Psychological Coin Flip

Read the thread first, then come back tot his

  • H - Heads

    Votes: 21 63.6%
  • T - Tails

    Votes: 12 36.4%

  • Total voters
    33
May 8, 2008
1,081
0
Cumbria, UK
Hey team, I need help with something (it'll only take a second). It's a psychological test I'm trying to get results for. It'd be appreciated if as many people as possible take part in this, and if any interesting results pop up, feel free to use them in what ever way you see fit.

DON'T VIEW THE POLL RESULTS OR READ ANY REPLIES TO THIS THREAD UNTIL YOU HAVE READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST, AS IT COULD AFFECT THE RESULTS


Right, the situation is this. I have flipped a standard two-sided coin nine times. I will give you the first eight results. You have to guess the ninth.

I will list the results so far below, with H as Heads and T as Tails. Do not scroll down until you know what it is you are to do.


All I want you to do is to look at the results and choose (without thinking, just the first to pop into your head) which you think the next result will be - whether it is H or if it isn't T.

Really go with your first instincts here, don't try to second-guess the experiment or look for a pattern in the results or anything. Make sure you stick to your first choice.



Got that? Reread the instructions then scroll down...





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H, T, T, H, H, T, T, T...


Go with the first letter that pops into your mind.








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Pop it into the poll for me (assuming I can get the damn thing to work :p), and feel free to post it further down.

Thanks for the help, it's appreciated :)







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For those wondering, incidentally, the coin came up on H next. I am also predicting that the vast majority (if not all) of people that take part in this will guess H. I may be wrong, but that is my prediction.
 
Apr 8, 2009
59
0
"which you think the next result will be - whether it is H or if it isn't T."

The way you worded it makes the only possible outcame available heads

P.s I picked heads
 
Sep 3, 2007
1,231
0
The problem I'm seeing is that it's too easy to pick one or the other. To pick one is usually a random thought just as it is to toss one in the air fairly. I pick heads right now. If you're thinking about a controlled coin flip you'll still hit around 50%. Unless you flip the coin afterward based on the decision.

Peace.
 
Jan 13, 2008
1,137
0
I picked Tails.

A few of my university professors have mentioned that people fall into the trap of noticing patterns in random things, such as multiple choice exam answers. Apparently, it's really rare for someone to actually assume that there would be four of the same answer in a row--they'll literally have a difficult time (psychologically) choosing 4 of the same answer. This is despite each occurrence being a random one. Of course, the same would apply to coin flips. Interestingly, this also applies to things like the lottery--I am willing to bet that very few people would choose a set of numbers in a row (1 to 6, for example) as their lottery selection, despite the fact that it's equally as likely to be chosen as the winning combination as any other combination of numbers.

Obviously, I didn't choose Heads, like would be expected (following three Tails results). The tendency towards patterns doesn't really hold when you're expecting a "trick" (even if you don't exactly know what it is, or for what reason), or when you're aware of (and thinking about) the above information about patterns, the latter being true in my case. :)
 
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