The study found that, when asked to give a numerical value on a scale of 0-100 to ratings ranging from ‘excellent’ down to ‘poor’, Hispanics typically assigned higher marks to every label except the lowest, with an average difference of 5.9 points.

Savitz, who is also the president of research group Savitz Research, said this apparent ‘cultural lift’ needs to be taken into account when analysing survey results. The reason behind it could be that “Hispanics are taught from an early age that it is in poor taste or inappropriate to openly criticise or berate when asked their opinions,” he said.

Applying the 5.9 point adjustment to product survey results changes how the views of Hispanics on certain products appear to relate to the views of the population as a whole, with higher ratings for products such as Tylenol falling into line with those given by non-Hispanics, and ratings for products such as Verizon dropping below.