Doctors and teachers most trusted among 22 occupations and professions. Actors and lawyers at bottom, with pollsters also fairing poorly.
About half (48%) of U.S. adults generally trust that the President tells the truth -- down substantially from 65 percent in 2002. However, 12 of the 22 professions measured by The Harris Poll(R) are trusted to be truthful by 60 percent or more of U.S. adults, with doctors (85%) and teachers (83%) topping the list. In addition, over half of the occupations measured have seen an increase in the eyes of the general public to tell the truth when compared to 2002. This is a turnaround from four years ago when most occupations saw a decrease in feeling about truthfulness.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll(R) conducted by telephone between July 7 and 10, 2006, by Harris Interactive(R) among a nationwide sample of 1,002 U.S. adults.
In addition to doctors and teachers, those rounding out the top five of generally trusted occupations and professions are scientists (77%), police officers (76%) and professors (75%). Conversely, the five occupations that are least trusted to be truthful include actors (26%), lawyers (27%), stockbrokers (29%), trade union leaders (30%) and opinion pollsters (34%).
Specifically the survey found the following changes in responses since 2002:
* In the past four years the occupations that have received the largest
increase in the percentage of U.S. adults who trust that they tell the
truth are accountants (up 13 percentage points from 55% in 2002 to the
current 68%), bankers (up 11 percentage points to 62%), clergymen or
priests (an increase of 10 percentage points to 74%), and scientists (up
nine percentage points to 77%). Doctors and military officers have also
shown increases. Doctors rose eight points to the current 85 percent,
and military officers also increased eight points to 72 percent.
* Others that have shown more modest positive change include police
officers (up seven percentage points to 76%), stockbrokers (up six
percentage points to 29%), judges (up five percentage points to 70%),
teachers (up three percentage points to 83%) and lawyers (up three
percentage points to 27%).
* Those who have shown the most substantial drop are the President (a
decrease of 17 percentage points from 65% in 2002 to a current 48%) and
public opinion pollsters (a drop of 10 points to 34%). Others that had a
more modest decrease are civil servants (a drop of three points to 62%)
and TV newscasters (down two points to 44%).
* Those that have shown little or no change in the past four years are
professors (75%), the ordinary man or woman (66%), journalists (39%),
members of Congress (35%), and trade union leaders (30%).
A word about pollsters
Even though many polls (at least in national elections) generally do an accurate job, a 54 to 34 percent majority of the U.S. adult public does not believe that pollsters generally tell the truth. Obviously, the results are disturbing to those of us in the public opinion polling profession. This should be seen as a wake-up call to the pollsters that we must do more to educate the public about surveys and work more to earn the public's trust.
Source: Harris Interactive
