Highlights of Results

Overview

This executive briefing highlights selected results from the IOOW 2000 Research Program's recent study. The wide range of themes explored are summarized in the opposite table. These themes were chosen to provide a complete framing of the IOOW typology. Countless other issues and ideas that beg to be explored will be covered in future phases of the research. The massive data collection of the IOOW 2000 study was conducted in a way that ensured an exceptionally accurate representation of American households. As part of the analysis of this groundbreaking research, FFGA's social scientists developed a new typology of attitudes, values, and behaviors which offers a surprising and widely useful snapshot of American culture at the beginning of the third millennium. The typology was constructed from over 210 survey items, using advanced univariate and multivariate statistical approaches and multiple indicators, and was tested for replicability throughout. The survey also included over 30 demographic and geographic variables, plus key media and political questions. The scope and depth of the survey questions enable a complex understanding of American society that exceeds the capabilites of most social science research.

In fact, one of the most useful and widely applicable contributions of the IOOW 2000 research study is its innovative typology. The project's exhaustive process of scientific analysis resulted in the identification of eight types of respondents, which, by extrapolation from the large survey sample, represent newly defined types of Americans who share similar values, attitudes, and beliefs.

At a time of heightened uncertainty, it is natural to assume that people are generally distrustful and disenchanted with one another, their world, and their future. IOOW research study findings suggest otherwise. The study found that an overwhelming majority (85%) of Americans agree that "underneath it all, we're all connected as one." Nearly as many believe that our earth is a unique kind of living organism and as a whole system is fundamentally alive. In its highest application, this universal sense of interconnection could provide a context broad enough to bridge the differences in our society that are currently the bases for conflict. Focusing on the eight types of people identified in the IOOW research suggests new ways in which differences can be transcended, commonalites reinforced, and a more positive culture encouraged.