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Bias

Bias

Bias refers to any tendency that prevents a question from being considered unprejudiced. In research, bias occurs when one outcome or answer is selected or encouraged over others in sampling or testing. Bias can occur during any research phase, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
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In order to make good decisions, we use our knowledge and our reasoning. Often, this knowledge and reasoning is sound and solid. However, sometimes, we are swayed by biases or by others manipulating a situation. For example, let’s say you and three friends wanted to rent a house and had a combined target budget of $1,600. The realtor shows you only very run-down houses for $1,600 and then shows you a very nice house for $2,000. Might you ask each person to pay more in rent to get the...

Halo Effect

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The process of hypothesis testing based on the P-value method includes calculating the P- value using the sample data and interpreting it.
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Decision Making

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

Optimal decision making in heterogeneous and biased environments.

¹School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, POB 39040, Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel, rani.moran@gmail.com.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

|June 15, 2014

Summary

Optimal decision-making in complex environments requires dynamic adjustments to evidence accumulation thresholds. Standard models like the drift diffusion model (DDM) are suboptimal in heterogeneous conditions, necessitating a dynamic bias for optimal performance.

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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

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Last Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

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Published on: August 25, 2023

Area of Science:

Cognitive psychology
Computational neuroscience
Decision theory

Background:

Optimal performance in speeded two-choice tasks is crucial for decision-making theories.
The sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) and drift diffusion model (DDM) guide optimality in homogeneous environments.
Prior integration bias accommodates environmental biases in current models.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate optimal decision-making strategies in difficulty-heterogeneous environments.
To evaluate the equivalence and optimality of SPRT and DDM in biased and heterogeneous settings.
To determine necessary components for optimal performance within the DDM framework.

Main Methods:

Theoretical analysis of decision-making models.
Comparison of SPRT and DDM in heterogeneous environments.
Modeling optimal evidence accumulation with dynamic threshold adjustments.

Main Results:

SPRT and DDM are suboptimal in difficulty-heterogeneous environments.
Optimal performance requires dynamic adjustment of choice thresholds during evidence accumulation.
Optimal decision-making in biased environments necessitates both prior and dynamic bias components within the DDM.

Conclusions:

Standard DDM and SPRT are insufficient for optimal performance in heterogeneous environments.
Dynamic bias adjustment is critical for achieving optimality under environmental complexity.
Findings support dynamic bias as essential for optimal decision-making, challenging alternative theories.