Benchmarks / Abortion attitudes · Survey

GSS (2024) — Abortion attitudes battery

https://gss.norc.org/get-the-data/ →

benchmark:gss-abortion-2024

Reuse this data: CSV JSON headers match the published fixture; distributions JSON-encoded inline

Shape mix: 4 multimodal-symmetric 2 bimodal-asymmetric 1 left-skewed

Δ 1.59 4.65 () → 3.06 () within-fixture gradient

Acceptance rubric

An SSR re-run acceptably reproduces this benchmark when it clears every check below on the same 7 paired questions the source publishes. The chip badges name the checks the round-38 → round-46 shape-mismatch finding argued are necessary but not sufficient in isolation.

CI overlap 7/7 Shape match 7/7 SSR mean inside CI · shape badge reproduces the source label.

What this benchmark discloses

Recruitment screener (verbatim)

GSS uses an address-based national probability sample of U.S. adults 18+. The 2024 cross-section ran mixed-mode (in-person + web push). No content screener — every selected adult is invited regardless of attitudes. Sampling frame and selection probability are documented in the GSS 2024 Codebook R3 (NORC). Six of the seven AB items are on a split-ballot (per-item n ≈ 1,520–1,555); abany is on a larger ballot share (n = 2,140).

Sample weighting & demographics

Weighted to wtssps (NORC's recommended GSS 2024 post-stratification weight, person-level). Yes-share is the weighted proportion answering 'yes' (= legal abortion should be possible under that condition). Dichotomous → 1-5 SSR mapping via yes_share × 4 + 1.

Fieldwork dates, country, language

United States, 2024 cross-section. Fieldwork March–November 2024 per the GSS 2024 Codebook R3 (page 1). Modes: in-person and web push (push-to-web for the subsample without prior in-person contact).

Original question text & translations

Stem (codebook verbatim): "Please tell me whether or not you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if…" followed by each of the seven conditions below. Items are read individually with the condition phrase substituted.

Likert / scale labelling

Dichotomous (codebook value labels, verbatim). 1 = "yes". 2 = "no". Remapped to the SSR 1-5 scale via yes_share × 4 + 1 so that a higher number reads as more permissive (5.0 ≈ uniformly yes; 1.0 ≈ uniformly no; 3.0 = 50/50). No 'don't know' / 'no answer' is included — those respondents drop from each variable's n.

FGI moderator guide & coding rules

Closed-ended forced-choice, no FGI. No moderator guide. Each respondent rates each condition cell independently in the same wave. The battery has run since 1972 with the same stem and the same value labels; abany was added in 1977. No reverse coding (unlike the LIB battery — yes here is always permissive).

Data source & license

Public domain (NSF-funded). Required citation: Davern, Michael; Bautista, Rene; Freese, Jeremy; Herd, Pamela; and Morgan, Stephen L. General Social Survey 1972-2024. NORC ed., Chicago, 2025.

Anything not disclosed here was not available in the source dataset and is recorded as such.

SSR run — reproducibility keys

template_version: 3.0.0
llm_seed: 4213
bootstrap_seed: 8426
llm_model: deepseek-v4-flash
embedding_model: nvidia/nv-embed-v1

SSR score vs ground truth, by question

Each row holds one question. The teal mark and range are SSR. The sky mark and range are the source FGI/survey.

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if the woman's own health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy?

SSR —

Source 4.65 (4.60–4.71)

Source distribution SD 1.13 skew -2.93 2 cells left-skewed

1.02.03.04.05.0

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if she became pregnant as a result of rape?

SSR —

Source 4.36 (4.28–4.43)

Source distribution SD 1.47 skew -1.84 2 cells bimodal-asymmetric

1.02.03.04.05.0

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if there is a strong chance of serious defect in the baby?

SSR —

Source 4.14 (4.06–4.23)

Source distribution SD 1.64 skew -1.40 2 cells bimodal-asymmetric

1.02.03.04.05.0

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if the woman wants it for any reason?

SSR —

Source 3.32 (3.23–3.40)

Source distribution SD 1.97 skew -0.32 2 cells multimodal-symmetric

1.02.03.04.05.0

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if she is married and does not want any more children?

SSR —

Source 3.19 (3.09–3.29)

Source distribution SD 1.99 skew -0.19 2 cells multimodal-symmetric

1.02.03.04.05.0

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if the family has a very low income and cannot afford any more children?

SSR —

Source 3.15 (3.05–3.25)

Source distribution SD 2.00 skew -0.15 2 cells multimodal-symmetric

1.02.03.04.05.0

§ Do you think it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if she is not married and does not want to marry the man?

SSR —

Source 3.06 (2.96–3.17)

Source distribution SD 2.00 skew -0.06 2 cells multimodal-symmetric

1.02.03.04.05.0

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