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Report on What Would You Do...?
Smart girls decide for themselves™.
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In September 2007, we asked SmartGirls to imagine what they would do in some different situations. These situations range from commenting on a friend's haircut to becoming a character from High School Musical to bullying. See how your answers would match up with other SmartGirls'!
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Before we get into what SmartGirls said, let's see who these SmartGirls are first!
As you can see in the graph below, the mode age is 13. That means that we got more responses from SmartGirls who are 13 than from any other age.
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| Age |
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We had 229 girls, 8 boys, and 7 people who chose not to specify their gender respond to this survey.
87 respondents are oldest children, 43 are middle children, 66 are youngest children, and 36 said they are an only child.
Twenty-one percent of those who took this survey chose not to tell us their ethnic background. The rest broke down like this: 8% are of African descent, 10% are of Asian descent, 35% are of European descent, 7% are of Latin American descent, 2% are of Middle Eastern descent, 4% are of Native American descent, 1/2% are of Pacific Islander descent, and 13% are multiracial.
As you can see from the graph below, most of the people who responded are from the United States, but there is also a pretty wide variety of other countries represented!
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| What Country Are You From? |
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And finally, the last of the basic questions:
There were nearly equal numbers of responses from people in big cities (22%), suburbs (23%), and towns (27%). There were still answers from people in other areas, though. Seven percent were from villages and eight percent were from rural areas.
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Imagine that you are taking a test in math class. You don't know the answer to one of the questions but you really want to get it right. You...
Accept the fact that you're going to get it wrong and move on to the next question.
Make your best guess and keep going.
Sneak a peek at your neighbor's test to see if you can even just catch a glimpse of their work. Maybe if you can see the strategy they used to solve it, your memory will be jogged.
Make sidelong glances at your neighbor's paper until you see their answer, then quickly write it down on your own.
Most SmartGirls (almost 80%) said that they would just make a guess and go on.
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| Math Test |
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Imagine that you are walking down the hall at school and you see a classmate getting picked on because of his/her religious beliefs. You...
Walk past and try to tone out the teasing. You know it's not nice but there's not much you can do.
Step in and tell the bullies to leave him alone.
Find the closest teacher or administrator and let them know what's going on so that they can intervene in the situation.
Hang back and wait until the bullies go away, then approach your classmate and let him know that you think what they were teasing him about was unfair.
It looks like SmartGirls don't put up with bullying! Good for you! 51% said that they would step in and say something, and another 31% said that they would go find a teacher to stop it.
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Imagine that you could get an A+ in one class without ever going to class or doing the work. You...
Choose your social studies/history class.
Choose your science class.
Choose your math class.
Choose your literature class.
Choose your language class.
Choose your music class.
Choose your gym class.
Choose your computer class.
SmartGirls must not like studying for math! 34% said they would like an A+ in math with no studying.
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Imagine that you catch two of your friends smoking after school and they ask you to join in. You...
Accept the invitation. You don't want to look silly.
Say no but don't say anything to them about what they're doing. It's not your business.
Say no and encourage them not to smoke - it's not good for their health!
Say no and later, talk to their parents about what they were doing. You don't want to see them hurt themselves.
Say no and later, talk to a teacher or counselor at school about what they were doing. You're hopeful they can intervene and handle the situation from there.
Say no and talk to your other friends about it. There's power in numbers and maybe if all of you encourage them not to smoke, they'll give it up.
Our respondents know the dangers of smoking! 49% revealed that they would not smoke and would encourage their friends not to either.
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Imagine that your best friend gets her hair cut and it looks awful. You...
Tell her it looks great anyway. No need to make her feel bad about it.
Avoid commenting on it unless she asks you directly.
Find a tactful way to tell her she might want to go back for a re-do.
Say that it's not her best look but that it'll grow out. Honesty is the best policy.
Buy her new hair accessories to cover the damage but don't say anything about why she needs them.
Responses were pretty split on this one! There was almost a tie between avoiding the issue and being honest. Check out the graph below.
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| Bad Haircut |
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Imagine that you overhear someone at school say that your best friend's significant other cheated on her. You...
Find her as fast as you can and let her know what you heard. She has a right to know.
Try to determine if what you heard is the truth before you tell her.
Confront her significant other and demand an explanation on her behalf.
Keep quiet. It's not your business - that sort of thing is between her and her significant other.
SmartGirls are honest, but they don't want to hurt a friend if they don't have to. 54% said they would try to find out if it was true before saying something to the friend. Another 25% said they would tell her anyway.
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Imagine that your parents tell you they're getting a divorce and ask you to decide which parent you want to live with. You...
Choose to live with your mom.
Choose to live with your dad.
Create a schedule that allows you to live with your mom for part of the year and live with your dad for the other part.
SmartGirls don't want to have to choose on this one. Most (66%) said they would live with both. 25% said they would live with their mom, and only 9% said they would live with their dad.
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Imagine that a spaceship of small aliens lands in your back yard. You...
Run out to meet them and welcome them to Earth.
Watch them from your window to determine if they are nice or hostile, then decide what to do from there.
Lock the doors, call the police and hide until they get there.
Use your karaoke machine to do your best alien impersonation so that you can establish communication to determine what they want.
Send out a family member to find out why they've landed.
Start throwing heavy objects at them from your open windows.
SmartGirls are pretty cautious when it comes to alien encounters. 45% chose to observe whether the aliens were friendly or not before venturing out, and 33% said that they would call the police and let them deal with it.
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Imagine that you get a phone call from a famous ice cream company asking you to come up with their new ice cream flavor. After thinking for a few minutes, you decide the flavor should be...
Here are some of the answers we got:
Green apple
Coffee with salted peanuts and a ripple of caramel
Ginger ale
Mint with gummy bears
Chocolate hazelnut with a hint of orange
Lemon sugar cookie
Banana and chocolate
Berry-mint
Mango pecan caramel
Banana nut
Pickle lemon lime
Honey peanut butter
Some of those sound pretty yummy! Some of them, we have to be honest, we are glad that we haven't found on the grocery store shelf! You guys sure have interesting imaginations. :)
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Imagine that you wake up one morning with the ability to read people's minds (if you choose to listen). You...
Start eavesdropping on people's thoughts immediately. Now you'll know what they really think!
Save your new power to use in moments when you think it will be most helpful. Like maybe when you want to know if your crush likes you back.
Never use your power. That sort of ability would only cause problems in the long run.
Consult a friend to see what they would do in this sort of situation. That's a hard decision to make on your own!
There was a pretty even split on this one! 41% said they would use their power to listen to people's thoughts and 48% said that they would save their power and use it only for important things.
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| Mind Reading |
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Imagine that you have to have eye surgery and after it's done, you'll only be able to see in one color for the rest of your life. You...
Choose red
Choose orange
Choose yellow
Choose green
Choose blue
Choose purple
Choose gray
Opt to be blind. That decision is too hard to make.
Check out the graph below to see how SmartGirls responded to this "What If."
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| Color |
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Imagine you see your favorite movie star in your local grocery store. You...
Run up and ask for an autograph immediately, and while you're at it, have a passerby snap of photo of you two with your camera phone.
Point, scream and jump up and down with excitement.
Follow him or her around the store at a short distance, all the while talking in loud whispers about how excited you are to see him or her in your neighborhood.
Try to bump into him or her nonchalantly, then say hello and introduce yourself as though you aren't even surprised to see him or her there.
Make a detailed list of everything he or she is buying in your head so that you can report it back to your friends later.
In the event of a movie star sighting, 43% reported that they would ask for an autograph, while 32% said that they would introduce themselves casually.
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Imagine that your chemistry teacher figures out concoctions that turn students into characters from High School Musical, and she wants you guys to sample them in class. You...
Choose the one that will turn you into Troy Bolton (Zac Efron's character).
Choose the one that will turn you into Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgen's character).
Choose the one that will turn you into Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale's character).
Choose the one that will turn you into Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel's character).
Choose the one that will turn you into Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu's character).
Choose the one that will turn you into Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman's character).
Fake a stomachache to get out of the classroom. You'd prefer to remain yourself, thanks very much.
Have no idea which one to choose because you've never seen the movie.
Given the chance, most (32%) would choose to be Gabriella, but a healthy 28% said that they would want to stay themselves.
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Imagine that it's your birthday and you can make one wish that will absolutely come true. What would you wish for? Here are some of the answers we got:
That my crush likes me back
A cure for cancer
A million dollars
My parents to love each other and get back together
For everyone to accept me for who and what I am
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Imagine that you put your luck in the lotto and win a million dollars. You...
Here are some of the answers we got!
Save for college
Buy a computer
Give some to charity
Buy a car
Go shopping
Travel
Buy a stable and horses
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Imagine that you are transported back in time to an era when women commonly wore long skirts, corsets, and bonnets. You...
Excitedly don the appropriate fashions. After all, you love to dress up.
Grudgingly put on what the other women are wearing. It's not what you want to do but you want to fit in.
Refuse to change what you're wearing. Those clothes look so uncomfortable!
It looks like most (47%) SmartGirls would jump at the chance to dress up in these clothes, 20% would put on the clothes reluctantly, and 33% would flat out refuse!
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| Time Travel |
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Imagine that you find a way to go back to any one moment in your life. You choose to return to...
SmartGirls told us they would choose to return to:
Time with my grandpa
The first day of pre-school
Summer 2006
When I was born
When I received my birthday card from all my friends on my 14th birthday
Age 7
When I won the Harry Potter trivia contest
Nothing - what's done is done - no regrets
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Imagine that you are the leader of your country and you get word that an enemy may be about to attack you, but the report isn't confirmed. You...
Attack them first. The best defense is a good offense.
Ask for more information that may show whether or not the threat is real. You'll need that information before you make any moves.
Wait for more information but get your armed forces prepared, just in case. Better to be safe than sorry.
Wait for the attack to come. You'll respond accordingly after the fact.
SmartGirls are cautious! 64% reported that they would get their forces ready while waiting for more information - don't want to be caught off guard!
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Imagine that you find an envelope on the ground that is marked top secret and the property of your government. You...
Pick it up so that you can return it but don't open it. It probably contains secret information that you shouldn't know.
Open it right away. If you found it, you have a right to know what's inside it. Anyway, that will help you decide what to do with it.
Check out what's inside, then contact the government and let them know you have it. While you're on the phone, you offer to help with their mission. They could probably use some extra hands.
Keep it as a souvenir. What a cool thing to show your friends.
Almost half of those who took this survey (49%) said that they would return it unopened. That's some strong will power!
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Imagine that it's the year 2020. Describe what you think your life will be like. (Here are what some respondents think it will be like:)
Cancer will be cured, a alternative fuel source will be found, and I will have a successful job.
I would be a famous singer/actress/fashion designer. I would have 2 adopted kids, I would live in a huge mansion and my mom and dad will live with me. I will have gotten a college degree. My house will be in Malibu, California. I would have the cutest outfits and I will have my own drawing studio. And I will be an author/illustrator for children's and chapter books.
I'll have a family and I'll be working in pediatrics unit. I'll be living comfortably and probably living in Texas or out of state.
In 2020 I am 29 years old. I am happily married, and I have a smart, beautiful, healthy son with blue eyes... I am not a millionaire, but we have everything we want and more. My husband has blue eyes and a little longer hair. His name is Nikola. I have a great job. So far I've seen a lot of the world because I was a flight attendant. Then I settled down to start a family, soon I will get pregnant with twins (girls)! We live in the cutest house, we have a lots of space, (spare rooms). I have great social life. I see my family often, my boy loves Ivana and my mom and dad!
I will be a famous chef.
I will be a successful journalist and will have found true love (hopefully). Basically an adrenalin filled life with its share of sweet moments.
I don't think everyday life will be much different to how it is now - no hover cars or anything like that!
I am NOT wearing those ugly space suits!!!
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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
with us!
Please remember that all web-based polls
are not scientific because the pollsters cannot randomly select the
respondents to participate in the surveys.
All our surveys are anonymous; check out our privacy
policy. All data copyright 1996-2007.
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