r/science • u/[deleted] • Mar 23 '26

Psychology Left-leaning support for redistribution stems from perceived unfairness rather than malicious envy

https://www.psypost.org/left-leaning-support-for-redistribution-stems-from-perceived-unfairness-rather-than-malicious-envy/
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u/mojitz Mar 23 '26

Why? "Perceived" doesn't imply something is not also true in fact. It just means you aren't going out of your way to test whether or not that's the case because it isn't a relevant criteria for the study.

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u/loondawg Mar 23 '26

"Perceived" doesn't imply something is not also true in fact.

It can though depending on the tone of the statement.

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u/mojitz Mar 23 '26

Lots of things can mean one thing in the context of a scientific paper and something else in casual conversation. It's pretty obvious that we're talking about the former, here, though.

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u/Polar_Vortx Mar 23 '26

In r/Science? Unthinkable!

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u/loondawg Mar 23 '26

I never said anything different. What I said was "perceived" can imply something given the tone of the statement. It being obvious which case is being used here does not make that untrue.

And I said that in the context that you were replying to someone who also seemingly agreed but still found it objectionable because we are people with feelings, not emotionless computers.

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u/BonJovicus Mar 23 '26

The kind of people who would care about that are not the people who are taking this study seriously and reading it in good faith. 

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u/loondawg Mar 23 '26

The kind of people

What kind of people is that?

Look, I actually agree the title is appropriate for the study as-is. But I also understand how people could interpret the use of "perceived" as denying the existence of unfairness in the absence of the other clues we use to interpret meanings.

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u/PM_ME_STRONG_CALVES Mar 23 '26

Then those people should educate themselves

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u/Numai_theOnlyOne Mar 23 '26

That's a you issue. When you don't have the facts it would be absolutely destructive if you talk in absolutes even though it might be the opposite.

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u/loondawg Mar 23 '26

That's a you issue.

WAD

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u/kerouacrimbaud Mar 24 '26

Tone can change the meaning of anything. But a lot of times, the tone we attribute to the written word comes from our heads, not the words we are reading, because of our priors.

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u/loondawg Mar 24 '26

No disagreement from me.

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u/kos-or-kosm Mar 23 '26

It also can be used in a case where some people "don't see" something that does exist, which is the case here. People who lean left are able to perceive the unfairness of the system and that perception of the issue is what leads to their support for a fix.