A new map shows the stereotypes Americans have of certain regions in the United States.
While people in the western part of the country are seen as experimental and uninhibited, the Northeast is viewed rude, aggressive and impatient. Southerners are regarded as polite and easygoing and Midwesterners are considered self-reliant and conscientious.
People who took the nationwide survey conducted by YouGov were shown a list of 20 adjectives and asked to identify which four words they most associated with a particular region. For survey purposes, the country was broken down into four regions.
Here’s what the survey found:
Northeast: Worldly, impatient, smart, rude, mature, mean, worrying, suspicious, aggressive
South: Polite, Easy-going, suspicious, worrying, mean, kind, sensitive
Midwest: Self-reliant, conscientious, self-disciplined, mature, polite, easy-going, kind
West: Easy-going, uninhibited, worldly, enthusiastic, experimental, imaginative
I love surveys they are the tool for those who live in a cage to know the real world. Based on the opinions of a few the masses follow mathematically yet the error is how they are conducted and question asked Note how the groups are based on state border not geographic areas. Example, western Pennsylvania is as different to eastern Pennsylvania as Texas is to New York. Whatever was spent to develop this asinine chart it was too much.
Oh for crying out loud… ease up, will you. Why do I have the feeling that you live in the North East? Mmmmh? People were not asked to give an opinion on a topic, but their *perception* by associating keywords to broad regions. This is done all the time in psychology and marketing, among other disciplines.
I get it, its just another common core education meaningless BS stereotype map. The map is based on the results of a survey from a small group of people that don’t even come close to representing a cross section of America using their “precipitations and prejudices” to stereotype people by regions.
Richard is correct in the make up of the map. The south is represented by Washington DC to Florida to Texas to West Virgina. All are totally different to each other. It’s not the number of people questioned, it is how the survey was conducted. It’s a flawed survey plain and simple. Check out YouGov, it’s based in the UK. Maybe they need to understand geography of the United States.
Interesting, YouGov is a survey web site. That sort of explains where the flaw comes from. When the survey is money base the results are questionable.
Now the next question is who was the editor that approved this survey in Voice of America?
I didn’t realize YouGov was based in the UK, that explains a lot. Little wonder the map is a farce, the Brits are still trying determine what area of the thirteen colonies was most responsible for kicking their arse out of America after the revolutionary war. The Brits have absolutely no concept of who Americans really are and don’t understand the independence and individuality of people from county to county, city to city or rural to urban and we don’t fit into a group of homogenized societies like England. Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Since our independence, “We the people” of the United States historically have always been citizens and were never subjects to any king or queen.
Would you please publish with this map of what Americans are like in various places with another map that shows weekly attendance at church and percentage of people with no religion? There would be interesting correlations. The South, which looks like rather nice people, is very church going. The Northeast (“rude”) is much less religious. The Far West (which should have been divided due the large Hispanic population in the southern part) would be mixed religiously. The Midwest probably is a mixture of North East and South as far as Church-going goes but probably more like the South than the North East.
West: Easy-going, uninhibited, worldly, enthusiastic, experimental, imaginative
Um absolutely not; obviously you do not live here.
Get rid of this incessant stereotyping, there are a$$h0|3s everywhere and this region’s FULL of them.
Have you been to any of the other regions? I don’t think you know what you are talking about in the least, Mike.
You need to take those adjectives as relative values, instead of comparing them to the epitome of what they represent.
LOL I love that Maine and NY are grouped together like they’re the same.
There are for more than 4 regions in the US. I don’t think you can draw stereotypes about these regions. Even within the same state, there are differences. Urban New York City residents, tend to be quite different from rural upstate New York residents. Same would be true when comparing Chicago with the rest of Illinois. Even within “liberal” CA there are vast differences between residents of L.A. and San Francisco and rural residents in eastern and northern CA.
The idea with this survey is that people do draw stereotypes. The point of it is not to accurately portray U.S. regions, but to expose stereotypes we have of others and they of us. Your takeaway should be to examine your own views of other people based on where they live in light of their views of you based on where you live.
This survey will tell you something if you care to listen.
Having had worked in a company that has offices in every state and having to deal with people in all our offices, I definitely see some realism to this survey. I can think of the many individuals and where they were from on the map. Many would match what this chart depicts. I can think of the instances where someone said, “thanks for the help darlin” or just being plain curt or rude with the way they speak. The hardest people to work with were from Los Angeles and the Northeast. I know a family that moved around the U.S. seven times until they found a community that matched the attitudes they were looking to raise their children. They said Houston, TX had the most relaxed and nicest people.
Moved their children seven times around the US to find a “area that matched “their attitudes”. How stupid can two adults be, taking their children out of schools and from friends seven times because it was all about them. Their real examples of parents that practice “children come first”. Must have found a neighborhood full of narcissist parents that don’t give a damn about their children.
Many years ago, I was interviewing for my first job as a speech therapist. I accepted a job in New Hampshire. I was told that I wouldn’t get along very well in the setting because I was an outsider (Midwesterner). My first week in New Hampshire,around midnight, I was awakened by a telephone call from some of my colleagues at the rehabilitation center where I worked. “The ocean is raging. You have to see this. We’ll come and get you.” I got dressed and went to the ocean. It was spitting rocks onto the highway, some the size of boulders. People were drinking beer and wine and being in “awe” of the ocean’s power and beauty. I spent two years in New Hampshire and was accepted by the native residents. It was two of the best years of my life. So these stereotypes don’t make sense to me. I think that we are so mixed with different cultures regardless of where we live. Oh, I’m sure there are exceptions. I’m proud of our country with how we continue to strive to get along with one another regardless of our differences. Yes, there is disparity AND we continue to work it out…sometimes with marches and fighting. It’s not easy to mix cultures. AND we do. Not many people are trying to immigrate out of the USA unless extremists or religious fanatics.
California and Utah clubbed together? The Mormons will be shocked.
This article clearly states that these are stereotypes.