Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Hindsight bias around the world.

Rüdiger F Pohl1, Michael Bender, Gregor Lachmann

  • 1Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. ruediger.pohl@psychol.uni-giessen.de

Experimental Psychology
|November 29, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Managing acculturation threats with tailored self-affirmation interventions: A mixed-methods study with Syrian forced migrants.

The British journal of social psychology·2026
Same author

High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy on the Hyperfine Structure of ^{255}Fm (Z=100).

Physical review letters·2026
Same author

Radiologic drivers of dysphagia after intracerebral haemorrhage: a flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing-guided retrospective analysis on intensive care unit.

Neurological research and practice·2026
Same author

Sepsis-triggered proteolysis of profibrinolytic annexin A2 associated with microvasculopathy-related organ dysfunction.

Blood vessels, thrombosis & hemostasis·2026
Same author

Author Correction: Broadly stable atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> levels over the past 3 million years.

Nature·2026
Same author

Depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents across 30 countries: Cross-national measurement invariance and relationships with subjective well-being.

Journal of affective disorders·2026

Hindsight bias, the tendency to believe we knew more beforehand, is globally stable across cultures. However, German and Dutch participants showed no hindsight bias, possibly due to item surprise levels.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Cross-Cultural Psychology

Background:

  • Hindsight bias, the 'I-knew-it-all-along' effect, influences judgments of past knowledge.
  • Previous cross-cultural studies yielded mixed results regarding the universality of hindsight bias.

Observation:

  • This study examined hindsight bias in 225 internet participants across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
  • A hypothetical design revealed significant hindsight bias globally, with notable exceptions in German and Dutch samples.

Findings:

  • Hindsight bias was consistently observed across diverse global samples.
  • German and Dutch participants exhibited no hindsight bias, suggesting cultural or methodological factors.
  • A follow-up study indicated that surprising items reduce hindsight bias, while predictable items enhance it.

Related Experiment Videos

Implications:

  • The findings support the cross-cultural stability of hindsight bias, likely rooted in adaptive learning mechanisms.
  • Individual meta-cognitions and motives, such as perceived surprise, can moderate hindsight bias.
  • Understanding these moderators is crucial for reconciling divergent findings in cross-cultural hindsight bias research.