Report · Culture

People judge strangers by their own motivations

Reading

When gauging how driven a stranger is, a plurality of Americans (32%) say they lean on their own level of motivation somewhat, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey. A further 17% lean on it moderately and 15% only a little.

Toward the strong end, 10% rely on it a lot and 6% a great deal, while 10% lean on it very little and 9% not at all.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

People judge strangers by their own motivations.

When judging how motivated a stranger is to pursue their goals, how much do you rely on your own level of motivation as a reference point?

  • Somewhat 32.2%
  • Moderately 17.4%
  • A little 15.0%
  • Very little 10.2%
  • A lot 10.2%
  • Not at all 9.3%
  • A great deal 5.7%

2026 · base n 474 · +/- 4.8%

identity

View source

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.