Our understanding of what constitutes a successful life functions as a personal compass that deeply influences how we perceive, and thus lead, our lives. Our internal, private definitions of success reflect our individual values, aspirations, and life priorities. Our impressions of how most other people in society define success, on the other hand, present an alternative gauge that reveals our perceived collective values, aspirations, and priorities. These internal and external guides have significant implications for how we organize and prioritize our own lives and how we conceptualize national ideals like the American Dream.
Perhaps the most important insight from this report is that Americans are profoundly wrong about how other Americans define success and the American Dream. Out of 61 attributes tested, more than half (52%) had a gap of 20 or more ranks between how Americans prioritize them and how they think most other Americans prioritize those same attributes. These “collective illusions” are so widespread that there is not a single demographic group in the country that has an accurate view of how most Americans define a successful life and the American Dream.
Key findings in the report:
Success is about a meaningful life, not getting rich.
- Half of Americans’ top-ten priorities for success are about a meaningful life, including being able to do work that has a positive impact on other people, enjoying their work, being enjoyable to be around, having a purpose in life, and being actively involved in their community. In contrast, being rich is ranked in the bottom third of all priorities (45 of 61). However, Americans believe that most other people would rank being rich as the single most important priority of all.
The American Dream is personal, not financial.
- Most Americans believe that the American Dream is about personal success (the ability to achieve success on the things that matter most to you), but they think that most other people would define it in purely economic terms (the ability to achieve financial prosperity through hard work).
Americans choose character over status.
- Americans overwhelmingly emphasize character over status in their view of success, and it isn’t even close. Americans ranked every character-related attribute higher than every status-related attribute in their priorities for a successful life. Indeed, the gap is so large that even the lowest-ranked character attribute outranks the highest-status attribute by thirty spots.
College diplomas are devalued.
- College degrees are not an important part of how Americans define success. Having a bachelor’s degree and having an advanced postgraduate degree are each ranked in the bottom ten of all priorities for a successful life. Yet, Americans believe that most other Americans would rank them as top-15 priorities.
Parenting matters more than marriage.
- When it comes to success, Americans care more about having children than having a spouse. Being a parent is the #4-ranked priority, whereas being married is ranked 15 spots lower (#19). This relative devaluation appears to be more than a rejection of the legal status that marriage confers, since being in a committed relationship ranks even lower than marriage (#31).
Populace Insights: Purpose of Education Index
The Purpose of Education Index represents the first of its kind private opinion study of the American people’s priorities for the future of education in America. The results are consequential for educators, parents, policymakers, or anyone interested in the future of K-12 education in America.
The Purpose of Education Index is a first-of-its-kind, multi-year, nationally representative study designed to understand the American people’s priorities for K-12 education today. Populace undertook this research as part of a broader commitment to ensuring that the public’s voice is front and center in conversations about the purpose of public institutions.
To accomplish this, the Purpose of Education Index leverages a combination of direct questions, along with a choice-based conjoint (CBC) component that distinguishes between personal opinion and perceived societal opinion — how respondents believe most people would answer. The result is a level of insight that is not possible through traditional public opinion polling alone.
In revealing what the American public wants most — and least — from K-12 education today, and identifying where the current system is doing well and where it is falling short, the Purpose of Education Index offers unique insights that are consequential for anyone interested in the future of the education system in America.
Key findings in the report:
College Should No Longer Be the End Goal of K-12 Education:
- Before COVID, respondents ranked being prepared to enroll in a college or university as their 10th highest priority for K-12 education. In post-COVID America, this is no longer the case. When given 57 priorities for children’s K-12 education, Americans ranked it as #47. However they believe it is other people’s third-highest priority, demonstrating a deep societal misunderstanding of one another.
Practical Skills & Outcomes Should Be the End Goal:
- Respondents reported developing practical skills as the #1 priority for education outcomes, and consistently prioritized practical, tangible skills and outcomes over lofty ideals and other short-term goals.
Individualized Education Is the Future, One-Size-Fits-All Is the Past:
- Respondents not only deprioritized one-size-fits-all approaches to K-12 education (e.g. evaluating students through standardized tests, providing every student the same amount of support and resources, etc.), they also actively prioritized attributes that enabled education to be tailored to meet each child’s needs (e.g. allowing children to learn at their own pace, providing unique supports, etc.).
Education Priorities Vary Immensely by Race:
- While developing critical thinking and practical skills were shared priorities, there are noticeable differences across each racial group. The report highlights these shared priorities and unique differences, which further indicate that the current one-size-fits-all approach to education fails to address the needs and wants of students and parents.
“Better” Is No Longer the Goal — “Different” Is:
- One of the most prevalent threads across the data illustrates that Americans are fed up with the current education system, beyond the point of wanting improvements to the existing structure. The vast majority of the general population believes more things about the educational system should change than stay the same (71%), including 21% who say nearly everything should change.
Populace Insights:
Private Opinion in America
This report aims to better understand the extent of preference falsification in America by revealing gaps between public and private opinion on some of the most sensitive issues in society today.
Social pressure to have the “right” opinion is pervasive in America today. In recent years, polls have consistently found that most Americans, across all demographics, feel they cannot share their honest opinions in public for fear of offending others or incurring retribution. This trend is concerning because of the threat that it poses to individual freedoms, community flourishing, and democratic self-government.
One important, but underappreciated, consequence of a culture of censorship is that it can lead individuals not only to self silence, but also publicly misrepresent their own private views (what scholars call preference falsification). It is essential to understand the extent to which people are misrepresenting their views today, because when preference falsification becomes widespread in a society it can result in collective illusions that drive false polarization, erode trust, and hold back social progress.
In revealing the private opinions of the American public across a range of sensitive topics, and surfacing areas where the misrepresentation of private views has established a false consensus in the public narrative, this report aims to contribute to more open and honest political and social discourse.
Key findings in the report:
Everyone is feeling social pressure.
- The pressure to misrepresent our private views — to offer answers on politically and socially sensitive questions that are out of sync with our true beliefs — is pervasive in society today. Across all demographics every subgroup had multiple issues with at least a double-digit gap between public and private opinion.
As groups, Hispanics and independents are the least comfortable sharing their private views in public.
- Across demographic groups, Hispanics and Independents have the greatest number of sensitive topics with double-digit gaps between public and private opinion (14 out of 25 issues, although what constitutes “sensitive” is not identical for the groups). In contrast, the groups that have the fewest topics with such gaps are Republicans and Democrats (4 of 25).
A majority of people say publicly that mask wearing was effective, but they don’t believe it in private.
- Whereas 59% of Americans publicly agree that wearing a mask was an effective way to stop the spread of COVID-19, only 47% percent privately hold that view (a 12-point gap).
When it comes to abortion, men are not as supportive as their public opinions would suggest.
- In public, a majority of men (60%) agree the decision to have an abortion should be left to a woman and her doctor; however, in private that number is only 45%. In addition, most men (52%) publicly say that “abortion should be legal in most cases,” but in private that is not the majority view (48%).
An overwhelming majority of Americans do not want CEOs taking public stances on controversial social issues.
- Only 14% of Americans privately agree that CEOs should take such stances, although twice as many people will say that they support it publicly. Importantly, this view holds broadly in society: there is no demographic where a majority actually wants CEOs taking public stances on controversial issues.
For people between the ages of 30 and 44, the two biggest public-private gaps both relate to education.
- First, the vast majority (74%) of people in this age group privately think parents should have more influence over public school curriculums, but only 48% are willing to say so publicly. Second, while in public a majority (60%) say discussing gender identity in public schools is inappropriate for young children (K-3), in private this is not the majority view (only 40% privately agree).
Only a third of people privately think that schools are focusing too much on racism.
- In public, 43% of people say public schools are focusing too much on racism in the U.S. However, in private that number is ten points lower (33%). This trend of greater public agreement than private holds for almost all subgroups.
Populace Insights: The American Workforce Index
The American Workforce Index offers business leaders, policymakers, and
the public at large the first-ever private opinion survey of what U.S. workers
want most — and least — from their jobs today. The result is an understanding
of what people are willing to trade off in search of what they truly value
from the world of work.
What do we want from the world of work?
There is little doubt that the world of work has undergone significant shifts over the past 18 months. But recognizing the changes in how, where, and when Americans work is only part of the story. More consequentially, the pandemic has fundamentally altered what people want from work itself.
In surfacing what working adults personally want most from their jobs today, and revealing the systematic misunderstandings that people hold about one another, the American Workforce Index offers a new lens to understand the world of work.
Key findings in the report:
When it comes to work, considerations such as compensation and benefits are mainstays, but flexibility has quickly secured its spot as a fixed priority.
- Workplace flexibility and the ability to manage one’s schedule around their work is set to be one of the permanent shifts from the pandemic, with workers listing the ability to work remotely the second highest priority and “I can do my work while still having time for other things I care about” as the fourth highest priority.
American workers want a respectful, inclusive workplace.
- Working adults highly prioritize a workplace that treats everyone with equal respect, where they are able to be themselves, where their ideas are listened to and considered by others, and where nobody receives preferential treatment for factors other than performance.
Trust matters more than we think.
- Working adults value being trusted by their employer, not only with regard to having autonomy in how and when they do their work, but also more broadly in terms of having employers respect their privacy. However, while trust is highly valued by Americans, they do not believe that others prioritize it.
Prestige: the biggest collective illusion.
- There is a stark difference between how much Americans value a job that is viewed as prestigious, and how much they believe others in society value it. While Americans believe that having a job that is recognized as prestigious is one of the most important priorities for other people, they personally rank it as one of the least important priorities for themselves.
American workers who have achieved more of their personal priorities in their current jobs rate their lives as being better than those who have achieved fewer of their ideal priorities.
- The survey finds that an increase of 33 points in achieved-ideal work score is associated with a 0.84 rise in current life evaluation (on a 10-point scale), an effect roughly equivalent to moving from an income bracket of $35,000- $49,999 to $50,000-$74,999.
The American
Aspirations Index
Our private opinion study offers unique insights about the nature of our
divisions as a country, the extent of our common ground, and possible paths
forward for near-term progress that aligns with long-term ambitions.
What are our aspirations for the future of America?
The American Aspirations Index represents the first-ever private opinion survey of the American people’s ambitions for the long-term future of the country. It uses tools and methodologies that minimize distortions found in many traditional public opinion polls.
A representative democracy requires some level of public consensus to determine the future direction of the country. That’s why understanding the public’s highest aspirations, unbiased by social influence, is a vital task. It’s a task made markedly more important in an era of technological change, political polarization, and social unrest.
The report reveals not only what national values and policy goals Americans personally prioritize, but also what they believe others prioritize. The results are consequential for anyone involved in politics, anyone invested in business, or even simply anyone interested in how Americans think of the future and one another.
Key findings in the report:
Across race, gender, income, education, generation, and 2020 presidential vote, there is stunning agreement on the long-term national priorities that should come to characterize America.
- Chief among them: high quality healthcare as a necessity, not a privilege; an overwhelming commitment to individual rights; and upholding equal treatment for all, but not necessarily equal outcomes.
Where significant differences in aspirations do emerge, they are almost entirely political in nature.
- And even here, the evidence suggests Americans mistake intensity of partisan disagreement on a small number of issues (e.g., immigration) for breadth of partisan disagreement across a far-ranging number of issues.
National unity is not a priority.
- The American people don’t prioritize national unity as a long-term aspiration. They do, however, privately value restoring respect for one another.
Collective illusions — significant gaps between personal and perceived societal national aspirations — as an obstacle to progress.
- For example, there is a surprising level of support for action on climate change and conservation. However, Americans don’t recognize it. Climate action privately ranks as the third highest personally-held national aspiration out of a full 55 possibilities; Americans believe that ‘most others’ would register climate action as a back half priority (#33).
Biden voters and Trump voters share a sense of urgency around 5 policy objectives.
- Voters from both political camps want improvement in the near-term on healthcare, keeping communities safe, helping the middle class, modernizing infrastructure, and criminal justice reform.
Populace Insights: American Priorities for Higher Education
Our new private opinion study shows remarkable unanimity across demographic
groups in priorities for higher education; but, together, these public priorities
break sharply from institutional offerings today.
What do we want from higher education?
For democracy to thrive it is important that key institutions reflect the values and priorities of the public. An accurate understanding of Americans' attitudes about higher education (what they prioritize, what they want from the experience, and what they expect will result from it), is critical to ensuring that colleges and universities provide the training, services, and opportunities that the public genuinely wants. The aim of this report is to stimulate conversations about how the public's priorities can be better reflected in our institutions of higher education.
Key findings in the report:
Americans are losing faith in institutions of higher education.
- Americans believe higher education is headed in the ‘wrong direction’ -- but they don’t blame the downward trajectory to COVID-19. A full 52% of Americans believe higher education is headed in the ‘the wrong direction,’ while only 20% believe it is generally headed in the ‘right direction.’
- A full 67% of Americans believe that colleges and universities put their own institutional interests first, compared to those who believe they put students (9%) or the greater good (4%) first.
- Less than a third of the American public (27%) believe that it is necessary to have a college degree to achieve the American dream. Similarly only 33% believe you need a college degree to be part of the American middle class. But 60% of Americans believe “most others” think you need a college degree to achieve the American dream; 62% of Americans believe “most others” think you need a college degree to part of the middle class.
American priorities for higher education are at odds with the status quo.
- Out of 66 high education attributes, respondents ranked affordable tuition, an institution being committed to helping students graduate debt-free, and having a good-paying job within 9 months of graduation as the top three priorities.
- On-the-job training in the form of internships, hands-on workshops and lab-based classes, and instruction from professors with practical experience all appear in the top 10 personal priorities for the American public, the college-bound and enrolled, parents, college graduates, and those without a four year degree.
- Having a reputation for an active social scene, a competitive sports program, and the school being considered “elite,” were the bottom three ranked personal priorities -- but all registered in the top ten perceived societal priorities.
The Success Index
Populace & Gallup launch inaugural Success Index
Our landmark study shows startling rejection
of traditional markers of American success.
How do you define success?
We believe this is one of the most important questions in our society today. It’s answer reveals our values, character, and the content of our dreams. And, in a functional culture, what the people want most, success, should be aligned and provided for by the institutions—government, education, work—of the culture. Our qualitative research showed us that most of us feel like our culture is seriously out of alignment.
We wanted to stimulate conversations about success in America and reveal the crisis and opportunities that lie under the surface of the subject. Which is why we partnered with Gallup to conduct the first-of-its-kind, nationally representative study to understand what “success” truly means to Americans.
Key findings in the report:
There is a stark difference between how Americans define success and how they believe others in society define success.
- Most Americans believe others in society define success in status-oriented and zero-sum terms, but less than 10% apply this standard to their personal definition of success.
- Americans believe that others in society would say being famous is the most important factor for success. Fame, however, is the least important factor in people’s personal views of success.
- Americans also believe others in society have a one-size-fits-all definition of success, concentrated on status (45.9%), followed by education (19.8%) and finances (8.8%).
Americans have very diverse definitions of personal success that are highly unique and cover a wide variety of life domains.
- The study found that there is no “average” definition of success. Instead, everyone tends to have a highly unique, personal view of success.
- The most important domains in Americans’ personal definitions of success are education (17.1%), relationships (15.6%), and character (15.4%).