Poll: how biased are you?

[woolfe9999]

I'm curious about peoples' subjective assessments of their degree of bias.

A few things to understand before answering the poll.

1. A bias isn't a viewpoint. It is the tendency to be resistant to changing your position in the face of facts and logic to the contrary. It's a psychological state, not a specific ideology.

2. Bias is not something you have or don't have. It exists by degrees.

3. A bias isn't necessarily one to the right or left overall. An independent or self-described moderate may take positions to the right on certain issues and to the left on others. The question is to what degree are you open minded and amenable to persuasion on the positions you hold. Being a moderate doesn't automatically make you more objective, nor does being a liberal, conservative or libertarian.

This poll is public.

 

[piasabird]

I just want to keep enough money to keep from starving to death.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Depends on the issues at hand, but I'd like to think I consider multiple sides of an issue, regardless of my preconceived notions about it. I have certainly changed my opinion on certain matters as new evidence is presented.

 

[highland145]

This poll is public.

 

[woolfe9999]

It's public by very purposeful design. I'm curious who is and isn't comfortable discussing his or her own bias, as opposed to the biases of others, which people are apt to routinely point out.

 

[highland145]

It's public by very purposeful design. I'm curious who is and isn't comfortable discussing his or her own bias, as opposed to the biases of others, which people are apt to routinely point out.

Going to be interesting. I have biases but don't think they are too bad. Others may look at me and think I'm bat shit crazy. Voting "typical" and we'll see how it pans out.

 

[woolfe9999]

Going to be interesting. I have biases but don't think they are too bad. Others may look at me and think I'm bat shit crazy. Voting "typical" and we'll see how it pans out.

Yes, unfortunately the poll doesn't seem to actually be public, though I could swear I checked that option.

 

[wayliff]

I'm curious about peoples' subjective assessments of their degree of bias.

A few things to understand before answering the poll.

1. A bias isn't a viewpoint. It is the tendency to be resistant to changing your position in the face of facts and logic to the contrary. It's a psychological state, not a specific ideology.

2. Bias is not something you have or don't have. It exists by degrees.

3. A bias isn't necessarily one to the right or left overall. An independent or self-described moderate may take positions to the right on certain issues and to the left on others. The question is to what degree are you open minded and amenable to persuasion on the positions you hold. Being a moderate doesn't automatically make you more objective, nor does being a liberal, conservative or libertarian.

This poll is public.

I 'think' I do my best to be objective and listen\debate but I am going to say I am average. Perhaps I am more, or less, objective than that but I don't know how I would measure it with certainty.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I am 100% objective. It does not matter the topic!
I weigh all viewpoints and then I lean towards the most truthful viewpoint!!

 

[JEDIYoda]

I'm curious about peoples' subjective assessments of their degree of bias.

A few things to understand before answering the poll.

1. A bias isn't a viewpoint. It is the tendency to be resistant to changing your position in the face of facts and logic to the contrary. It's a psychological state, not a specific ideology.

2. Bias is not something you have or don't have. It exists by degrees.

3. A bias isn't necessarily one to the right or left overall. An independent or self-described moderate may take positions to the right on certain issues and to the left on others. The question is to what degree are you open minded and amenable to persuasion on the positions you hold. Being a moderate doesn't automatically make you more objective, nor does being a liberal, conservative or libertarian.

This poll is public.

Poll is not public..we cannot who voted for what....sorry...

 

[sandorski]

BBL: Awaiting talking point from HQ

 

[ky54]

This reminds me of a test I used to give before I started a new advanced driving class. The question was simple - rate the other drivers on the road and then rate yourself with 1 being bad 10 being perfect. The other drivers were generally rated at about 3 and they rated themselves about a 9 then I told all the people to look around them and realize what they think of you. My point is people will always think more highly of themselves and more lowly of others. I understand I'm biased toward my own council and I also understand so are most other people IF they were honest with themselves.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I went with above. Imo performing a self assessment carries inherent difficulties and I doubt anyone can be unbiased. This is a kind of meta thought question and I can't escape "the box" to give a precise answer. Worth asking though.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Maybe I'm biased... but I put average. I think everyone has some level of bias or they at least will lend credibility to one side of a story first and need to be convinced of the other.

 

[woolfe9999]

I went with above. Imo performing a self assessment carries inherent difficulties and I doubt anyone can be unbiased. This is a kind of meta thought question and I can't escape "the box" to give a precise answer. Worth asking though.

It's also a test of self-awareness to some extent. That is the "hidden" part of it. One reason I wanted to make the poll public (but failed, obviously) is I was curious if people who are quite obviously biased had as much ability to identify their bias as people who are quite obviously less biased.

I've seen people on this board who are very strongly biased admit to it, so it isn't impossible for a highly biased person to be aware of it.

I voted for option 2 as well. People can gauge my self-awareness from that. If in fact it's apparent to others than I'm highly biased then I lack self-awareness.

 

[soundforbjt]

All people are biased on one or more issues. No one is perfect.

 

[monovillage]

I voted that I was strongly biased I'm aware of it and honest about it so I didn't vote for the "accurately gauging my degree."

*edit* I honestly disagree with your definition of bias though. It isn't the same as dictionary definitions or my definition.

 

[davmat787]

I would think it is human nature to be more biased than one would think they are. Much like intelligence or other positive traits, people generally inflate their own levels of them.

I would say the last option for me, how can one truly evaluate their own level of bias? Their level of bias would get in the way of that, I think. :hmm:

And of course as one ages, one tends to not care as much about trying to be less biased, or simply don't care as you get set in your ways.

 

[fskimospy]

I'm happy to see that so far we have 83% of people fitting into the 50th percentile or higher.

 

[Jaskalas]

My objectivity is above average.

How could I answer the poll in this fashion?

I was raised in a pure red meat Republican household. The first Presidential election I could vote for I did my duty and padded Bush's re-election. In 2008 I voted third party, couldn't stomach the thought of McCain due to the mistake of being represented by Bush.

I see the serious, nearly terminal, flaws of the Republican Party and these days consider cleaning their house the utmost important thing to do, more important than stopping the (illegal Muslim, Communist, space alien)™ occupant currently in office.

The way they focus on the President... it's all phony. He is one man, he is almost powerless in the face of Congress. Yet he can be an effective lightning rod for rallying the troops and raising a call to arms. He can be the boogieman under our beds, we have to march in lock-step OR ELSE!

Or else what? We might see through the lies fed to us? Sadly, I know few folks are capable of the critical thinking needed to break the bonds of your own political party.

I was once a supporter of the Iraq war, of the surge, of being in Iraq for however long it took to do whatever it took. To what end? A true conservative article opened my eyes to the folly of Bush and the Neocons running rampant in the GOP.

I am biased in the convictions of keeping our own people's freedom and liberty.

I am not biased on petty social issues that pale in comparison to the importance of the structure of our government. When it comes to day to day issues, I like to think I consider both sides of the argument. That I visit P&N in hopes of learning what both sides have to say. Even if it's just their talking points I still find those useful when reading between the lines.

Looking at the results, most people gave my own answer. They feel they’re fairly objective, but given the nature of P&N how can that possibly be true? Perhaps I too am of average bias, but I don’t see the average person questioning many beliefs of their party.

 

[soundforbjt]

I'm happy to see that so far we have 83% of people fitting into the 50th percentile or higher.

Watch it. I just got my meter fixed today and would like to have it work for a while, it gets expensive with all these repairs.

 

[davmat787]

I'm happy to see that so far we have 83% of people fitting into the 50th percentile or higher.

Naturally so too, P&N attracts the best and brightest minds the internet has to offer.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I'm happy to see that so far we have 83% of people fitting into the 50th percentile or higher.

It's possible. I'd buy that the average IQ score is 83% even though they may not always act it. A question I can't answer is how intelligence is correlated to objectivity.

 

[fskimospy]

It's possible. I'd buy that the average IQ score is 83% even though they may not always act it. A question I can't answer is how intelligence is correlated to objectivity.

While there can certainly be an element of self selection, I really see no evidence whatsoever that would lead me to believe that the population of good old ATPN is less biased than average.

 

[woolfe9999]

It's possible. I'd buy that the average IQ score is 83% even though they may not always act it. A question I can't answer is how intelligence is correlated to objectivity.

IQ is high-average on this board. However, political objectivity is probably low to average relative to the general population. That is mainly because people here are political junkies. People who don't follow politics are probably on average less biased about it because they care less about it. However, those people may be just as biased about things that aren't political.

Insofar as the relationship between IQ and objectivity, my observation is that it helps objectivity to be at least of above-average intelligence, but IQ far and away is not a sufficient condition for objectivity. The two probably correlate, but only just barely.

- wolf