Pew Research Center: Find Your Political Typology

Your outcome might surprise you

Politics • November 2011 • Views: 2,460

Recently, DragonFire posted a great LGF demographics survey page. In it, he asked us to name our political ideology. While it seems like a pretty straightforward question, it reminded me of this test I took a while back. Designed by the Pew Research Center, it is a series of questions asked to those polled by Pew. After answering the questions, those who took the survey were then placed into one of nine political categories, based on their answers. A quick and fun way to kill some time and maybe learn something about yourself while you’re at it. Here’s the link to the twenty question test:

people-press.org

Feel free to discuss your results in the comments!

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22 comments

SanFranciscoZionist Sun, Nov 27, 2011 9:17:41pm

It appears I am a solid liberal.

I've taken this one before, and I think it would work better with a wider and more nuanced range of options. I'll vote for 'diplomacy' before 'war', but this pits 'diplomacy' against 'strong military', for example.

Amory Blaine Sun, Nov 27, 2011 9:36:21pm

Solid liberal. Didn't like the questions though. Seemed too simplistic and full of talking points.

Lidane Sun, Nov 27, 2011 10:03:54pm

I don't much care for this one. Way too simple and there are no real allowances for nuance.

That said, it tells me I'm a solid liberal. I'm not sure I agree, since I tend to be to the right of some of my more liberal friends and to the left of my more conservative friends. I think I'm closer to the middle.

Atlas Fails Sun, Nov 27, 2011 10:06:44pm

re: #2 Amory Blaine

Solid liberal. Didn't like the questions though. Seemed too simplistic and full of talking points.

Definitely simplistic, but remember that these questions are tailored toward respondents in random surveys, not LGF-style political junkies :)

Bob Dillon Sun, Nov 27, 2011 10:13:31pm

I feel so oppressed /

Based on your responses, YOU are a…
Libertarian
Along with 9% of the public

Atlas Fails Sun, Nov 27, 2011 10:15:58pm

re: #5 Bobibutu

I feel so oppressed /

Based on your responses, YOU are a…
Libertarian
Along with 9% of the public

lol.
Image: RonPaulFlag.jpg

Bob Levin Sun, Nov 27, 2011 11:21:19pm

If you put it Talmudic terms, both sets of statements are correct and I can believe both at the same time, with the exception of the second statement.

freetoken Sun, Nov 27, 2011 11:49:17pm

So, it tells me I'm "Post-Modern". I guess that sounds better than "Post-Australopithecine".

Bob Levin Mon, Nov 28, 2011 12:10:47am

re: #8 freetoken

Post-Modern is so yesterday.

Sheila Broflovski Mon, Nov 28, 2011 5:48:06am

I am a "Disaffected" along with 11% of the population.

Romantic Heretic Mon, Nov 28, 2011 7:18:47am

Clicked through to link and went 'Gack!' at the very first question.

Sorry but the world's far more complex than 'either/or'. So I didn't take it.

Locker Mon, Nov 28, 2011 8:26:16am

Solid Liberal based on this True or False test. I like this one a lot better:

[Link: www.politicalcompass.org...]

Atlas Fails Mon, Nov 28, 2011 8:47:26am

re: #12 Locker

Solid Liberal based on this True or False test. I like this one a lot better:

[Link: www.politicalcompass.org...]

re: #12 Locker

Solid Liberal based on this True or False test. I like this one a lot better:

[Link: www.politicalcompass.org...]

I took that test too, and ended up within a couple squares of Gandhi. I'm a huge poli sci geek, so I love all this stuff, but I think Political Compass is geared more toward a global audience (e.g. Obama is considered liberal in America, but a right-leaning centrist in other parts of the world), while Pew designed theirs for Americans. Either-or tests are always flawed, but they're better than asking random survey respondents if they consider themselves liberal, conservative, or moderate, imo.

The Left Mon, Nov 28, 2011 9:06:39am

re: #13 Atlas Fails

re: #12 Locker

I took that test too, and ended up within a couple squares of Gandhi. I'm a huge poli sci geek, so I love all this stuff, but I think Political Compass is geared more toward a global audience (e.g. Obama is considered liberal in America, but a right-leaning centrist in other parts of the world), while Pew designed theirs for Americans. Either-or tests are always flawed, but they're better than asking random survey respondents if they consider themselves liberal, conservative, or moderate, imo.

That's where I land on the political compass test too. On this one, solid liberal.

Locker Mon, Nov 28, 2011 9:11:43am

On the political compass I'm:

Economic Left/Right: -4.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72

Basically I'm about the same left as Gandhi or the Dalai Lama and even more libertarian.

EiMitch Mon, Nov 28, 2011 1:32:05pm

The pew survey labeled me "disaffected." The surprise part was that it said I'm religious, even though I clearly remember giving the opposite answers on the religion questions.

Nine groups aren't enough. That, and either/or type questions suck. I'm floating in the middle on more than a couple of them.

Most of all, it would've been nice if there was anyway at all to explain why I'm "independent, leaning democrat." I wish there was an option that said something like "when moderate republicans return from the brink of extinction, I'll consider voting for them."

And yes, the political compass test was definitely better. But some of the questions still left me feeling pigeonholed. That, and this question "Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries" makes me wonder if the makers of this test answered "strongly disagree" when asked about the importance of proof-reading.

HappyWarrior Mon, Nov 28, 2011 5:56:02pm

Economic Left/Right: -2.00
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.54
Sounds about right. I don't like the Pew survey because there's no room for ambiguity. My views on many issues aren't so this or that.

docproto48 Mon, Nov 28, 2011 6:00:36pm

I was very pleased that I landed smack dab on Ghandi's spot
but I'll share it

SpaceJesus Mon, Nov 28, 2011 6:14:00pm

bluest of blue

Bob Dillon Mon, Nov 28, 2011 6:19:15pm

re: #10 Alouette

I am a "Disaffected" along with 11% of the population.

I can almost relate to that.

CuriousLurker Mon, Nov 28, 2011 8:01:00pm

Solid Liberal. Last time I took the Political Compass test I landed halfway between Nelson Mandela & Gandhi, IIRC.

garhighway Tue, Nov 29, 2011 9:33:00am

re: #3 Lidane

I don't much care for this one. Way too simple and there are no real allowances for nuance.

That said, it tells me I'm a solid liberal. I'm not sure I agree, since I tend to be to the right of some of my more liberal friends and to the left of my more conservative friends. I think I'm closer to the middle.

You want nuance? Then you ARE a liberal!

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