John Ruscio (1998) Applying What we Have Learned:
. Psycoloquy: 9(69) Social Bias (7)
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Psycoloquy 9(69): Applying What we Have Learned:
APPLYING WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED:
UNDERSTANDING AND CORRECTING BIASED JUDGMENT
Commentary on Krueger on Social-Bias
John Ruscio
Department of Psychology
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
rusciojp@acad.etown.edu
Abstract
Decades of research on human judgment and decision making
have demonstrated the presence of cognitive biases. This literature
has led to a negative view of our judgmental capacities, a view
that Krueger (1998) laments. However, the road to a more positive
perspective first requires a clearer picture of the extent of
bias and of methods for combating it. Rather than continue to
debate the existence of biases, we should strive to understand
their prevalence and magnitude, catalog them by source, and address
them through corrective procedures. Some of Krueger's suggestions
appear highly relevant for these goals.
Keywords
Bayes' rule, bias, hypothesis testing, individual
differences probability, rationality, significance testing, social
cognition, statistical inference
References