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University of Connecticut

Topics At A Glance: Ethics

Satisfaction with Morals and Ethics in the US

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(Next, I'm going to read some aspects of life in America today. For each one, please say whether you are--very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied.) How about...the moral and ethical climate?
Gallup Poll, [Jan, 2012]




(Next, I'm going to read some aspects of life in America today. For each one, please say whether you are--very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied.) How about...the moral and ethical climate?
Gallup Poll, [Jan, 2011]




(Next, I'm going to read some aspects of life in America today. For each one, please say whether you are--very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied.)...The moral and ethical climate
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [May, 2009]



Is Lying Ever Justified

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Another possible area for reductions lies in salaries and financial benefits the Defense Department pays to military personnel. Some people say reducing salaries and benefits would not be fair to military families, risk hurting morale and make recruitment more difficult. Others say that military personnel get very generous benefits and, like other Americans, they need to do their share to deal with the current budget crisis....Since 1982 military pay has risen faster than private-sector pay. Military wage increases could be capped at half a percentage point below an average of private-sector wage increases. This would save $2 billion a year. What is your position on this proposal?...Favor, oppose
PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll, [Apr, 2012]




(Another possible area for reductions lies in salaries and financial benefits the Defense Department pays to military personnel. Some people say reducing salaries and benefits would not be fair to military families, risk hurting morale and make recruitment more difficult. Others say that military personnel get very generous benefits and, like other Americans, they need to do their share to deal with the current budget crisis.)...Right now the military receives tax-exempt allowances for housing and food and these have been growing at a faster rate than basic military wages. One proposal is to slow the rate of growth of these tax-exempt allowances, though not to reduce them. This would save $6 billion a year. What is your position on this proposal?...Favor, oppose
PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll, [Apr, 2012]




(Another possible area for reductions lies in salaries and financial benefits the Defense Department pays to military personnel. Some people say reducing salaries and benefits would not be fair to military families, risk hurting morale and make recruitment more difficult. Others say that military personnel get very generous benefits and, like other Americans, they need to do their share to deal with the current budget crisis.)...Currently military personnel can retire after 20 years and receive a pension for the rest of their lives, no matter their age when they retire. The pension is 50 percent of the average of their last 3 years of salary. This could be changed for new recruits so that they will receive a pension only beginning at age 60, and with the pension being 40 percent of the average of the last 5 years of salary. Because the military is always making payments into the pension fund, this change would immediately save $9 billion a year. What is your position on this proposal?...Favor, oppose
PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll, [Apr, 2012]



Honesty & Ethical Standards of Specific Occupations

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Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low? How about...advertising practitioners?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2012]




(Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low?) How about...bankers?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2012]




(Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low?) How about...business executives?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2012]



Corporate Ethics, Corruption & Scandals

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(Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low?) How about...business executives?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2012]




(I have a few questions about the civil law system in this country. As opposed to criminal law, this is the system that handles lawsuits and other civil matters.)...Imagine that you're a juror in a lawsuit filed against...a large business corporation by an individual saying they were defrauded or injured by that company. All else equal, which side would you be inclined to favor--the individual who sued or the...large business corporation?
DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar Civil Justice System Survey, [Aug, 2012]




(I have a few questions about the civil law system in this country. As opposed to criminal law, this is the system that handles lawsuits and other civil matters.)...Imagine that you're a juror in a lawsuit filed against...a small business located in your community by an individual saying they were defrauded or injured by that company. All else equal, which side would you be inclined to favor--the individual who sued or the...small business located in your community?
DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar Civil Justice System Survey, [Aug, 2012]



Congressional Ethics, Corruption & Scandals

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(Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low?) How about...members of Congress?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2012]




(Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low?) How about...senators?
Gallup/USA Today Poll, [Nov, 2012]




(Please tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields--very high, high, average, low, or very low?) How about...members of Congress?
Gallup Poll, [Nov, 2011]



Ethics of the Presidential Administrations

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Compared to the administration of President George W. Bush, do you think the Obama administration so far has displayed higher ethical standards, lower ethical standards, or about the same level of ethical standards?
Associated Press/Gfk Poll, [Jan, 2011]




When the members of the Obama administration talk about the oil spill (in the Gulf of Mexico), do you think they are telling the truth, mostly telling the truth but hiding something, or are they mostly lying?
CBS News/New York Times Poll, [Jun, 2010]




Compared to the administration of President George W. Bush, do you think the Obama administration so far has displayed higher ethical standards, lower ethical standards, or about the same level of ethical standards?
Associated Press/Gfk Poll, [Jan, 2010]



From the Archives


(I am going to read a list of words and phrases people may use to describe political figures. For each, tell me whether the word or phrase describes the candidate I name.) Think about George Bush. In your opinion does the word 'honest' describe George Bush extremely well, quite well, not too well, or not well at all?
American National Election Study 1992 (Pre-Election), [Sep, 1992]




Suppose that in upcoming elections for Congress and other offices there was a non-partisan effort to get candidates to publicly sign a code of campaign conduct, promising to campaign ethically and honestly and refrain from negative attack-oriented campaigns. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not a good idea at all and 10 being an extremely good idea, how would you rate the idea of having a code of campaign conduct?
Sample: National likely voters
Campaign Conduct Survey, [Jun, 2002]




How much does it matter whether reality (television) shows are truthful?...A lot, a little, not at all
Associated Press/TV Guide/Ipsos-Public Affairs Poll, [Sep, 2005]



Presidential Approval Ratings

Presidential Approval Ratings

Compare current trends to other presidents as far back as Roosevelt and Truman.


Most Important Problem Facing the Country

Economy in general
Blue bar 30%
Unemployment/Jobs
Blue bar 20%
Dissatisfaction with government/Congress/politicians/Poor leadership/Corruption/Abuse of power
Blue bar 15%
Federal budget deficit/Federal debt
Blue bar 11%
Poor healthcare/hospitals/High cost of healthcare
Blue bar 5%
Lack of money
Blue bar 4%

Note: Top specific responses only shown.
Gallup Poll, [Nov, 2012]
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Today's Number
21%
answered Believe-4 when asked "(As I name some news organizations, please rate how much you think you can believe each that I name on a scale of 4 to 1. On this four point scale, '4' means you can believe all or most of what the news organization says, and '1' means you believe almost nothing of what they say.) How would you rate the believability of...ABC News on this scale of 4 to 1?"
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Believability Survey, [Jul, 2012]


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Other Topics at a Glance:
Congressional Approval
Economy
Health Care
Immigration
Role of Government
Taxes
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Quick Dataset Search

RoperExpress logo Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Political/Believability Survey [May, 2008]

RoperExpress logo Gallup/CNN/USA Today Poll [Nov, 2003]

RoperExpress logo Gallup/USA Today Poll [Dec, 2006]

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