Americans Value Personal Responsibility, but Don't See Enough of It from Neighbors, Celebrities and Business Leaders

Liberty Mutual’s “Responsibility Project Index” Offers Insight Into Individuals’ Definitions of Personal Responsibility

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new national survey released today by Liberty Mutual Insurance and The Responsibility Project reveals most Americans believe they are responsible, but their neighbors and fellow Americans are not.

“That’s why we created The Responsibility Project – to spark dialogue about responsibility and address the appetite Americans have for the subject. We thought this survey would give people another dimension of responsibility to discuss.”

The Liberty Mutual “Responsibility Project Index” revealed that 70 percent of Americans believe they have become more personally responsible in the past five years, yet 74 percent of Americans believe people in general have become less responsible during the same time period. And on average, more than 70 percent of Americans believe teenagers, young adults and parents are somewhat or much less responsible than 20 years ago.

Key findings of the “Responsibility Project Index” offer insight into why Americans have a perception gap between their own personal responsibility and the personal responsibility of their neighbors and fellow Americans. Insights include:

1) People don’t know their neighbors. Eighty-five percent of the survey respondents said Americans are less connected with their neighbors than people were 20 years ago.

2) People are focused inwardly on their own families versus the community. When asked to define personal responsibility, survey respondents scored “taking care of yourself and your family” and “making sure your children behave appropriately” highest, but scored “knowing your neighbors” and “putting the community before your own self interests” lowest.

3) When people don’t know their neighbors well, they fill in their knowledge gaps about the behavior of others with what they see in the media. The survey showed that Americans believe reality television shows and media’s attention to celebrity lifestyles have a negative effect on personal responsibility. Seventy-six percent of Americans believe reality television shows have a negative effect on personal responsibility. And 76 percent agree that the media’s attention to celebrity lifestyles lessens people’s own sense of personal responsibility.

Half of All Americans Cannot Name a Responsible Celebrity or Business Leader

The Liberty Mutual “Responsibility Project Index” also asked Americans which famous individuals best embody personal responsibility. Nearly half (48 percent) of Americans said they could not name a celebrity that embodies personal responsibility and 56 percent said they couldn’t name a business leader who is an example of personal responsibility. Celebrities named include, Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie (tied at eight percent); the top business leader cited was Bill Gates (15 percent).

“Since we launched our advertising focused on the theme of responsibility, we’ve had thousands of people contact the company and tell us how important personal responsibility is to them,” said Steve Sullivan, senior vice president, communications, Liberty Mutual Group. “That’s why we created The Responsibility Project – to spark dialogue about responsibility and address the appetite Americans have for the subject. We thought this survey would give people another dimension of responsibility to discuss.”

Minneapolis, Atlanta and Philadelphia Residents Say Neighbors Most Responsible

In the Index, residents of Minneapolis, followed by Atlanta and Philadelphia, feel passionately that their neighbors are generally responsible. At the other end of the spectrum, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio citizens ranked their neighbors as the lowest on responsibility among 15 media markets analyzed individually.

Below is the ranking of how well citizens feel their neighbors demonstrate personal responsibility (from most responsible to least, with a mean rating on a scale from 0 to 10):

1. Minneapolis (7.49)

2. Atlanta (7.41)

3. Philadelphia (7.18)

4. Dallas (tied); Washington D.C. (tied) (6.98)

5. Boston (6.83)

6. Phoenix (6.66)

7. Seattle (6.65)

8. Houston (6.61)

9. San Francisco (6.55)

10. New York (6.48)

11. Chicago (6.43)

12. Detroit (6.42)

13. Columbus (6.24)

14. Los Angeles (6.16)

Leading the trend that individuals rank themselves more responsible than their peers, the Liberty Mutual “Responsibility Project Index” found that teachers, young Americans, those who are married and African Americans gave themselves the highest rankings for personal responsibility.

“The Index shows that people want more responsibility in their lives, but they’re not always certain how to achieve that goal,” said Kathy McManus, Responsibility Project online editor. “There’s no playbook for responsibility, so increasingly we see individuals working to create their own. That’s why ResponsibilityProject.com is such a valuable resource. It’s a place to see what others think and say about personal responsibility, and to take part in a meaningful conversation.”

Using independently produced short films, online content and television programming, The Responsibility Project is a catalyst for examining the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.” Individuals interested in joining the conversation on personal responsibility can participate in online conversations and watch live-action and animated film shorts on The Responsibility Project’s online community, www.ResponsibilityProject.com. Individuals who register on the site have the opportunity to enter the discussion on personal responsibility by responding to blogs, participating in a survey, creating a widget to link to other social networking sites and signing up for regular content updates.

For more information on the Liberty Mutual “Personal Responsibility Index” and statistics covered in this news release, please contact Maxine Enciso at 310-584-8303 or via email at [e-mail].

About the Survey

The Responsibility Index was fielded for Liberty Mutual and The Responsibility Project between July 18 and 29, 2008, reaching 2,463 adults nationwide. Oversamples were called to reach 100 adults in each of the following markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Houston, Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, Minneapolis and Columbus, Ohio. An oversample was also called to reach a total of 250 teachers and representative samples of parents and influential Americans. The margin of error for the weighted base sample of 1,001 adults is +/- 3.1 percent. Additional findings will be shared in the near future.

About The Responsibility Project

The Responsibility Project, created by Liberty Mutual, is an organic evolution of the company’s ad campaign that showcased personal acts of responsibility and daily examples of ordinary people making the decision to do considerate things for strangers. These ads featured the tagline, “Responsibility. What’s your policy?” Through The Responsibility Project, Liberty Mutual is using entertaining content, including independently produced short films, online content and television programming, as catalysts for examining the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.” Individuals can participate in online conversation about personal responsibility and watch and discuss live-action and animated short films at The Responsibility Project Web site and online community at www.ResponsibilityProject.com.

About Liberty Mutual Group

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and sixth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2007 direct written premium. The Company also ranks 94th on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2007 revenue. As of December 31, 2007, Liberty Mutual Group had $94.7 billion in consolidated assets, $82.3 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $25.9 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Group offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, assumed reinsurance, fire and surety.

Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutualgroup.com) employs over 41,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.