I think questions about support for EA ideas in the general population would doubtless be interesting.
Unfortunately I think it is pretty difficult to ask questions about EA to the general public in an adequate manner. Since almost everyone is unfamiliar with EA ideas, statements of EA ideas are apt to be interpreted in line with more common folk ideas, rather than as expressing the EA ideas intended. For example, many statements of EA ideas (“We should only donate to the best effective charities” “We should do the most good we can do”) can be interpreted completely platitudinously, so you find almost everyone agreeing with these statements even though almost no-one actually agrees with the ideas they are supposed to express. I think similar difficulties apply to asking whether people think those in the far future should be valued equally (see here and here)
Another specific problem is that almost no-one interprets “cost-effectiveness” correctly. I’ve run a number of studies examining how people think about thinking about cost-effectiveness in charitable decision-making, and I’ve found not only that most people naturally interpret “cost-effectiveness” to overhead ratios, but that even if you stipulate what cost-effectiveness means, and look at only those people who pass multiple comprehension checks putatively indicating correct understanding of the definition of cost-effectiveness, large percentages still cannot select which is the most “cost-effective charity” out of a pair of charities (A vs B) which save more lives with a given sum of money vs save fewer lives with the same sum of money but spend less on overhead costs.
I discuss this and some of the things I broadly think a good operationalization of EA should include here
That said, I’d be interested if you would ask people whether they agree or disagree with some statements along the lines of:
“Some charitable causes are objectively better than others.”
“You can’t compare whether different charitable causes are better or worse than each other.”
Yeah, these are my biggest concerns too, that’s why I think it can’t be done in that “straightforward” way...
That said, I’d be interested if you would ask people whether they agree or disagree with some statements along the lines of: “Some charitable causes are objectively better than others.” “You can’t compare whether different charitable causes are better or worse than each other.”
This seems like a promising direction. I created a document where I am gonna try to somehow summarize these and turn into questions. Feel free to contribute directly. I would be super grateful.
I think questions about support for EA ideas in the general population would doubtless be interesting.
Unfortunately I think it is pretty difficult to ask questions about EA to the general public in an adequate manner. Since almost everyone is unfamiliar with EA ideas, statements of EA ideas are apt to be interpreted in line with more common folk ideas, rather than as expressing the EA ideas intended. For example, many statements of EA ideas (“We should only donate to the best effective charities” “We should do the most good we can do”) can be interpreted completely platitudinously, so you find almost everyone agreeing with these statements even though almost no-one actually agrees with the ideas they are supposed to express. I think similar difficulties apply to asking whether people think those in the far future should be valued equally (see here and here)
Another specific problem is that almost no-one interprets “cost-effectiveness” correctly. I’ve run a number of studies examining how people think about thinking about cost-effectiveness in charitable decision-making, and I’ve found not only that most people naturally interpret “cost-effectiveness” to overhead ratios, but that even if you stipulate what cost-effectiveness means, and look at only those people who pass multiple comprehension checks putatively indicating correct understanding of the definition of cost-effectiveness, large percentages still cannot select which is the most “cost-effective charity” out of a pair of charities (A vs B) which save more lives with a given sum of money vs save fewer lives with the same sum of money but spend less on overhead costs.
I discuss this and some of the things I broadly think a good operationalization of EA should include here
That said, I’d be interested if you would ask people whether they agree or disagree with some statements along the lines of: “Some charitable causes are objectively better than others.” “You can’t compare whether different charitable causes are better or worse than each other.”
Yeah, these are my biggest concerns too, that’s why I think it can’t be done in that “straightforward” way...
This seems like a promising direction. I created a document where I am gonna try to somehow summarize these and turn into questions. Feel free to contribute directly. I would be super grateful.