Abortion attitudes -- a barometer of conservative anxiety?

Recent polling has shown a dramatic increase then number of people saying they are against abortion. The increase has been most dramatic amongst whites -- particularly conservatives. Attitudes towards abortion haven't changed substantially amongst Democrats and Blacks.

This recent increase occurred after the election of Obama in November 2008; a similar spike in anti-abortion feelings occurred in 2001.

Could heightened stress from inter-group conflict -- terrorist attacks from Middle East, minorities being elected to the head of our government -- find its expression in greater angst about abortion? Abortion is an easy issue to declare your opposition to -- even those who agree with its need conceptually don't promote the behavior actively.

Its easy to have strong emotions about the killing of babies -- feelings that may not be dissimilar in strength to fears of other groups of people in threatening positions. Perhaps these inter-group fears are displaced and publicly presented in anti-abortion rhetoric.


read PEW Research poll here

read Gallup poll here

People Trust Extreme Positions More

Extreme Appeal: Voters Trust Extreme Positions More Than Moderate Ones, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (2008-08-08) -- Trying to appear moderate is not always the best strategy for capturing votes during an election, reveals a new study. Extreme positions can build trust among an electorate, who value ideological commitment in times of uncertainty. "A rational electorate is reluctant to support someone who does not exhibit commitment to some ideology," says USC economist Juan Carrillo. "Voters rightly perceive that someone without ideological commitment cannot have developed a valuable political program." ... > read full article

Advertising Strategy varies based on Purchase Timing

Timing Of Political Messages Influences Voter Preferences, Researcher Finds


ScienceDaily (2008-08-15) -- In political campaigns, timing is almost everything. Candidates communicate with voters over a long period of time before voters actually vote. What candidates say to these voters is, of course, important, but it turns out that when they say it also influences voter preferences. ... > read full article

We're Only Human...: Polling the Crowd Within

The article below shows how our minds respond to questions that we don't know the definitive answers to. Basically, when allowed to return to the question and re-answer it at a later time, the "average" of our answers tends to be more accurate than our initial response.

How could knowledge of this tendency be better utilized in market research?


We're Only Human...: Polling the Crowd Within: "www.psychologicalscience.org/onlyhuman."

Market Research from the respondent's perspective

The following unsolicited account demonstrates how respondents often easily see the purpose of research. Humans' natural instinct to scan for, and assign, causation and intent to interpersonal events most certainly influences the survey responses they give to market researchers.

The account also reveals the issue facing market researchers on almost every project: Very few business people are interested in research, as much as they are interested in validation. New and unsolicited information is a risk, until it can communaly seen as an opportunity. The amount of effort needed to convert new information into an acknowledged opportunity leads to most research findings being discarded, discredited or dismissed (as below).


"Okay, so I am paid to participate in online surveys for the construction industry. (I was nominated to be on this panel by inadvertently impressing people with my knowledge and desire to increase my knowledge of the technical component of a building and how we describe and detail it. I am a rare and treasured bird in the architectural industry. I digress. The first several pages are general and anonymous and then the last pages are specific to the manufacturer who is eliciting feedback for specific products and their reception as a new product or image of a current product. Obviously you understand better than most people. So I take a survey and I felt that they were asking the wrong questions, even though it became evident what they wanted. But how do you get that feedback when all the Q’s are rate with a number strongly agree or disagree. I get paid $20 because they know how difficult it is to get an Architect to do something that isn’t an immediate task for an impending deadline. However, I felt some obligation since they a re a good company and I am favorably oriented to the majority of the products so I sent them an email of interesting and unexpected feedback for one of their products in the Chicago Market. It is unheard of for companies to get unsolicited feedback from Architects. I didn’t expect any response, but I was surprised by the dismissive response. She must be crazy to think I am have time to pursue this with a rep.

Is this a common scenario with US corps or corps in general that they seek market feedback from the people who will select and use their product, but when these receive it unfiltered by marketing analysis they don’t know what to do with it?"

The Desirability of High Prices

The High Cost Of Low Status: Feeling Powerless Leads To Expensive Purchases

ScienceDaily (2008-06-26) -- Feeling powerless can trigger strong desires to purchase products that convey high status, according to new research. In a study that may explain why so many Americans who are deeply in debt still spend beyond their means, authors found that research subjects who were asked to recall times when someone else had power over them were willing to pay higher prices for status-symbol items. ... > read full article

Designing Research Events for Accuracy

Too Many Choices Can Spoil The Research

ScienceDaily (2008-06-27) -- The more choices people get, the less consistent they are in making those choices, according to a new study. The study's findings may affect the way researchers examine consumer choices. ... > read full article