The binding of both an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and a cationic surfactant, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB), to various water soluble copolymers containing equal amounts of the monomers of methyl vinyl imidazole (MVI) and vinyl pyrrolidone CVP) and various amounts of a third monomer, vinyl acrylic acid(AA), have been studied using surfactant selective electrodes and isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC). The change in the binding behavior of both surfactants has been investigated as the charge and content of the acrylic acid monomer has been systematically altered. The data clearly show how surfactant binding can be both moderated and enhanced. In the presence of salt there is almost no binding of the MVI/VP/AA polymer in its anionic form with TTAB, whereas the binding with SDS is somewhat reduced in comparison with the data for no salt. The ITC measurements have also been used to investigate the binding of various forms of the polymer with a commercial sample of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate. The binding data are very well defined and clearly show similar trends to those observed for SDS.