Finding the fairest way to judge the Olympic medal count<»

A lot of Americans didn't understand the question. To them it was obvious, just count up the number of medals. Australians think the fairest way to judge the Olympic medal tally is by medals per capita while Americans think it should be judged on total medals. A researcher at The Australian National University (ANU) has found people will adjust their perception of the Olympic medal tally based on their country's performance. Professor Michael Platow of the ANU Research School of Psychology has surveyed people from Australia, New Zealand and the United States to ask the fairest way to evaluate the tally - by total number of medals, by medals per capita, or medals by sporting resources. "A lot of Americans didn't understand the question. To them it was obvious, just count up the number of medals," Professor Platow said.