I don’t think people were compensated for correct answers.
For the people taking the survey, selecting one answer had no more utility than another (except maybe if fucking with a survey can be considered fun). Therefore, I don’t think that you call it stupidity for anyone to select one answer rather than another. It just didn’t matter.
On the other hand, if you compensate people for the right answer, they start using the criteria of “what do I think the survey-maker thinks is the correct answer”, which may not be the same as “what do I think is the correct answer”.
The stupid thing is the answer, not the person giving it. Heck, it’s politics. Giving an answer because it happens to be correct rather than sending the optimal signalling would be the stupid thing.
I don’t think people were compensated for correct answers.
For the people taking the survey, selecting one answer had no more utility than another (except maybe if fucking with a survey can be considered fun). Therefore, I don’t think that you call it stupidity for anyone to select one answer rather than another. It just didn’t matter.
On the other hand, if you compensate people for the right answer, they start using the criteria of “what do I think the survey-maker thinks is the correct answer”, which may not be the same as “what do I think is the correct answer”.
Or contributing to a trend that suggests “people ascribing to my ideology are less likely to believe stupid things.”
The stupid thing is the answer, not the person giving it. Heck, it’s politics. Giving an answer because it happens to be correct rather than sending the optimal signalling would be the stupid thing.