Expectation Bias

[GregWormald]

11 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

That was your most ridiculous argument yet.  How old are you?

 

Ahhh, please don't fall into ad hominem attacks. I'm sure you know the saying about arguing with (choose a term)...

 

A question not answered (for me) is "How does expectation bias affect my perception when I go into a listening comparison to learn if I can actually hear a difference rather than with an expectation?" I'm sure4 there are many people who exercise curiosity rather than expectation. (BTW, I have 45+ years as a clinical psychotherapist and trainer.)

 

For instance I bought some highly reviewed interconnects years ago and it didn't take me long to realise that they sounded much worse to me than the plain ones thrown in with the equipment purchase. I now cut them up when I need a bit of wire for something non-audio.

[GregWormald]

10 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

There may be good reasons why interconnects may sound different, like poor connectors, incorrect wiring, shields miswired, etc.

Yes. Relevant to "expectation bias" how?

10 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

Audio memory is very short (seconds), and the tiny details in soundstage or airiness or pace, or musicality, or whatever you think you're hearing, are easily faked by our minds. These are not easy to test for and to compare unless you do fast switching blind test without the knowledge of what device is playing. If you do that, you'll discover quickly how frequently your mind makes s**t up.

That's not the way I evaluate stereo. I use a long term comparison by noticing my response in terms of my listening behaviours—often months long.

10 hours ago, pkane2001 said:

But, expectation bias isn't a conscious state. Whether you realize it or not, you are expecting to hear something when you're listening to any new device.  The knowledge of that device being in the circuit already sets up subconscious expectations. The act of careful, focused listening helps you notice new things. Even if these things were already there before the new device.

(AND)

Just like you can't easily examine your subconscious, you can't tell what influences you to hear one thing or another. Sometimes it's the subconscious mind making stuff up by filling in "new" details, sometimes it's what you had for dinner, and sometimes it's what you read online or what a buddy told you about it. Sometimes it's what you think about the whole idea of interconnects making (or not making) a difference. 

Examining the subconscious may not be easy but it can be done, otherwise all counselling and therapy is not possible. A good part of subconscious processing is influenced by the conscious 'set-up' and pre-existing programming.

 

To reiterate: A question not answered (for me) is "How does expectation bias affect my perception when I go into a listening comparison to learn if I can actually hear a difference rather than with an expectation?"

[GregWormald]

You guys are too deterministic for me. I guess your expectation bias is getting in the way of you seeing reality.

Not a problem. I'm gone from this discussion.

[GregWormald]

14 hours ago, botrytis said:

Many audiophiles, and especially the audiophile press, ignore this. They wear their biases on their sleeves.

If they just wore them on their sleeves it wouldn't be too bad, but I sometimes feel like they don't know they have biases are trying to shove them down my throat.