We Misperceive Too Much

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Teleman52

The 6% unemployment rate figure is sort of a meaningless number really, it may be official, but it doesnt paint a real picture of whats going on in the country. You should include all unemployment figures (U1-U6) to get a real view of how we are doing on that front.

Yes. If true now, always true. Didn't hear much complaining on that front before. It has always been the number.

As it goes to the point of the thread, again, it is the accurate number. Clearly.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Twelvefret

The key words there are "give birth". The figures might be overstated because there are more pregnancies that live births. How did you miss that, Herb?

Are you suggesting respondents tended to think "pregnancy" when they heard "live birth"?

So maybe the real problem is our collective attention to detail? That wouldn't surprise me at all.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by kydave

THAT is amazing! Although it does confirm my belief in the dumbing down of America... But there is no way I'd have answered those survey questions the way they seem to have been answered by so many.

Heck, if I thought # 3 was correct, I'd be moving ASAP!

If I thought # 5 was correct, I'd be packing regardless of the CCW situation in CA.

Perhaps if the news concentrated on fact driven news, rather than political pundits and social media trends... Naw... If if isn't on their cell phone screen, it seemingly is oblivious to many Americans now.

Bikes is a link to an interactive quiz page where you can answer the questions and see how well you do. (I wish I’d had the opportunity to take the quiz before reading the article.)

https://www.ipsos-mori.com/_assets/p...uiz/index.html

[kydave]

Originally Posted by Twelvefret

The key words there are "give birth". The figures might be overstated because there are more pregnancies that live births.

Thank goodness!!

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by hovishead

I suppose it's easy to misjudge when you live in an area that magnifies certain perceptions.

My stepdaughter lives in an area of London where the vast majority of people are Muslims. I'd imagine her perception of the number of Muslims in the country is a lot higher than mine.

The article doesn’t show the percentage of Muslims among the British population but if France and Australia are any indication, there are far fewer Muslims in Britain than its citizenry may perceive.

But the rest of the world gets it wrong too…

2. Muslims: people across just about all countries hugely overestimate the proportion of their population that are Muslim: the average guess across the countries is 16% when the actual proportion is 3%. For example, on average people in France think 31% of the population is Muslim, when the actual figure is only 8%. In Australia the average guess is nine times the actual proportion: people estimate it at 18%, when the actual proportion is only 2%.

[harmonics101]

I firmly stand by my belief of misperception

H

[Teleman52]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Yes. If true now, always true. Didn't hear much complaining on that front before. It has always been the number.

As it goes to the point of the thread, again, it is the accurate number. Clearly.

correct its always been true, and people have always been talking about it even if you didnt hear it.

Yes its true the number is accurate, because they asked "what is the unemployment rate?"

but what if they asked "What percentage of people are unemployed in your country?" That changes the answer, and I suspect most people dont even realize the difference between these two questions

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by zabdart

Apparently, we also misperceive how to spell. I think you wanted to use "fare" in this case, rather than "fair."

Thank you for calling my attention to my typographical error. I’ve corrected it.

[Twelvefret]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Are you suggesting respondents tended to think "pregnancy" when they heard "live birth"?

So maybe the real problem is our collective attention to detail? That wouldn't surprise me at all.

Live births and pregnancies are not the same. 1.6 abortions took place in the US in the most recent year from which information is available and with some states not reporting. Of course some pregnancies end prematurely for other reasons.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by harmonics101

I firmly stand by my belief of misperception

H

I did, too......but I think I was wrong

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Twelvefret

Live births and pregnancies are not the same. 1.6 abortions took place in the US in the most recent year from which information is available and with some states not reporting. Of course some pregnancies end prematurely for other reasons.

That's my point.

[Twelvefret]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

That's my point.

Got it, thanks.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Twelvefret

Got it, thanks.

No worries!

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Twelvefret

Live births and pregnancies are not the same. 1.6 abortions took place in the US in the most recent year from which information is available and with some states not reporting. Of course some pregnancies end prematurely for other reasons.

1.6 ? ok I understand the one abortion, but am confused about the .6 abortion....

[Pick guard]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

According to an Ipsos survey we fare worse than many other countries when it comes to misperceptions. Here are a few things we tend to get wrong in the USA:

"3. Muslims: we hugely over-estimate the proportion of Muslims in the US – we think one in seven (15%) of people are Muslims when the actual figure is 1%--a perception gap of -14.4 points.

4. Unemployment: Americans over-estimate that nearly 32.1% of the working age population is unemployed when the actual figure is much lower at 6%-- a perception gap of -26.1 points.

5. Murder rate: Americans are dead wrong on their murder rate with 51% saying it is rising (which is incorrect) whereas only 30% think it is falling (which is correct) and 18% say they don’t know—a perception gap of -21 points.

6. Teenage pregnancy: Americans over-estimate that one quarter (23.9%) of all teenage girls aged 15-19 give birth each year, when the actual figure is only 3.1%-- a perception gap of -20.8 points."

The Country Accuracy Rankings: Perceptions versus Realities



http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/p...e.aspx?id=6657

"But the rest of the world gets it wrong too…"

So why choose only 14 of 196 countries in the world for this little quiz?

Gee, I wonder where China scores on this one. Don't see Russia on there either. What about North Korea, they're probably pulling up the rear don't you think? So the US is 14 out of 196 countries and that somehow makes us losers and the target of ridicule and disgust? This is a non-story.