Why do people pick best answers that are clearly not the best answer?

Question

Also, does that bother you?

What about when they ask a question only looking for people to agree with them?

Best answer gets 10 points. :D

only one way to tell for sure, I liked a lot of the posts but I don't want anyone to think I picked them because their answer is in line with mine. Although I have been accused of being "narcissistic" too.

Answer 1

I was going to answer your question very matter of factly, but then I wondered, "What kind of answer is he looking for? A true explanation or someone to agree with him?" I'll be very interested in seeing which answer you do pick. There are a couple of reasons for this phenomena:
1. Yes, some people do ask questions looking for someone to agree with them. We, as people, are constantly looking for validation and proof that we belong. Heinz Kohut referred to this as a twinship need, or the need to feel that we are like other people. So, when some people have an opinion that they may think are a little off kilter, they will come here and hope to find someone out of the millions of Answers users who agree with them.
2. Sometimes the "smart a**" answer wins for the same reason why the class clown in high school was so popular. Because it draws our attention when we have to weed through 20 answers.
3. There are a number of cheaters with multiple accounts that will vote for themselves 3 or 4 times. Or they will tell their friends to vote for them.
4. Often, when an answer goes to vote, the people voting just want that one point that they get from voting. So, they don't always read all the answers and will just vote on the first one.

Does this bother me? Of course. As a professional in the field of psychology, I don't think that I know all the answers. I will admit that I am a little bit of a narcissist on this site when it comes to the psychology answers. So, I feel that I know a good answer from a bad answer (and mine may not always be the best answer). Therefore, sometimes I know when someone is really wrong in an answer and that drives me nuts when the wrong answer gets chosen. Because Yahoo Answers questions come up in Google searches and when someone is looking for factual information, I don't want them to be misinformed. So, I will sometimes leave comments when an incorrect answer is chosen....I told you I was a bit of a narcissist.

Answer 2

The major flaw in this site is that the people asking the questions are allowed to pick the best answer. If they are asking the question it usually means that they don't know the answer. They then pick the best answer based on their ideas of what is correct even if it is absolutely wrong. I would never use this site for research unless there was a link to follow.

Answer 3

Most of the time, people pick the best answer that agrees with their view. So they are not looking for new information but for validation. Sometimes, people pick the answer that is funniest or most outrageous. So they are not looking for new information either but for kicks. Then there is a small percentage who seem to select best answers based on how informative and well-written they are. That's how I try to pick my answers, although its hard not to pick an answer that gives me a really good laugh.

Answer 4

sometimes people just ask questions they've already answered for themselves. They are just looking for someone to reaffirm what they already believe. Imagine the majority of the population actually taking accountability for their decisions. They would rather find a mechanism that they can later blame, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions.

I know what you are saying and on the most part I agree with you. What I have found though is that no matter what you or I believe they will still make their own call, on what's best answer or not.

Oh well, humans!!!

Answer 5

haha i would say that people just want to keep thier question on there.. ahh.. it sort of bothers me.. if there is another answer there that could have been better.. then yeah.. it does.. but what can ya do right?? 8-p

i dont think i have ever ran into someone asking a question to agree with them.. but then again.. i thought that was what they were looking for? to have an answer? ahh who knows..

i hope my answer helps you..
not to get the 10 points.. bc i dont care.. lol but to help you
i mean really.. what do the 10 points do? nothing!! haha..
just kidding.. lol.. but its true if u think about it.. you know??

Answer 6

I think it is because everyone had different thoughts and different answers and people like some answers more than others and than give best answer to someone who has an answer that fit the question.

Answer 7

Tell me about it, sometimes i usually do some research before posting an answer but they always give it to the people who agree with them the most.

Answer 8

Because what may seem as a bad answer to you may be the best answer to the asker. The rest of the people posting silly questions and expecting silly answers are just fooling around. That's the unity in diversity!

Answer 9

I think that you are right in that people want others to agree with their point of view. Also, as someone said, they could be "cheating."

It doesn't bother me if it's an opinion question--such as this one. It does bother me if I've put in research time on it. I once worked for two hours researching something for someone, got them the right information from various sources, and they never even said thanks.

Answer 10

You never know what people are looking for in an answer. Maybe to get informed, maybe to laugh, maybe to give one of their friends ten points. It does sometimes bug me when I put a lot of thought into an answer and a one-line wisecrack takes the cake...but then I remind myself I can't trade in points for cash, and all is well again.