Additional Surveys and Findings

As we pour back through older data, we will be updating this will additional findings or adding new pages to separate some of the research.

Early Analysis of Favorite Pony Data

What Does Your Choice of Favorite Pony Say About You?

Presented by the researchers at the Bronystudy BronyCon, Baltimore, 2014

Understanding the results of our research requires an understanding of:

The two approaches a researcher/scientist can take to studying a subject.

1) The Ideographic Approach – (tendency to specify) studies single individuals in great detail, yields information on unique features of that person (what motivates them).

2) The Nomothetic Approach – (tendency to generalize) studies large groups of individuals on a number of specific characteristics (like personality traits), yields general information about the population (all males or all fans).

How to explain a person’s choice of favorite pony? Three possibilities:

1) It has to do with the pony’s characteristics.

2) It has to do with the fan’s characteristics (personality and needs).

3) It is an interaction of the two (pony-fan interaction).

Our hypothesis was: fans choose Favorite Pony because they either see themselves in the pony’s personality or they desire to be more like that pony (an Identity process hypothesis)

Fan Identification with Favorite Pony (expressed as %)

Sees Self Wants to Be See Self in and None of

In the Pony like the Pony would like to Be Above

Twilight Sparkle - 1 (34.0) (10.2) (29.1) (15.1)

Fluttershy - 2 (26.1) (6.6) (14.8) (19.6)

Rainbow Dash - 3 (12.3) (32.8) (14.6) (21.5)

Pinkie Pie - 4 (13.8) (24.1) (15.8) (14.6)

Apple Jack - 5 (8.9) (26.1) (13.8) (11.3)

Rarity - 6 (5.0) (11.7) (12.0) (17.8)

Number 618 137 501 219

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Table of FAV PONY by Big Five Personality Scores

Extraversion* Agreeable* Consc* Neurotic* Openness

Twilight Sparkle 2 2 5 3 3

Fluttershy Low High 2 4 Low

Rainbow Dash 5 4 4 Low 4

Pinky Pie High 3 Low High High

Apple Jack 4 5 High 2 5

Rarity 3 Low 3 5 2

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Does level of search and commitment to an identity affect pony choice?

Table of FAV PONY by Rankings on the Identity Dimensions Scale

Commitment* ID with Commit* Breath of Search Depth of Search

Twilight Sparkle 4 5 3 5

Fluttershy Low Low 2 Low

Rainbow Dash High High High High

Pinky Pie 5 3 Low 2

Apple Jack 3 4 5 4

Rarity 2 2 4 3

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Conclusions:

1) The vast majority of bronies in our study choose their Favorite Pony based on issues of identification with the pony. They ‘see themselves’ in that pony.

2) Those bronies who choose a pony because they would like to be more like them, choose the ponies who are more outgoing and self assured (RD, PP, AJ).

3) (For the group as a whole) the personality of a Brony appears to match up with the general personality portrayed by the pony character. This lends further support to the ‘identifies with the pony’ hypothesis.

4) Fans of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle appear to have established more stable identities, while fans of Fluttershy and Rarity appear to be in an ‘identity search’ where they maybe still seeking to establish an identity.