Interesting psychology

As you read the news about all the sexual harassment claims and denials keep in mind the human mind is a tricky thing. For example:

Several studies have shown that people are more likely to label a given behavior as sex to the extent that their significant other did it as opposed to themselves. In a study of 839 college students (96% heterosexual) who were asked whether oral contact with another person’s genitals counted as sex, it turned out that just 36% of women and 39% of men said it did when they imagined themselves doing it. However, when asked to imagine their partner doing the same thing with someone else, 62% of women and 63% of men suddenly viewed it as sex.

Truth is extremely elusive. Definitions matter. Measurements matter. Numbers matter. There are facts and there are opinions. A lot of what we are seeing in the news are opinions and what is important are the facts.

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2 thoughts on “Interesting psychology

    • You’re not wrong. Back during the Clinton kerfluffle, I was discussing it with a friend of mine, and he was like “Meh, it wasn’t really sex, only a BJ, etc.”. I pointedly asked him “What would your wife think of that excuse if it were you?”.

      I swear I could see the light come on in his head.

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