4 ms·

Relying on self reported things is a big problem with a lot of psychological research. It is very hard to do it otherwise because sympathetic feelings are an in

Relying on self reported things is a big problem with a lot of psychological research. It is very hard to do it otherwise because sympathetic feelings are an inner world experience. Only if we found something measurable that coincided with these feelings in almost all instances could we improve upon it.

umvi 7y ago
It's almost like you need unaffiliated third parties to rank people on their good qualities. "Are you humble?" "Oh yes, definitely, I'm one of the most humble people I know" "Are you a good person?" "Oh yes, one of the best" vs. "How humble would you say your co-worker is?" "Hmm, in my opinion probably average humility. I've never seen them do anything that made me think they were especially humble." "Would you say your co-worker is a good person?" "Hard to tell. They don't particularly stand out as being especially good."
- whatshisface 7y ago
  That's subject to a lot of well-known social biases, for example the fact that more attractive people are perceived to be smarter and better-intentioned.
  - notyourloops 7y ago
    It seems like being human is a messy affair, and one particularly hard to sort out.
  - umvi 7y ago
    But am I even more biased toward myself is the question. I would answer yes. People may be biased toward me based on my looks, but I am way more biased toward myself by comparison.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
bsdetector 7y ago
Self-reporting can be a fine measure. For example, these participants who were amused by people they disagree with being beaten up self-reported low empathy. They just didn't know that's what they were doing, which is why they were honest about it. You can measure things better that are unpopular. On a U.S. college campus, you can measure lack of empathy but not empathy, whereas in ancient Sparta you could measure empathy but not lack of empathy.
- timwaagh 7y ago
  As campuses all have different cultures, wouldn't it depend on the exact campus you sample from? There might be some where Spartan cultural values still prevail. Maybe on a military college or colleges dedicated to some minority. Or one of those hypercompetitive business schools.

umvi 7y ago

It's almost like you need unaffiliated third parties to rank people on their good qualities. "Are you humble?" "Oh yes, definitely, I'm one of the most humble people I know" "Are you a good person?" "Oh yes, one of the best" vs. "How humble would you say your co-worker is?" "Hmm, in my opinion probably average humility. I've never seen them do anything that made me think they were especially humble." "Would you say your co-worker is a good person?" "Hard to tell. They don't particularly stand out as being especially good."

whatshisface 7y ago
That's subject to a lot of well-known social biases, for example the fact that more attractive people are perceived to be smarter and better-intentioned.
- notyourloops 7y ago
  It seems like being human is a messy affair, and one particularly hard to sort out.
- umvi 7y ago
  But am I even more biased toward myself is the question. I would answer yes. People may be biased toward me based on my looks, but I am way more biased toward myself by comparison.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]

bsdetector 7y ago

Self-reporting can be a fine measure. For example, these participants who were amused by people they disagree with being beaten up self-reported low empathy. They just didn't know that's what they were doing, which is why they were honest about it. You can measure things better that are unpopular. On a U.S. college campus, you can measure lack of empathy but not empathy, whereas in ancient Sparta you could measure empathy but not lack of empathy.

timwaagh 7y ago
As campuses all have different cultures, wouldn't it depend on the exact campus you sample from? There might be some where Spartan cultural values still prevail. Maybe on a military college or colleges dedicated to some minority. Or one of those hypercompetitive business schools.