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Most Americans want advice from people who've actually been through it

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Experiential knowledge, or truth learned from living through something rather than from reasoning or secondhand information, carries real weight when Americans seek advice: 56% say it matters significantly, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.

Another 32% say it matters somewhat and 6% call it the only thing that matters, while just 3% say it rarely matters and 3% not at all.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Most Americans want advice from people who've actually been through it.

How much does experiential knowledge matter when seeking advice from someone? Experiential knowledge is “truth learned from personal experience with a phenomenon rather than truth acquired by discursive reasoning, observation, or reflection on information provided by others.”

  • It matters significantly 56.0%
  • It matters somewhat 31.6%
  • It's the only thing that matters 5.8%
  • It rarely matters 3.4%
  • Not at all 3.3%

2026 · base n 474 · +/- 4.8%

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
474
Margin of error
+/- 4.8%
Module
identity

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=474 US adults age 18+, +/- 4.8%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.