The Objectivity Illusion
Why you are biased while I am objective
At least since 1994, US political polarization has been rising. Liberals are more liberal, conservatives are more conservative, and the common ground between them has shrunk. One consequence—and perhaps also one cause—of this expanding chasm is a tendency to view one’s own team as the good guys and opposing teams as the bad guys. This isn’t exclusive to politics (think sports, cliques, and cults), but it may be especially harmful in the political arena. Viewing half of your fellow citizens as irredeemable villains creates conflict and sows collective misery. So what can we do about it?
The science of the objectivity illusion
During the 2016 US election between Trump and Clinton, a group of researchers investigated how people would explain their political beliefs. They found that people on both sides of the political spectrum—left and right—would attribute their own beliefs to favorable influences such as careful consideration and knowledge of facts and history, while attributing opposing beliefs to unfavorable influences such as propaganda and self-interest. The researchers labeled this the “objectivity illusion”. In other words, “beliefs that I like are factually well-reasoned, while beliefs that I don’t like are misinformed”.
The strength of the objectivity illusion influenced people’s decision-making. A striking 91% of people with a strong objectivity illusion believed that their favored candidate had won in televised electoral debates (compared to 64% of people with a weak objectivity illusion). When justifying their political beliefs, people with a strong objectivity illusion were more likely to speak as a matter of fact (e.g. “Trump/Clinton is right”) rather than as a matter of opinion (e.g. “It seems to me…”). Over time, their beliefs also grew more extreme in favor of their preferred candidate.
The objectivity illusion closes people’s minds. In the study, people with a strong illusion had only a 1% chance of changing their mind over the course of the election, while people with a weaker illusion had a 15% chance of changing their mind. Open-mindedness is important because it allows you to weigh up evidence and discuss ideas fairly without succumbing to self-serving biases. Ironically, the most biased people seem to be those who accuse their opponents of bias.
Overcoming the objectivity illusion
The current animosity in politics may be here to stay for a while, but there are several things we can do in our own lives to push against the pressure of the objectivity illusion:
Assume the best intentions: Life is simpler when we assume that opponents are selfish, evil, and stupid. But the truth is rarely so straightforward. People with different experiences and priorities can reach well-reasoned conclusions that disagree with our own, and their intentions can be just as compassionate. Societal problems are complicated, and the best answer is rarely obvious. It takes open-minded debate and compromise to reach good solutions.
Doubt your ideas: Good science is a constant exercise in self-doubt because it forces scientists to repeatedly test and revise their theories. Applying this kind of self-doubt in our personal lives makes us less susceptible to the objectivity illusion and more open-minded when searching for the truth.
Be wary of social bubbles: If you’ve ever felt surprised at the outcome of an election, it’s probably because you’re locked in a bubble with people who share your opinions. Try to expand the news sources you read and the diversity of people you interact with. When you routinely challenge your ideas with unfamiliar points of view, your own perspective grows stronger.
The Monument of Kindness
Here is one of Edgar Albert Guest’s lucid poems about bringing people together. It’s titled “The Monument of Kindness”:
We do not build our monuments in stone,
The records of our life aren't cast in steel;
We are forgot, if when the spirit's flown
No human hearts our finger prints reveal.
If we have lived and died and left behind
No more than gold and lands that once were ours,
No trace of having served our fellow kind
Then wasted were our talents and our powers.
But if when we have gone our impress stays
On human hearts, whate'er has been our lot,
We need no marble shafts to mark our ways,
We shall live on, nor ever be forgot.
That final quote
“You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Erman Misirlisoy, PhD
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