57 Percent of Americans Say Only Kids Who Win Should Get Trophies

The latest
Reason-Rupe poll finds that when it comes to kids and
their trophies, 57 percent of Americans think only the winning
players should receive them. Another 40 percent say all kids on a
sport team should receive a trophy for their participation.

The desire for “every kid to get a trophy” strongly correlates
with political beliefs. Fully 66 percent of Republicans want only
the kids who win to receive trophies, while 31 percent say all kids
on the team should receive them. In contrast, Democrats are evenly
divided with 48 percent who say all kids, and another 48 percent
who say only the winners should receive a trophy.

The competitive desire for winners to be rewarded correlates
with fiscal conservatism. Among those who only think winners should
get a trophy, 64 percent have a favorable view of capitalism, 64
percent thinks markets better solve problems than government, and
63 percent favor smaller government providing fewer services. In
contrast, among those who think all kids should get a trophy, a
plurality (49%) have an unfavorable view of capitalism, 50 percent
thinks a strong government better solves problems than the free
market, and 54 percent favor larger government providing more
services.

Support for participation trophies declines with income,
education and age. For instance, a majority (55%) of those making
less than $30,000 a year want all kids to get trophies and 42
percent want only the winning players to receive them. In contrast,
among those making $90,000 a year or more, 72 percent want only the
winner to receive trophies, while 26 percent favor participation
trophies.

Those with high school degrees or less are divided 49 to 48 in
favor of participation trophies. But 67 percent of college
graduates support only winners getting trophies, while 29 percent
want all kids to get one.

Among 18-24 year olds, 51 percent say all kids should get a
trophy, but this declines to 43 percent among 25-34 year olds, 39
percent among 35-54 year olds, and 29 percent among seniors.

Gender and race/ethnic differences also emerge when it comes to
trophy allocation. Women are slightly more likely then men (44 to
35 percent) to say all kids should get a trophy. However, more
significant differences emerge among race/ethnic groups. Fully 63
percent of Caucasians say only the winning players should get
trophies, while 34 percent say all kids. Conversely, 56 percent of
African-Americans and Hispanics say all kids should get a trophy,
while 42 percent say only the winners.

The Reason-Rupe national telephone poll, executed
by Princeton Survey Research Associates International,
conducted live interviews with 1000 adults on cell phones (500) and
landlines (500) August 6-10, 2014. The poll’s margin of error
is +/-3.7%. Full poll results can be found here. including
poll toplines (pdf) 
and crosstabs (xls).