Bias in Self Questionaries

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Sure, but that doesn't do much good if you'd hate it and don't want to do it; which is the case for me.

I would have answered yes because in the past I have had a bunch of thoughts in my head I want to express but can't get those words out. I would think this is being literal because it only asked that. It doesn't say for what situation or what degree or what they are talking about.

I think online tests are unreliable so if they are done in the doctor's office, the doctor can rephrase them and be more specific and you can ask the doctor for clarification. I have a issue with black and white answers too and I even have had that issue on autism tests also. For example 'I prefer to do things with others than on my own." Okay this could mean different things. I like to do things with my husband and with my mother, I like going out with them. But I also like to do things on my own because I am in control of my situation, no one to wait on. I also don't mind going out alone and having fun. There is no prefer. So what do I answer here? I have always answered randomly so I always thought it made my autism scores inaccurate even thought I have scored in the range or borderline. I even have the same problem in the pediatrician's office when I have to fill out a little questionnaire about my child for their development. I cannot even answer some questions because of in between meaning they are yes and no like "Does your kid play well along with other kids." He plays fine with his cousin and with his little sister but he fights with her but that's normal but he has a hard time fitting in at school and playing with others according to the teachers. But my mom told me to put yes even though I told her he has a hard time with it in school. But my mom told me to put yes because he plays fine with his cousins. So I guess by her logic I played well with other kids as well as a child despite the rejections and being told to go away and being told to not follow them and being banned from homes but yet I did play well with younger children and with my brothers and with kids at my house so there you go. I guess that would be a yes for Frankie too because we played along well and he played well with my brother before he started to get aggressive. That is my mom's logic there for answering yes.

I hear ya. I was really just talking about the one response from that one person who put reams into what the OP said that wasnt there, and failed to say anything about what the OP actually DID say. Lol! That person probably is angry about self diagnosed aspies, and jumped to the conclusion that the OP was also upset about that issue too. And he came to the conclusion that someone was agreeing with him because of his...confirmation bias! Lol!

I was just diagnosed with ASD this week after evals spanning the past few weeks. I told the clinician after the first visit that I don't think I shared enough information; when she asked questions, I don't "get the gist" and answer the broad question she was probably looking for. Instead I answered literally, as I always do, studying the precise meaning of every word in her question.

I also had problems answering some questions for another reason. I'm 41 and I've been studying human behavior for 20+ years, reading books about it, etc, plus I've worked in a corporate environment where they also stress certain things. So a question like "do you prefer to work on a team or alone?", I know the "right" answer is to say you want to work in teams, I've been hearing that and telling myself I do that for 20 years. It makes answering those questions hard when you have faked it for so long, you can't separate your true self from what you've been told is right.

THIS. This exactly. KNOWING what the right answer SHOULD be doesn't mean that it is the answer that you DO. Trying to remember what I actually do, or prefer, is very difficult.

Me too. I feel like I have two personalities, so in the past, when I've been asked stuff like that, I don't even feel like I'm lying, I'm simply describing my personality on a good day plus some lies I've been telling myself because the alternative is despair.

@League_Girl: 'I prefer to do things with others than on my own." - That question drives me bonkers too, along with its evil twin "I prefer to do things on my own." I need quite a bit of time alone to recharge, but like 99 % of the people on this planet I need to see friends and family as well. Very few people actually want company 24/7. Without any mention of frequency, this question is meaningless.

Btw, thought I should clarify: I've attributed a lot of problems to physical illness. Then I got well, and lo! Still clueless, disorganized and in a love/hate relationship with the sun.

Another difficult question. It really depends. It's nice when I was in school that we worked in groups because it meant I didn't have to do the school work and other kids did it and I was with them so that counted as me doing it too and I didn't even have to worry about this.

When cleaning needs to get done, it's nice to have help so you get it done quicker. One person has to cut the grass, one racks the leaves, one hoes the garden, one waters the plants. Just give out tasks to each person so there is no confusion about what needs to be done and what you are supposed to do next. I can't just walk into a restroom that is being cleaned and be told to just get to cleaning. I would be left clueless and standing there because I need tasks and direction. I can't just pick up a random thing and get to cleaning because I don't know what's been done and what still needs to be done. It's the same with everything else. I can't just be told to get working without given any direction. If I have to work in a group, I have to be given tasks, I can't just do it or go with it. This was a struggle through elementary school and group projects were always a torture. So maybe as a child I could answer yes to I prefer to work alone but now it might be yes now because I had learned to adapt and I now ask questions about what they want me to do and I say I need to be given direction because I can't just do it. It always boggles my mind how people can just get together and start doing stuff without being told as if they knew what to do already. They can finish one thing and go to the next without being given any direction. Mmm yes or no? That is why i always find online tests unreliable and should be done with a professional and they will tell you what you should answer when you go through each question with them and tell them your story about each one. But asking me to choose which one do I want, do I want to work in a group or alone, I have no idea. I hate choosing. I always hate it when my mom or my husband ask me "what do you want to do today." Me: I don't know, what do you want to do?

Yep...never fails to amaze me here how people respond to a post with knee-jerk reactions, when it is so obvious they didn't even read the post and don't understand what it is talking about. That is confirmation bias at its finest. But even funnier if they happen to be harping on confirmation bias, when they are so clearly unaware of their own! lmao

Where if the option for both as in, there are some things I prefer to do with other people, and somethings I prefer to do on my own?

I have found that most questions that my NT family can answer with ease, I default to looking for the "Needs More Information" option.

Yes, it IS difficult- but I find that I think about what the other person wants- perspective taking.
"How would it look to this person to PRESENT as a person that is depressed- what does the affectation look like? How can I accurately reflect that such as to get my point/mood/internal state across appropriately?" I just think "what is the 'right' answer to this question- how would/should I answer it?"
However, this take me knowing myself very very very well and then translating my own instincts into something that is "readable" to the other person.

Oh, other people aren't a problem. It's when things are self-reporting that I get answers ranging from off-base to completely, laughably wrong. I swear, if another career thingy says I should get into a technical field I'll track down the person who made it and pelt their car with an entire case of rotten eggs.

I've had some bad fallout from that kind of test - somebody asked me to do something I have no talent for, based on one of those tests. I tried to explain to her that test was only about areas of interest, not for actual skills, but she wouldn't listen. Young and stupid as I was, I let myself be influenced, and the result was public humiliation.

In those cases, people would say that I shouldn't worry so much about what others think. What I can't get across to them is that other people's opinions have real life consequences - such as not getting a job because the hiring manager went to the same high school as you and thinks you're weird. They don't have that problem, so why should I, right?

My main reason to ask for an assessment is that I can't figure out what career would work for me, and I need to earn money. I need some kind of testing to figure out what my weaknesses are - I pretty much know what my skills are. I find the "jobs for aspies" lists partially useful, but people on WP are not cookie cutter copies of each other.

I'm not sure I understand your question - that's why I was thinking about it for a while

I was just thinking that it would be more useful to have a test with more questions, like: "I like to go to parties with people I don't know", "I like to go to a cinema/cafe/sports activity on my own", "How many close friends do you have?", and then you have to pick from 3-4 alternatives. "I only go shopping with family or on my own", etc.

Actually, having a really long test with lots of questions might be useful in separating ND from NT. How do you identify the NT? Answer: it's the guy who screams and throws his pen in the wall because there are too many questions

*Where is the option for both?