The colour you see determines how judgemental you are
A study that appeared in the June 2018 issue of Science has revealed interesting information about human beings and their ability to pass unbiased judgement in certain situations. The key lies in a simple optical illusion.
By now we know that the human brain is easily manipulated. Sets of images, words or colours - when put together in the right context - can produce different results depending on the person who is assessing them.
This is why optical illusions are always at the centre of heated discussions on the internet.
But now a study published by the American research journal Science in June 2018 is raising the stakes. After showing a group of 1000 participants a series of dots varying in colour from very blue to very purple, the researchers were able to draw useful conclusions about our abilities to make sound, unbiased judgements in various situations.
The question each of the participants was asked is simple: "is this dot blue, or not?"
Early in the trial, participants were shown an equal number of blue and purple dots and were able to tell the difference very easily. Towards the end of the trial researchers showed only purple dots, but participants - using information from the earlier part of the trial - identified all the dots as blue.
From this, researchers concluded that human beings make decisions in new situations based on information that they already have from other, similar situations. In other words, we make decisions based on what we expect to see, and not on necessarily on the new information in front of us. This indicates bias in our judgements.
So, the research conducted using a simple optical illusion reveals a deeper truth about how we operate in society.
Take another look at the dots in the image above. Can you say for sure which one is blue or purple?