Home

Cantril

Cantril is a surname most closely associated with Hadley Cantril (1906–1969), an American psychologist and sociologist known for his work on public opinion and media influence. In the mid-20th century, Cantril contributed to the study of how mass communication shapes political attitudes and behavior, and he was a co-author of The People's Choice (1944), a landmark study examining how voters were influenced by newspaper and radio coverage during the U.S. presidential election. His research helped establish methodological approaches to polling, survey design, and the interpretation of public sentiment in the United States.

Cantril also developed the Cantril ladder, a self-anchoring scale used to measure a person’s or a population’s

outlook
on
life
and
the
future.
In
surveys,
respondents
place
themselves
or
society
on
a
0
to
10
scale,
where
0
represents
the
worst
possible
life
and
10
the
best,
enabling
comparison
of
optimism,
fear,
and
life
satisfaction
across
groups
and
over
time.
The
scale
has
been
applied
in
studies
of
national
mood,
well-being,
and
comparative
social
indicators.
Because
of
these
contributions,
the
surname
Cantril
is
primarily
encountered
in
academic
discussions
of
public
opinion
research
and
survey
methods.