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