Flemington, NJ, October 6, 2010 – Results of a new national study among 2,453 Americans revealed that respondents’ views of a woman wearing a traditional Muslim shawl or hijab declined, when compared to the results of similar studies conducted in the last two years.

The studies were conducted by HCD Research and reported on their mediacurves.com® website during January 2-3, 2008, November 2-3, 2009, and most recently, during October 1-4, to determine whether Americans possess different views of a woman based on whether or not she wears traditional Muslim headwear.

In each study, participants were divided into two randomly assigned groups.  Members of each group were asked to view one of two separate photos of an attractive young woman. Neither photo was identified in any way. One of the photos featured the woman wearing a traditional Muslim hijab. Each group was asked identical questions about the woman, her age, perceived personality, activities, and how acceptable she might be as a neighbor.

The results revealed various changes in respondent’s views with regard to the photo of the woman wearing a hijab. In the initial study, the woman wearing a shawl was perceived as being more educated, with 64% of respondents indicating that she had a college degree or more. In the recent study, 52% of respondents perceived the woman as having a college degree or more.

In the initial study in 2008, 38% of participants indicated that they would rather have the woman with the traditional headwear live in another place, another city, and maybe out of the U.S. In the 2009 study, that number decreased with 29% of participants reporting that they would rather have the woman living elsewhere. However, in the recent study the percentage rose to 38%, which reflected the views Americans expressed in the initial study. 

“The increase in the percentage of people responding negatively regarding the hypothetical residence of the hijab clad woman may be related to the timing of the recent study,” speculated Glenn Kessler, president and CEO of HCD Research. “The study conducted earlier this week came only weeks after the heated controversy over the Ground Zero Mosque, and in the midst of the European terrorist warnings.”

During the last three years respondents have changed their views of the woman with the hijab in relation to various personal traits. For example, in 2008, 37% of respondents indicated that the woman wearing the hijab had a “sense of humor” compared to 31% in the recent study. In the 2008 study, 44% indicated that the woman wearing the hijab was “Trustworthy” compared to 37% in the recent study.  In 2008, 43% of respondents reported that the woman wearing the hijab “Always looks on the Brightside” compared to 37% in the recent study.

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net). You can also receive updates from MediaCurves.com by following us on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/mediacurves and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flemington-NJ/MediaCurves/86691908820

HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ.  The company's services include traditional and web-based research.  For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393.  MediaCurves.com® (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements