Predjudices About Bias (Report No. 85-3)

38 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2010

See all articles by Baruch Fischhoff

Baruch Fischhoff

Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Institute for Politics and Strategy, Carnegie Mellon University

Date Written: 1985

Abstract

Much recent research in the area of judgment and decision making has been dominated by documentation of ways in which people's intuitive thought processes can lead them astray. Like other psychological results that have cast doubt on people's abilities, these accounts have generated considerable controversy. From the set of criticisms that have been raised, a set of generic criticisms that could be raised is developed here. These include aspersions of methodological malpractice, advancement of alternative standards of optimality, and development of error theories showing the insensitivity of events to these kinds of problems. Considering these criticisms in general form offers some perspectives on the continuing debate, some guidance on how to improve its productivity, and some hypotheses for analyzing analogous controversies elsewhere in psychology

Keywords: bias, heuristic, biases, heuristics, judgment, probability, philosophy of science, biases

Suggested Citation

Fischhoff, Baruch, Predjudices About Bias (Report No. 85-3) (1985). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1560126 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1560126

Baruch Fischhoff (Contact Author)

Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Institute for Politics and Strategy, Carnegie Mellon University ( email )

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