Identifying biases is an important exercise for all of us, but particularly so for those of us who judge consumer goods for others. I take no offence to Dave's suggestion because he is right. These biases are real and there are others I have highlighted as well - [https://nsmb.com/articles/the-media-is-corrupt/ ](https://nsmb.com/articles/the-media-is-corrupt/)
The alternative to being aware of these factors is pretending we are immune to bias and that leads directly to hell imho. Anyone who thinks they are always 'objective' and impervious to the push and pull of myriad factors almost constantly hasn't studied psychology and certainly hasn't been paying attention.
Dave is right that being out of the normal consumer sphere can be problematic for reviewers so it's essential we use our experiences in other consumer environments (as Tim mentions) to help us stay somewhat grounded.
For me it's essential that I remember that my audience, and my customer, is the consumer rather than the company who produced the product I am reviewing. That knowledge informs many of my conclusions and it helps me ask the right questions of those behind the products.
June 5, 2018, 8:58 a.m. - Cam McRae
Identifying biases is an important exercise for all of us, but particularly so for those of us who judge consumer goods for others. I take no offence to Dave's suggestion because he is right. These biases are real and there are others I have highlighted as well - [https://nsmb.com/articles/the-media-is-corrupt/ ](https://nsmb.com/articles/the-media-is-corrupt/) The alternative to being aware of these factors is pretending we are immune to bias and that leads directly to hell imho. Anyone who thinks they are always 'objective' and impervious to the push and pull of myriad factors almost constantly hasn't studied psychology and certainly hasn't been paying attention. Dave is right that being out of the normal consumer sphere can be problematic for reviewers so it's essential we use our experiences in other consumer environments (as Tim mentions) to help us stay somewhat grounded. For me it's essential that I remember that my audience, and my customer, is the consumer rather than the company who produced the product I am reviewing. That knowledge informs many of my conclusions and it helps me ask the right questions of those behind the products.