Politicians Avoid Answering 60% of Questions

In discussing the upcoming election here in the UK, Raj Persaud on All In the Mind asks whether politicians ever answer a question. Apparently when asked by a professional interviewer, the average number of responses that directly address the original question is 40%. This rises to 75% when the question is asked by a member of the public. Why? Because professional interviewers tend to ask trapping questions that if you did actually answer would make you look stupid either way.

Also on the show there’s some good stuff about brainwashing, while next week Raj is going speed-dating. Just don’t tell the wife Raj!
Radio 4’s All In the Mind


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Hello, and welcome to PsyBlog. Thanks for dropping by.

This site is all about scientific research into how the mind works.

It’s mostly written by psychologist and author, Dr Jeremy Dean.

I try to dig up fascinating studies that tell us something about what it means to be human.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book "Making Habits, Breaking Habits" (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks.