The Latest Poll Shows Something Weird

Opinion polls are often designed to get the answers the pollster wants, by inserting bias into the questions. Similar questions can be asked in different ways. For example:

· Should Sally get a haircut?
OR
· Should Sally change her outdated hairstyle?

People responding to the poll may not even notice that it has been designed to reinforce the pollster's opinion. This pollster may have an agenda to make people think of Sally as old fashioned and unattractive.

· Should Sally wear more age-appropriate clothes?
OR
· Should Sally change her wardrobe?
OR
· Should Sally stop wearing dresses that look like potato sacks?

Even a person who likes Sally's look may find it hard to answer a simple yes or no to the biased questions. We see questions like this all the time in fake polls connected to politicians' fundraising efforts.

· Should schools avoid political bias in their lessons?
OR
· Should schools stop promoting the other party's extremist propaganda?

These polls never give you the chance to comment, "These are stupid questions."