TJ Walker discusses research on cumulative redundancy bias, a psychological tendency that makes people suspect election fraud when an early leader falls behind. Andre Vaz's study of nearly 1,500 participants found the bias affects both parties and can fuel violent political action.
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It's one thing to think, okay, maybe there was some bias, maybe there was some funny stuff. It's another thing to want to go kill the vice president, which I'm not advocating, obviously, but some did. How your brain makes election fraud claims feel real. New research led by Andre Vaz of Rue University reveals that our brains may literally be wired to misinterpret vote counts. When an early leader falls behind later in the tally. People, regardless of political affiliation, are more likely to suspect fraud even when the election is completely fair. The team ran seven studies with nearly 1500 participants across the US and the United Kingdom. The pattern was consistent. Early leaders seem more legitimate, while late comebacks appear suspicious. Baz calls it the cumulative redundancy bias, a mental glitch where first impressions dominate even when facts change. Using data from Georgia's 2020 presidential election, the researchers found that if ballots had been counted in reverse order, it might have been Democrats, not Republicans, crying foul. The findings published in Psychological Science, suggest false election beliefs aren't purely partisan, they're partly psychological. Let's go a little deep here. What does this really mean? It turns out we as human beings are always suspicious about bias against us, even in elections. If your candidate is winning an up ahead election night and they don't end up winning a day or two later, you're going to think there was cheating. Doesn't matter what party you're in. Let's dig a little deeper here. So I think this, I wanted to bring this study to your attention because I do think if you want to be a successful human being, it is important to have self awareness and to be aware of how we all have biases. I have biases. You have biases. If you think you're neutral or objective, then you have a delusional bias. We all are subjected to various biases and this is called the cumulative redundancy bias. If you think, okay, my candidate was winning at 6 o', clock, 7 o', clock, 8 o', clock, midnight, and now it's the next day they're behind. The vote count couldn't have changed. Well, it can. It actually can. Now, there are some differences though. I buy into this idea that this can happen to people regardless of their ideology or regardless of their party. What did happen in the United States in recent years goes beyond that. It's one thing to think, okay, maybe something strange or funny happened in the election or why, why was my candidate winning election night? And then ultimately they failed. I think it's one thing to think, okay, maybe there was some Bias. Maybe there was some funny stuff. It's another thing to want to go kill the vice president, which I'm not advocating, obviously, but some did. It's another thing to take pitchforks and guns and raid the Capitol because you are so convinced that something foul happened that some fraud take place. There's a confidence there. There's an absolute commitment to knowing you're right that I don't think spans the ideological spectrum. Because at some point, I believe truly intelligent people, self aware people understand, okay, I could be wrong. I might want a particular outcome. I might think a particular outcome was supposed to happen, but I could be wrong. That is the hallmark of an educated person, an intelligent person, a self aware person. It is the hallmark, not of all successful people, but I would argue most intelligent. And sadly, it is not in huge demand today. And I think you could figure out where. But again, this study shows it can happen to Democrats and Republicans. So in this case, as much as I don't like both sideism thrown out so often in political discourse, this basic perception problem of feeling like your side got ripped off has been proven, according to these studies, to be bipartisan. Again, they looked at seven different studies, 1500 participants. If the vote change happens late in the game, after the polls have closed, and especially if more than a day has passed, there is this perception by people that, wow, there was some kind of fraud going on here, even when it's simply a function of how votes can be counted. I'm TJ Walker. We've got some more stories ahead for you. We're going to be taking a look at some what I think is positive news going on in California and how that state is trying to create healthier children and healthier diets for children.
