Two and a half years ago, I took the Political Compass test and came out on the Libertarian Left. My scores were:
Economic Left/Right: -2.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.92
Having done this MPhil course, I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of economics, politics, and philosophy. I have just taken the test again. I am still in the Libertarian Left quadrant but check out my scores now!
Economic Left/Right: -7.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.62
Whoa! I’m an angry young Communist Anarchist.
I went for ‘strongly agree’ and ‘strongly disagree’ for most questions. It seems like I have definite opinions now.
You know, I consider myself a pragmatic and polite person. I’m hoping that strength of convictions doesn’t lead to unreasonableness in action. Strong convictions are good, right? As long as I’m not close-minded, I guess.
For comparison, the following graphs come from the website.
Hmm. I’m not sure that you can say your convictions are “stronger” based on a likert scale result.
Since likert scales used with statements that are biased towards one end of a bipolar dimension or the other, I think it might be more accurate to say your opinions are now more extreme?
Like, what if someone has a strong conviction about a non-extreme position…?
Ah, social sciences.
I was thinking that myself. I guess the thing is I went from ‘agree’ to ‘strongly agree’.
Does that mean my opinions are more extreme or stronger? Maybe it’s a 3D set of axes with ‘Strength of conviction’, ‘Extremity of position’ and ‘Consistency of position with pre-defined positions’.
Well, what the test measures ultimately depends on what questions are asked, I guess.
I mean, if the statements are like, “I strongly believe…” then obviously that measures your conviction…
I don’t think Likert scales themselves have inherent dimensions as such — just depends on the statements.
Without knowing any details or doing any research, my intuitive opinion is that you would be both more extreme and have more strength of conviction. My explanation would be that after spending a whole year of like-minded people, your original opinion has been reinforced and pushed further towards the pole.
It would be interesting to see if your classmates are also Libertarian Left. (It would have been even more interesting to see whether they also became more so after doing their MPhil.)
On a totally unrelated topic, I might be going to Melbourne next month. I’m looking for a relatively cheap and nice hotel located in the city. Any recommendations?
Hi misscipher, I replied on your blog. Anyone else interested in useful links to find hotels in Melbourne can wander over to Misscipher’s page.