Ipsos Research Highlights - December 2015
In the December 2015 issue of Ipsos Research Highlights, we reveal the public's views of air strikes in Syria, our latest Perils of Perception study, and how social connections matter more as we age.
Britain ends the year with a surge in concern about terrorism in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. As we begin air strikes in Syria, the public support military action as the lesser of two evils – even though they do not expect it to make the UK safer. In terms of public opinion, 2015 saw a number of records broken – record concern about immigration, inequality and housing to name a few.
We found out again, in Perils of Perception, our most widely viewed survey ever (over 1.7 million and counting), that people all over the world are very wrong about so many aspects of their countries – due to rational ignorance, emotional innumeracy and a host of other effects. All these, along with technology, advertising trends and more, are in our 2015 Almanac which you can download here.
The most striking finding of the year for me is one in this update – as we age, the best predictor of our happiness is not health or wealth, but social connections – strong networks of friends matter more than money! So on that note, in our final missive for 2015, all that remains is to wish you a very Happy Christmas. We’ll be back in 2016 with more monthly bites of insights and data: spend some time with people you love – the data says it’s good for you!
All the best
Ben Page Chief Executive, Ipsos MORI
