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Would you say that most of the time people try to be helpful, or that they are mostly just looking out for themselves?
People helpful or self-interested, volunteered option allowed · Asked in 3 waves, 2021–2024 · 2,528 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Try to be helpful | Depends (phone mode only: volunteered) | Looking out for themselves | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents |
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Social Survey 2024 | 2024-04-05 to 2024-12-02 | mixed | 3,309 | 595 |
| General Social Survey 2022 | 2022-05-08 to 2023-01-08 | mixed | 3,544 | 574 |
| General Social Survey 2021 | 2020-12-03 to 2021-05-02 | web | 4,032 | 1,359 |
| 30% |
| 46% |
| 24% |
| 595 |
| ±6 |
| Democrats | 28% | 54% | 18% | 146 | ±12 |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 28% | 46% | 26% | 278 | ±8 |
| Republicans | 39% | 37% | 24% | 152 | ±11 |
General Social Survey 2024 · US adults 18+ living in households (English, and Spanish since 2006). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.