Flemington, NJ, May 27, 2008 -- A new national study of more than 948 Americans revealed that a man wearing a kufi, headwear typically worn by Muslim men, is viewed significantly different than the same man wearing a Jewish yarmulke and no headwear.
The study was conducted by HCD Research, using its mediacurves.com web site during May 21-23, to determine whether Americans possess different views of a man based on whether he wears a kufi, a yarmulke or no headwear.
Participants were divided into three randomly assigned groups. Members of each group were asked to view one of three separate photos of a young man. None of the photos were identified in any way. Each sample was then asked identical questions about the man, his age, perceived personality, activities, and how acceptable he might be as a neighbor.
What did people think of the three men? First, it was relatively easy to identify the man in yarmulke as Jewish (75%). Respondents weren’t so sure about the man wearing the kufi; half the people thought he was a Muslim but one-third thought he might be Jewish. Evidently, the kufi is not such a definite identifier. The man with no headwear was all over the map: Christian 24%, Muslim 16%, Jewish 29%.
A majority (64%) thought the man with no headwear and the ‘Jewish ‘man were Americans. Not so for the ‘Muslim’ man: only 38% thought him to be an American, almost half (44%) thought he was a Middle Eastern person.
Participants thought all three men were about the same age. However, more participants thought the ‘Jewish’ and ‘Muslim’ men were more educated than the man with no headwear; better off financially than the man with no headwear; and more thought the ‘Jewish’ and Muslim’ men were married (almost 50%), compared to the man with no headwear (26%). Those two men might be viewed as more serious than the man with no headwear—or they might reflect religious stereotypes.
This was particularly so with the ‘Jewish’ man: more thought he was careful with money, scholarly (“a reader’), and more careful with money than the other two. These are stereotypes, positive but still universal stereotypes of Jews.
All three of the men were also perceived to be rather dull: approximately 40% thought each to be “steady” while fewer than 10% thought them to be “the life of the party”. But the two men with headwear were seen by more (over 35%) as “strict”, compared to the man with no headwear. This might reflect that more participants thought the men with headwear were married.
Could the man with no headwear be somewhat reclusive? More than 60% of participants reported that he “keeps to himself.” The ‘Muslim’ man was right up with the man with no headwear, while only 45% of participants thought the ‘Jewish” man “keeps to himself.”
Finally, participants were asked where they might like each man to live. The majority (60%) would not mind having the man with no headwear and the ‘Jewish’ man living close-by, either next door or in the neighborhood. About one-third, however, would like to see the ‘Muslim’ man far away – either in another city or another country.
What does all this mean? First, that man with no headwear sent a mixed signal; he was serious-looking and bearded. He was hard to identify. The ‘Muslim’ man was more puzzling. He was seen as serious but (even with some difficulty in identifying his headwear) something of an enigma. When identified as a ‘Muslim’, he was not viewed as an attractive neighbor. The ‘Jewish’ man with the yarmulke was easy to place. He was serious and an American. The stereotypes of him as a ‘Jew’ were attractive and people wouldn’t mind having him for a neighbor.
Overall, the messages from some forms of clothing might be mixed or uncertain as with the kufi. And people like some certainty about people they meet, even if that ‘certainty’ is a stereotype.
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).
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It's good that studies like this are done, because it provides everyone with something to think about. Are we ourselves so quick to judge when we know nothing about the personality of the individual?