Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 26, 2026
09:03
Post-Movie Subliminal Measurement PMSM, for Investigating Implicit Social Bias
Published on: February 29, 2020
6.4K
Political bias is tenacious.
Peter H Ditto1, Sean P Wojcik2, Eric Evan Chen3
1Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-7085. phditto@uci.edu http://socialecology.uci.edu/faculty/phditto
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|January 21, 2016
Summary
Political bias in social psychology is a concern, but it is easily corrected. Both liberals and conservatives exhibit partisan bias, which can increase with cognitive sophistication, impacting the pursuit of truth.
Area of Science:
- Social psychology
- Political science
Background:
- Political bias is a recognized issue in social psychology.
- Partisan bias affects both liberal and conservative individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the extent of political bias in social psychology.
- To assess the ease of correcting partisan bias.
- To explore the impact of cognitive sophistication on bias.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of political bias in social psychology research.
- Examination of bias across different political affiliations (liberal and conservative).
- Investigation into the relationship between cognitive sophistication and partisan bias.
Main Results:
- Partisan bias is prevalent among both liberals and conservatives.
- Cognitive sophistication can exacerbate partisan bias.
- Increasing the number of non-liberal researchers may not accelerate the discovery of truth but could diversify research questions and data.
Conclusions:
- Political bias in social psychology is a manageable issue.
- Cognitive sophistication does not inherently reduce partisan bias.
- Diversity in researchers' political views may enhance research scope rather than truth convergence.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Bias
7.9K
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.
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
7.9K
01:25Motivational Bias
472
Cognitive bias results from limitations in thinking and information processing, leading to systematic errors in judgment. Conversely, motivational bias stems from personal desires or emotions, causing distortions in perception to align with self-interest. Motivational bias influences how individuals perceive and attribute causes to events, often shaped by personal needs, goals, and self-esteem preservation. This bias can distort judgment, leading to inaccurate assessments of success, failure,...
472
01:29Bias in Epidemiological Studies
1.6K
Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is:
1.6K
01:17Correspondence Bias
320
Correspondence bias, also referred to as the fundamental attribution error, describes the tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to internal characteristics rather than situational influences. This cognitive bias leads individuals to overlook external factors that may be influencing actions, thereby fostering potentially inaccurate assessments of others’ intentions and dispositions.Empirical Evidence for Correspondence BiasResearch has consistently demonstrated the...
320
01:31Confirmation Biases
8.6K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
8.6K
01:29Self-Serving Bias
301
Self-serving bias is a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals attribute positive outcomes to internal factors such as their abilities, intelligence, or effort while attributing negative outcomes to external circumstances. This cognitive distortion helps maintain self-esteem but can also impede objective self-assessment.Theoretical Explanations of Self-Serving BiasTwo primary theories explain the self-serving bias: the cognitive explanation and the motivational explanation.The cognitive...
301