TABLE 3.8 TRUSTWORTHINESS OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE PAST BY INCOME -- AFRICAN AMERICAN SAMPLE

We asked our respondents for the following information about seven "places where people might get information about the past:" "Please tell (us) how trustworthy you think each is as a source of information about the past using a 1 to 10 scale, where 1 means not at all trustworthy and 10 means very trustworthy." The table below divides the African American Sample into six income groups, and reports the mean score those six groups gave each of the seven sources of information about the past listed in the far-left column. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of respondents of the given income group who answered the question. 
 

How trustworthy do you find ___ as a source of information about the past?
INCOME
Total sample
$0 to
$14,999
$15,000 to
$24,999
$25,000 to
$34,999
$35,000 to
$49,999
$50,000 to
$74,999
$75,000 and up
Signi- ficance Test
Museums
8.1 (283)
8.0 (60)
8.1 (58)
8.1 (65)
8.3 (40)
8.0 (26)
8.1 (14)
NS
Personal Accounts from your grandparents or other relatives
8.4 (289)
8.2 (66)
8.2 (60)
8.6 (64)
8.4 (38)
8.6 (26)
8.3 (14)
NS
Conversation with someone who was there
7.9 (290)
7.4 (64)
7.7 (60)
7.9 (67)
8.3 (39)
8.1 (25)
7.8 (14)
NS
College history professors
7.0 (261)
6.8 (55)
6.9 (54)
7.1 (59)
7.4 (37)
6.7 (24)
6.9 (14)
NS
High school history teachers
6.2 (293)
6.2 (67)
5.8 (60)
6.3 (66)
6.5 (40)
6.4 (25)
6.0 (14)
NS
Non-fiction books
5.6 (278)
4.7 (56)
5.7 (58)
5.8 (64)
6.2 (39)
5.6 (26)
6.5 (14)
NS
Movies or television programs about the past
5.2 (291)
5.0 (65)
5.5 (61)
5.5 (66)
5.3 (39)
4.8 (26)
4.5 (14)
NS

 

 

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