Scots more likely to think their attitudes are related to where you come from

New polling by Ipsos for the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland reveals that Scots are more likely than people in the rest of Britain to think that their opinions are formed by where they come from.

Half of Scots (51%) believe that the country within the UK that they come from has had a ‘big impact’ on the opinions that they hold, compared to only 35% in England and Wales who hold the same belief. Belief that where you come from has a big impact on your attitudes is felt most strongly among Scots who support the SNP (64%) and those who would vote ‘Yes’ in the independence referendum (65%). In England and Wales there are regional differences, with 39% of those who live in the Midlands and the North believing that where you come from has a big impact on your opinions, while only 30% of those from the South of England hold the same view.

Overall people from across Britain believe that your personal experiences are the strongest determinant of your views; 70% of Scots and 59% of those from England and Wales believe that their personal experiences have a big impact on their views. Other factors are seen as less important in explaining why people hold the opinions that they do; this includes age (seen as having a big impact by 36% in Scotland and 37% in England and Wales), social class (28% and 31%), opinions of parents (33% and 21%) gender/sex (20% and 14%). A smaller proportion of respondents saw religion or their opinions of their friends as having a big impact on their own views.

Mark Diffley, Director at Ipsos Scotland said:

“In the context of this year’s independence referendum there has been much recent debate recently about the differences in opinions between people from Scotland and those in the rest of Britain and there is survey evidence which highlights where those differences exist. Our polling for CIH Scotland is interesting as it shows that Scots are more likely than those in England and Wales to believe that where you come from has a big impact on your opinions.

• Download the survey topline (PDF)
• Download the computer tables for Scotland (PDF)
• Download the computer tables for England and Wales (PDF)

 Technical note:

• This presents the topline results from Scotland and England and Wales
• Scotland results are based on a survey of 1,001 respondents (adults aged 16+) conducted by telephone 20th-25th February 2014. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population
• England and Wales results are based on a survey of 868 respondents (adults aged 18+) across England and Wales. Interviews were conducted by telephone 8th – 10th March 2014. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population
• Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated
• Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories