The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

In the Political Accuracy & Divisions Study (PADS), we conducted an extensive survey of over 3,000 American adults to assess their accuracy about a variety of controversial topics including, abortion, immigration, gender, race, crime, and the economy. So much of our political discourse revolves around these topics—but how much do we really know about these issues and the views of our fellow Americans? How informed are the loudest, most politically confident voices? We will examine the prevalence of misconceptions across the political continuum, and in doing so, we hope to offer a means by which to improve the quality of our national discourse.

In the Paranormal & Conspiratorial Ideation Study (PCIS), we took a snapshot of Americans’ paranormal and conspiratorial beliefs. We surveyed people about all sorts of topics (e.g., QAnon, election conspiracies, the Loch Ness monster, astrology). As usual, we also have a host of variables that might be related in interesting ways to such beliefs, things like trust in media, emotional stress, and social belonging. Across a dozen research reports, we will delve into our most surprising results about who believes what and (perhaps) why.

In the Civil Unrest and Presidential Election Study (CUPES), we take a deeper look at the political issues that most divide people. Specifically, we examine peoples’ political and social attitudes as they relate to the George Floyd protests, the Coronavirus Pandemic, and the presidential election.

Many pundits have suggested that a divided Democratic party contributed to the “surprise” election of Donald Trump in 2016, and that such division may contribute to Trump’s re-election in 2020. In the Social and Political Attitudes Study (SPAS), we surveyed a nationally representative sample of adults to examine the question, “Are Democrats more divided than Republicans?”