Relative Favorability
When American voters are asked to compare Donald Trump to other Republicans, how popular is Trump?
How accurate was your prediction?
What most surprised you about this data?
What questions do you have about this data?
What story does this data tell?
Typical presidential approval ratings are determined by asking respondents if the president (in this case, Trump) is doing a good job. Relative favorability scores, on the other hand, are derived by asking respondents to compare the president (Trump) to five other famous recent politicians of his political party (Republicans). Which seems like a better measure of popularity?
The creators of the relative favorability rating system (above) claim that because of extreme partisanship, when survey participants are asked if they approve of someone (in this case Trump), they basically respond by saying which side they are on, not what they actually think of the person. If instead people are asked to compare Trump to other Republicans it gives a better measure of his actual popularity. Explain whether a relative favorability score is a better measure of popularity than a typical presidential approval score which simply asks if a president is doing a good or bad job?
Explain whether relative favorability scoring would impact your answer on a survey?
Imagine the media decided to only using relative favorability polling. How would that impact American politics?
Do you think we would be better off if we outlawed (this is purely hypothetical) all public opinion polls?
How would outlawing public opinion polls impact politicians’ decision making?
No matter what system of meauring approval is used, how consistent are Trump’s numbers?
Do you think it makes Donald Trump happy to know he is less popular than his Vice-President?
If you were going to form a list of 5 Democrats to compare to another Democrat who would they be?
Rank the following from most to least favorable to you: George W. Bush, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump.
Does any of this information make you think Trump is going to be reelected?
How much do you think the Senators in the current impeachment trial consider presidential popularity when casting their impeachment vote?
Explain which of the following groups is more important to have on your side when it comes to presidential elections: Democrats, Independents, or Republicans.
How do you think the following groups ranked George W. Bush, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump.
Democrats
Independents
Republicans
Learning Extension
Read this Five Thirty Eight Article on relative favorability.
Action Extension
Contact one of the following creators of relative favorability and let them know what you think about their system.
Peter K. Enns is an associate professor of government at Cornell University, executive director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, and co-director of the Cornell Center for Social Sciences. @pete_enns
Jonathon P. Schuldt is an associate professor of communication at Cornell University and faculty affiliate at the Roper Center. @JonathonSchuldt
