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Or, perhaps, they know where they stand and don't need a test to confirm it.

How many with negative scores actually thought they were middle-of-the-road rather than closet pinkos?

Economic Left/Right: 2.25
Auth Libertarian: 0.36

This "Right Wing Whacko" came in at -0.12 Economic -2.15 Authoritarian/Libertarian although it could be different tomorrow. :p

gryphon,

Test design is hard and very imperfect. Some tests have been shown to be AWFUL, basically because the wording is prejudicial and influences people to answer one way or the other. Even phrasing something as a negative instead of a positive has been shown to change responses (like: "I do not dislike tea" vs. "I like tea").

This is a pretty good test. The questions are fairly worded for the most part. They are deliberately a little vague (such as "basically a good idea") so it doesn't screen out people who don't have an extreme or absolute conviction about something. And the test really feels impartial to me...No agenda. Also it's possible that the answers aren't color-coded as you think, but "empirically keyed" so that responses are just matched with other validated tests for cross correlation, and the results are spat out by a computer. You really can't tell how the questions might fall with that kind of test...

You have to kind of cooperate with the testers, if you want to get a (fairly) meaningful score. For your sake. Look, Shantinik got exactly the same score on a wholly reworked version of the test! So it's a "reliable" measure so-called (of course to really know, we'd need to have a lot more people take both tests.)

The pay-off is supposed to be a deeper understanding a) for the complexities of categorizing and "pigeon-holing" groups (and individuals) politically and b) a greater understanding of yourself in how you fall in this QUADRANT - not an either/or. And it's even a spot within a quadrant - like a point on a graph.

The testers are NOT trying to trick you! It's not that kind of test. You're supposed to just answer your first gut feeling, not analyze it to death. And if you really feel you CAN'T answer something which seems too ambiguous - just skip it! I skipped one or two...

(Interesting that your answers were always extreme! Ha! You're an "extremist"!)

And by the way, bcarey is quite right - without everybody taking the test, there's a strong selection bias which could skew the results (such as making assumptions about the overall "colors" of this group)...Who picked up the thread? Who finished the test?, etc.

At least skip to the end and read the debriefing as I advised pique. It's interesting. And by the way, if you were to talk about individual items to a tester, they would say : "just answer how you mostly feel about that statement". The "eye for an eye" one, for example (which I thought was very good), just kind of gets a feel for whether you believe in retaliation, and if so in kind? Some people don't - or only slightly...

Ariel! (I think)

Wow!!!! I thought I was a whacko!!!

All right, I caved in and completed it over lunch. I'm

4.75
0.82

Fairly right (although the scale goes to 10 so I'm *not* a wacko despite what some here may think) but not very authoritarian, which is how I would have described myself prior to taking the test, so I guess I agree with the answers.

Why, JBryan, we're practically neighbors!

Ariel

We seem to find ourselves in the same quadrant (just barely). :p

I knew you were a softie at heart (beneath that gruff exterior) when I read about your bluejay!

That bluejay is part of the family.

Well, things are either right or wrong, so I don't see much room for grey areas, although remember, some of my answers were probably strong 'liberal' ones, not necessarily all strong 'conservative' ones.

I still have lots of problems with the test. What do you do with questions like "consenting adults in privacy?" Does that mean prostitution is okay? How about a consenting S/M partner who gets the crap beat out of him/her? How about an open society and sex has gone too far today? Does 'strongly disagree' mean that you do *not* believe a society should be open about sex, or does that mean it should be very open and we *haven't* gone too far? Polar opposite opinions for the same test response.

Actually, I thought myself to be more much more authoritarian than the results show. I took it twice- once yesterday and again today and found that I was within .5 of yesterday's results on the Authoritarian/Libertarian scale. Still somewhere between Shantinik and I suspect Nestor Makhno.

Economic L/R: -7.00
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.49

Well (since I am busy procrastinating) I will tell you how I dealt with those questions- and there were quite a few, that challenged me! For example, I DID say things had gone (slightly) too far in society today regarding sexual openness. I'm tired of picking up every women's magazine in a doctor's office and finding advice on how to prolong your orgasms! The house-keeping magazines always say "your husband" and Cosmopolitan just says "anywho". Same thing. And More.

As for the consenting adults item...I'd say (from what you said) that you ought to answer "slightly agree" since you think it's mostly OK with notable exceptions. Or possibly, if you feel VERY strongly about those exceptions you should answer "slightly disagree" since you have exceptions to that point of view, taken as an absolute...Get it?

Ariel

(You can be an extremist and not have it modify a single noun, gryphon. It sounds like a personality trait. That's OK. It doesn't mean you want to revive Hitler Youth or something)

Ariel,
Great topic. thanx for posting it. I hope more people take it.
justme

To justme,

Thanks ! It seems to be chilling people out a little in how they categorize people (and often "dismiss" them). Including me!

Ariel (I think)

4.62, 0.87

Seems like the score I got before, except I was slightly on the libertarian side of the line the last time. Seems like I'm similar to Blair, Berlusconi, and Howard (of Australia).

Me, too. about 5 and .6

I've taken test like this before and always come out as a libertarian leftist.

Economic -5.5 (Who would have guessed that?)
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.87

I know, however, that I am just perfect. Therefore everyone should add 5.5 and 1.87 to your scores to find out exactly how whacked out, uh, I mean, off-center you really are!

Derick

Yikes...that would put me with the same score as Jean Chretien.

Wow!!!!! I'm with the Pope!!!!! Boy, my parents would be proud! That 12 years of Catholic schooling paid off!!!!