We all have subconscious biases we aren't aware of!
Trust your own bias with the following simple multiple-choice question. (Don't cheat! Scroll down for the correct answer.)
A researcher who is interested in the relationship between self-esteem and leadership qualities samples 1,000 individuals who have been identified as being high in leadership qualities.
The researcher finds that 990 of these people have high self-esteem, whereas 10 have low self-esteem. Absent any other information, what is the best conclusion one can draw from these data?
(a) There is a strong positive association between self-esteem and leadership qualities.
(b) There is a strong negative association between self-esteem and leadership qualities.
(c) There is no association between self-esteem and leadership qualities.
(d) One cannot draw any conclusion from these data.
The correct answer is....
(d) One cannot draw any conclusion from these data.
(Because all 1000 people have already been selected for high leadership qualities, we can't identify any correlation between self-esteem and high leadership.)
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