Many Americans Find Their Heroes in Family Members

NEW YORK, Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When the Harris Poll asked American adults to consider the top three people they admire enough to call a hero, of those who answered, three out of ten listed a family member (32%), with 26% specifically referencing parents.  Apart from family members, Americans are most likely to consider members of the military (21%); religious figures (including deities) (19%); medical & emergency services personnel (18%); U. S. Presidents (17%); activists/humanitarians (12%); and celebrities (11%) to be their heroes.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,543 U.S. adults surveyed online between September 10 and 17, 2014.  All heroes mentioned were named spontaneously.  Survey participants were not given a list of people to choose from, nor were they obligated to provide an answer at all.  (Full results, including data tables, available here)

Family Members
Focusing again on those listing family members as heroes:

• When broken down by generation, Matures are less likely than Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, or Millennials to indicate a family member (9% vs. 25%, 35%, & 43% respectively) as their hero, and more specifically, a father (2% vs. 15%, 19%, & 21% respectively), or mother (3% vs. 10%, 12%, & 17% respectively) as their hero.
• While both genders equally consider fathers their heroes (16%), women are twice as likely as men to consider mothers heroes (16% vs. 8% respectively).
• American adults with children (under 18) in their households are more likely than those without to value family members as their heroes.  Almost twice as many adults with children in the house consider their parents role models as compared to those without (38% vs. 21%).  In addition, adults with children in their household are at least twice as likely as those without to consider their spouses (11% vs. 4%), children (5% vs. 1%), and grandparents (7% vs. 3%) to be heroes.

Military
After family members, those Americans who listed heroes are most likely to consider Military Service Persons among them (21%).

• Matures are more likely than any other generation to consider them heroes, while Millennials are the least likely to do the same (35% Matures vs. 25% Baby Boomers & 22% Gen Xers vs. 10% Millennials). 
• There is also an apparent division along political party lines.  One in ten Democrats (12%) identify members of the military as heroes, as compared to 22% of Independents and 29% of Republicans.

Religious Figures
Following closely behind military personnel, religious figures are the third most popular type of hero for Americans.  Of those who named one or more heroes in this survey, 19% listed a religious figure as their hero, with the highest percentage (14%) specifying Jesus (10%) or God (4%).

• A little less than one year ago, a Harris Poll revealed that Millennials were "less likely than their counterparts in all older generations to express belief in God," though it is worth noting that two-thirds indicated doing so.  While Millennials may have been less likely to display a belief in God, the results of this survey show that Millennials are significantly more likely than any other generation to consider God or Jesus to be a hero (20% vs. 12% Gen Xers, 10% Baby Boomers, 10% Matures), and specifically God (7% vs. 2%, 3%. and 1% respectively).
• Looking again at political parties, Republicans are nearly twice as likely to list a religious figure as one of their heroes compared with either Democrats or Independents (27% vs. 14% Democrats & 17% Independents).  Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to name specifically God or Jesus as a hero, with Independents falling in between the two (7% Democrats, 13% Independents, & 22% Republicans).

Individuals as Heroes
When looking strictly at individuals American adults mentioned as heroes, certain people rise to prominence.  By a large margin, Jesus holds the top rank on the list of individual heroes, followed by Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., and God.  Reagan's popularity is perhaps not surprising, considering a Harris Poll earlier this year noted, "Two in five U.S. adults wish Ronald Reagan… could have had a third term."  The rest of the top ten individuals Americans admire enough to consider heroes are Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, George W. Bush, and Pope Francis.

What Makes Someone A Hero?
During the survey, interviewees also read a list of potential reasons for admiring a person as a hero and ranked each as a major reason, minor reason, or not a reason at all. 

Over three-fourths (76%) of American adults agree that "doing what's right regardless of personal consequences" is the trait that makes a person most worthy of admiration.  This is especially true for those who admire members of the military, with 95% considering this a major reason for considering them heroes. 

Other reasons that prove to be of major importance to over half the population included:

• "Willingness to risk personal safety to help others" (68%)
• "Not giving up until the goal is accomplished" (65%)
• "Staying level-headed in a crisis" and "Doing more than what others people expect of them" (64% each)
• Changing society for the better (63%)
• Overcoming adversity (61%)
• Not expecting personal recognition (57%)

At the bottom of this list, less than half (48%) of the population feel that "commanding the support and respect of others" is a major reason to admire someone, while 32% feel this is a minor reason, and 19% do not consider this to be a reason at all.  However, this trait is particularly important to those who admire U.S. Presidents, as 66% of those who mentioned one of our nation's commander-in-chiefs consider this a major reason to admire someone. 

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit the Harris Poll News Room.

Want Harris Polls delivered direct to your inbox?  Click here!

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 10 and 17, 2014 among 2,543 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The Harris Poll.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #101, November 6, 2014
By Hannah Pollack, Harris Poll Research Analyst

About The Harris Poll®
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world.  The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public.  New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly.  For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the Harris Poll News Room.

Press Contact:
Corporate Communications
The Harris Poll
212-539-9600
[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO

SOURCE The Harris Poll

Related Links

http://www.facebook.com/harrisinteractive?ref=share