Things that make ya go…hmmm…

Under the category of “Words Matter”….

YouGov recently ran a poll that revealed that only 37% of Americans agree that “K-12 schools should be allowed to mandate vaccines for their students.”

YouGov was so surprised by this result that they ran another poll with slightly different wording: “Do you think parents should be required to have their children vaccinated against…”  And then listed three disease categories:

• 71% agreed parents should be required to have their children vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella

• 55% agreed parents should be required to have their children vaccinated against “infectious diseases”

• 48% agreed parents should be required to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19 (if they are eligible)

In other words, most people do not believe vaccines should be “mandated.”  But most people believe they should be “required.”

This demonstrates the perils of relying too religiously on survey data. Seemingly minor word choices can send people’s minds in wildly different directions.  

It also demonstrates the importance of deeply understanding metaphors and word choices, and the feelings people associate with various words.  Clearly, for some reason, a “mandate” feels very different to many people than a “requirement.”