Clark McCauley (1998) The bet on Bias is Cockeyed Optimism . Psycoloquy: 9(71) Social Bias (9)
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Psycoloquy 9(71): The bet on Bias is Cockeyed Optimism

THE BET ON BIAS IS COCKEYED OPTIMISM
Commentary on Krueger on Social-Bias

Clark McCauley
Psychology Department
Bryn Mawr College,
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
phone (610)526-5017
fax (610)526-7476

cmccaule@brynmawr.edu

Abstract

Bayesian statistics have drawbacks beyond subjectivity of prior probabilities, and attribution research probably suffers more from ignoring man the lawyer than from ignoring subjects' beliefs about the power of situational causes. More importantly, the root of social psychology's focus on errors and biases is an unwarranted optimism that human conflict will diminish if we can see one another more accurately.

Keywords

Bayes' rule, bias, hypothesis testing, individual differences probability, rationality, significance testing, social cognition, statistical inference

References