Research

Approach

We aim to provide nuance in how we study politics by starting with Americans’ values and beliefs, surfacing their core beliefs along with traditional identity categories like party and race. Our research is grounded in what we identified as the ‘exhausted majority,’ Americans who do not feel their voices are heard in today’s political debates and who often feel left out or left behind. We also work closely with partner organizations, local communities, and a range of stakeholders to ground our research in the stories of Americans from across the country and of all backgrounds.

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How We Research

Surveys

Our nationally representative and local surveys explore in-depth Americans’ identities, socio-psychological profiles, and public opinions on pressing issues.

Interventions

We conduct message testing and randomized controlled trials at scale on core themes, including American identity, immigration, democracy promotion, race, trust, and belonging.

Focus Groups

In our focus groups Americans share their stories about how polarization resonates in their lives and communities. Their insights add nuance to our large-scale quantitative work.

Online Communities

We expand on our focus group work by building longitudinal online panels of Americans engaging in conversation about strengthening our democracy, especially around elections.

Observational Work

We leverage existing data via case studies, market research, and computational social science techniques to understand historical dynamics that hold important lessons for today.

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A Few of our Key Reports

Culture Wars, Democracy & Elections, Immigration & Refugees, Narrative & Communications, American Identity

01 October 2018

Hidden Tribes

Hidden Tribes surveyed Americans’ underlying core beliefs and attitudes to identify the “Exhausted Majority.” Defined in part as the two thirds of Americans tired of our polarization, the “Exhausted Majority” is regularly used by mainstream media and leaders from across the political spectrum.

Culture Wars, Perception Gaps

Cover titled 'Perception Gap How False Impressions are Pulling Americans Apart'

01 June 2019

The Perception Gap

Part of the story of our division is rooted in false polarization, a phenomenon driven by Americans’ misperceptions of “the other side.” This is called a “perception gap” – the gap between what we imagine an opposing group believes and what that group actually believes.

Trust

01 May 2021

Two Stories of Distrust

Drawing on multiple national surveys, More in Common explores the landscape of trust in the United States. At a time of low overall trust level, we highlight two distinct stories of distrust: an ideological “us vs them” distrust and a “social distrust” that has to do more with experiences of belonging, dignity, and equality (or lack thereof).

Culture Wars, Narrative & Communications, American Identity, Perception Gaps

07 December 2022

Defusing the History Wars

To better understand the “history wars”, we conducted a year-long research project asking thousands of Americans their views of American history and national identity and what they understood to be the views of their fellow Americans.