts Trump’s approval rating?

17. Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump has repeatedly used the words people LEAST like to be described as, against his opponents, for example: "Lyin' Ted Cruz," "Nasty woman." Do you think that these attacks worked to his advantage?

18. Think of any hero of yours from history: Lincoln, Buddha, Joan of Arc, or Martin Luther King. What words would you use to describe them?

Learning Extension*

Read the entire survey result from YouGov.

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Action Extension

Ask this survey question to ten of your friends, in person or online, tabulate and share the results with class.