Monday, February 7, 2011

RHOBH popularity

i've been enjoying the reality tea website, and there was recently some discussion about whether the polls on bravo and on that website were accurate with regard to who the most popular housewife was.  i started commenting on that site, but i thought it was worth a post explaining some of the issues with these polls.

on WWHL with Lisa, Andy asked everyone to vote for their favorite housewife.  Lisa got the most votes, followed by Kyle and Adrienne, then Kim, then Camille, and finally Taylor.  there were some people wondering how it could be that Kyle would be more popular than Kim - it seemed like maybe the results were off.  but reality tea also had a poll, and a similar result was found (and reality tea had a good number of people voting, so there is a good possibility to think the results are "real").  in the reality tea poll, Lisa got 47% of the vote, Kyle 24%, Adrienne 18%, Kim 6%, Camille 3%, and Taylor 2%.  so, if we assume that the polls were reasonably accurate, what does this actually mean?  does it mean that Lisa is most popular, that Kyle is more popular than Kim, that Taylor is least popular, etc.?

we would have to define what it means to be most popular.  if most popular only means that the most number of people like you best, then sure, that is a reasonable conclusion to take away from this poll.  but if most popular means that the most people view you most positively and not negatively, then no.  the poll does not at all tell us who is most popular.  below is an explanation of why and what is really going on.

asking who someone's first favorite housewife is doesn't tell us anything about who the second favorite housewife is.  what if 94% of the voters liked Kim second best, while 76% of the voters thought that Kyle was their least favorite housewife?  then who is more popular?  Kim, who is the favorite of only 6% of the people, but is second favorite for 94% of the voters?  or Kyle who is the favorite of 24% of the voters, but is the least favorite for 76% of the voters?

so ... what this shows us is that we cannot infer the order of popularity from polls like this.  how can we figure out an order of popularity?  the short answer is that it is not at all possible to have a completely fair voting system if there are more than 2 choices (see arrow's impossibility theorem, e.g., on wikipedia).  i'm tempted to demonstrate the problems (and what the real popularity standings are) by adding polls to the sidebar ... and sure, i guess i'll give it a whirl ... i'm not sure this blog has enough traffic to get a representative sample, but we can try it out.  if i get 100 votes at least, then i'll unpack what they mean for the popularity of the housewives.  if you would like to participate, what you'll have to do is vote in a bunch of different polls - but it should be quickish ;) sooo ... if you really, really want to know and don't mind doing several polls ... scroll down the sidebar and do some serious voting!  but i need you to vote in each one or else i won't be able to truly tell you what the polls say about popularity!

okay: one more issue.  i was not able to figure out how to make a poll that allows you to rank order which housewives you like.  so if you want to participate, could you just write a comment below in which you just write your order of housewives - put your favorite housewife first, second favorite second, third favorite third, etc.  you don't have to have a blogger account to post - you can even post anonymously or just make up a name below.  all righty ... here goes ...

Twitter @RHSidekick

14 comments:

  1. 1 Lisa
    2 Kim
    3 Adrienne
    4 Kyle
    5 Camille
    6 Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1. Adrienne
    2. Kim
    3. Lisa
    4. Kyle
    5. Camille
    6. Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1. Kim
    2. Adrienne
    3. Kyle
    4. Camille
    5. Lisa
    6. Taylor

    Really torn on Kyle. I want to like her more than I do. That said, I can't deny she is a big part of my interest in the show. That's why I ranked her as high as I did.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1. Adrienne
    2. Kim
    3. Lisa
    4. Camille
    5. Kyle
    6. Taylor

    Camille moved up a spot for me because considering the year she's had - I think that level of stress would cause just about anyone to react too quickly - she is only human. Kyle on the other hand has no excuse for being a nasty bully.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. Kim
    2. Adrienne
    3. Camille
    4. Lisa
    5. Shana
    6. Kyle

    At first I believed Camille to be a whack job, but as things panned out over the episodes I found her to be more credible about what she said happened in Vegas. Kim didn't say one way or the other what Kyle actually said. Which left me to think a)she really wasn't listening to the conversation or b)she did hear Kyle say what she said and blew it off because she couldn't "not" support her sis. Kyle just couldn't handle any one questioning her, she is used to getting away with her nasty 'bullying self and she couldn't handle Camille's putting her on the carpet and holding her accountable for her words. Really, Camille held her ground and Kyle just lost it!...that's why I ranked Camille above the "pack" of she-devils!

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  6. 1. Kim
    2. Lisa
    3. Camille
    4. Adrianne
    5. Kyle
    6. Taylor

    Let's start with Taylor, I can't stand that psycho!!! enough said lol
    Kyle, wow i really started off on her side and couldn't stand Camille, but after seeing her true colors, I don't know who i can't stand more Taylor or Kyle lol they r the perfect match
    Adrianne is cool, and I do like Camille now(i still can't believe I am saying this)
    Kim is my favorite, she might be a little strange at times lol "that's ma chickennnnn" but she is a sweetheart, kind, shy, doesn't go with all this drama, I think the show is just not for her. Everyone treats her horribly, starting with her bully sister.

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  7. oooo I love this RHWS!


    1.) Kim
    2.) Adrienne
    3.) Camille
    4.) Lisa
    5.) Kyle
    6.) Taylor/ Shana

    ReplyDelete
  8. thanks everyone for indulging my desire to analyze silly data (and for your extra comments above)! so far we're at about 20 responses - i'm having a little more hope that maybe it will get up to a reasonable number to analyze (i really wasn't sure). thanks again - looking forward to adding a post with the results!

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  9. Fun and do I have an opinion.

    1. Adrienne
    2. Kim
    3. Camille
    4. Lisa
    5. Kyle
    6. Taylor

    Like most I started out liking Kyle but noticed a couple of episodes in how heartless and mean she was to Kim so I bailed from the Kyle train early. She is a mean girl and a bully and will not be crossed - she explodes immediately. I thought Camille was snobby and cool towards the other women but now I think she's just quieter and had her guard up. The whole Kyle/Camille argument is looking better and better for Camille. I think Adrienne is the most level headed and compassionate of the group. She has a good time but is cautious of what the camera captures. Became disappointed in Lisa as the season wound down and at the reunion seeing her defending Kyle at any expense and not being considerate of Kim. I'm not totally sure if Kim has a problem or not but I think she's sweet, funny and down to earth. She's obviously a proud and loving mom.

    jm

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  10. I have been disappointed in Lisa as well. Kyle barely needs to defend herself with the tag team of Lisa and Taylor jumping in every 5 seconds.

    Also, Lisa and all her "hints" about Kim having "an issue." I realize she is Kyle's friend, but I felt like Kim was ganged up on too many times and Lisa comes off as self-righteous and holier than thou at times.

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  11. I truly believe the sibling rivalry (particularly on Kyle's behalf) was set up and encouraged by their mother. Kyle is MUCH TOO comfortable demeaning and disrespecting Kim. I have sisters, and am fairly convinced that this behavior btw them is longstanding and has its basis in childhood.

    1. Kim
    2. Adrienne
    3. Camille
    4. Lisa
    5. Kyle
    6. Taylor (Ugggggggg!!!)

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  12. i couldn't agree more about the rivalry was probably set up in childhood. when parents value both children (or all children) equally (though perhaps call attention to different gifts that different kids have), then the kids feel secure, don't feel like they are competing, and are even happy when things go well for their siblings. when parents compare the kids or unduly label them or if the parents only care about a limited number of traits (and one sibling happens to be more gifted in the limited areas than another), then it leads to all sorts of rivalry problems. but i think it must be so hard for kim and kyle to really understand and confront the common denominators in the equation (and therefore feel a little more compassion for each other) because the whole process is complicated by the fact that their parents have already died. it must be so hard to feel rage or anger and grief all at once. so ... while i don't want to excuse any particular behavior on anyone's part (because at some point, we all become adults, responsible for our choices and behavior), i do feel quite a bit of compassion for them. but - totally agree it is longstanding.
    and yes ... i agree - Camille looks better and better the more we see. if it was true she wasn't allowed to talk about parts of what really happened during their argument, she must have felt so helpless. still not to excuse any behavior ... but it makes it a little more understandable. feels better to think someone was so frustrated and resorted to poor behavior rather than that someone is calculating and malicious beyond redemption. thanks for voting all!

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  13. Kim
    Adrienne
    Lisa
    Camille
    Kyle
    Taylor

    I love this poll!

    ReplyDelete
  14. 1. Lisa
    2. Adrienne
    3. Kim
    4. Camille
    5. Kyle
    6. Taylor

    Lisa, doesn't curse every breath and have to be beeped out same with Adrienne. Kyle, has a trashy mouth and Taylor, well, I think the intro says it all. "I have it all but I want more." Yuck! What a plastic person.

    ReplyDelete