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The Responsibility Project Index Offers Insights into Americans’ Definitions of Personal Responsibility

The Responsibility Project was developed to spark conversations about personal responsibility and the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.” As a way of continuing that discussion, Liberty Mutual and The Responsibility Project recently released findings of the “Responsibility Project Index.” This national survey offers a snapshot of Americans’ perceptions and definitions of personal responsibility.

At a time when personal responsibility is a topic of conversation – in-person and online – the survey offers another dimension to this discussion. Among its initial findings, The Responsibility Project Index found that most Americans believe they are responsible, but their neighbors and fellow Americans are not. The survey’s findings offer insights into why Americans have a perception gap between their own sense of personal responsibility and that of their neighbors and fellow Americans, including:

  • People don’t know their neighbors and are less connected today than 20 years ago
  • People are focused inwardly on their own families versus the community
  • When people don’t know their neighbors well, they fill in their knowledge gaps about the behaviors of others with what they see in the media

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