You may view this survey, but only registered users can receive results.
Please register or login before completing our surveys.

Click here to register. or click here to login


Below are examples of various psychological tendencies. Using the scale provided, please indicate how susceptible the average American is and how susceptible you are to each tendency.


Some people show a tendency to judge a harmful action as worse than an equally harmful inaction. For example, this tendency leads to thinking it is worse to falsely testify in court that someone is guilty, than not to testify that someone is innocent.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have claimed that some people show a tendency to do or believe a thing only because many other people believe or do that thing, in order to feel safer or to avoid conflict.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Many psychological studies have shown that people react to counterevidence by actually strengthening their beliefs. For example, when exposed to negative evidence about their favorite political candidate, people tend to implicitly counterargue against that evidence, therefore strengthening their favorable feelings toward the candidate.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have claimed that some people show a "disconfirmation" tendency in the way they evaluate research about potentially dangerous habits. That is, they are more critical and skeptical in evaluating evidence that an activity is dangerous when they engage in that activity than when they do not.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have identified an effect called "diffusion of responsibility," where people tend not to help in an emergency situation when other people are present. This happens because as the number of bystanders increases, a bystander who sees other people standing around is less likely to interpret the incident as a problem, and also is less likely to feel individually responsible for taking action.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Research has found that people will make irrational decisions to justify actions they have already taken. For example, when two people engage in a bidding war for an object, they can end up paying much more than the object is worth to justify the initial expenses associated with bidding.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have claimed that some people show a tendency to make overly "dispositional inferences" in the way they view victims of assault crimes. That is, they are overly inclined to view the victim’s plight as one he or she brought on by carelessness, foolishness, misbehavior, or naivete.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have claimed that some people show a "halo" effect in the way they form impressions of attractive people. For instance, when it comes to assessing how nice, interesting, or able someone is, people tend to judge an attractive person more positively than he or she deserves.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Extensive psychological research has shown that people possess an unconscious, automatic tendency to be less generous to people of a different race than to people of their race. This tendency has been shown to affect the behavior of everyone from doctors to taxi drivers.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have identified a tendency called the "ostrich effect," an aversion to learning about potential losses. For example, people may try to avoid bad news by ignoring it. The name comes from the common (but false) legend that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Many psychological studies have found that people have the tendency to underestimate the impact or the strength of another person’s feelings. For example, people who have not been victims of discrimination do not really understand a victim’s social suffering and the emotional effects of discrimination.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have claimed that some people show a "self-interest" effect in the way they view political candidates. That is, people’s assessments of qualifications, and their judgments about the extent to which particular candidates would pursue policies good for the American people as a whole, are influenced by their feelings about whether the candidates’ policies would serve their own particular interests.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have claimed that some people show a "self-serving" tendency in the way they view their academic or job performance. That is, they tend to take credit for success but deny responsibility for failure. They see their successes as the result of personal qualities, like drive or ability, but their failures as the result of external factors, like unreasonable work requirements or inadequate instructions.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

Psychologists have argued that gender biases lead people to associate men with technology and women with housework.

Average American
Not at all Very Much

Yourself
Not at all Very Much

You may view this survey, but only registered users can submit this form to receive results.
Please register or login before completing our surveys.

Click here to register. or click here to login