Bias In People Research Articles

Opposite-direction spatial working memory biases in people with schizophrenia and healthy controls

BackgroundPeople with schizophrenia (PSZ) show Impaired accuracy in spatial working memory (SWM), thought to reflect abnormalities in the sustained firing of feature selective neurons that are critical for successful encoding and maintenance processes. Recent research has documented a new source of variance in the accuracy of SWM: In healthy adults, SWM representations are unconsciously biased by prior trials such that current-trial responses are attracted to previous-trial responses (serial dependence). This opens a new window to examine how schizophrenia impacts both the sustained neural firing representing the current-trial target and longer-term synaptic plasticity that stores previous-trial information. MethodsWe examined response accuracy in a single-item SWM test with delay intervals of 0, 2, 4, or 8 seconds in 41 PSZ and 32 demographically similar healthy controls (HCS). Our main dependent variable was the bias index, which quantifies the extent to which the current-trial responses were biased toward or away from the previous-trial target. ResultsPSZ showed opposite-direction serial dependence bias effects: HCS showed an attractive bias which increased over increasing delays whereas PSZ showed a repulsion bias that increased over delays. In PSZ, the magnitude of the repulsion bias correlated negatively with broad measures of cognitive ability and WM capacity. ConclusionsPSZ show opposite-direction effects of previous trials on WM. Such qualitatively distinct differences in performance are extremely rare in psychopathology and may index a fundamental alteration in neural processing that could serve as a valuable biomarker for pathophysiology and treatment development research.

Biomarkers of attention bias during public speaking anxiety

The analysis of brain signals and their properties yields significant insights into the fundamental neural impairments associated with attention bias in individuals suffering from public speaking anxiety (PSA). This study aims to identify electroencephalogram (EEG) and performance biomarkers of attention bias in individuals with public speaking anxiety using the ex-Gaussian modeling technique, frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) and delta-beta correlation (DBC). 12 subjects with high (H) PSA and 12 subjects with low (L) PSA performed the modified emotional stroop task. EEG data were captured using the low-cost 14-channel emotiv Epoc+. Results showed that the ex-Gaussian sigma was higher in the emotional condition in the high public speaking anxiety (HPSA) group, indicating attention bias. The study also found higher right FAA in HPSA compared to LPSA group. There was a negative correlation between σ and alpha power in the left region of the brain in the HPSA group, potentially related to attentional bias. Moreover, there was a notable trend towards significantly heightened DBC in the frontal and central regions of the brain among HPSA subjects. In conclusion, in biomedical engineering, the ex-Gaussian model, FAA and DBC are useful because they can identify EEG and performance biomarkers of attention bias in people with PSA.

An Empirical Investigation of the Relationships Among Self-Esteem, Depression and Self-Serving Bias in People with Internet Gaming Disorder.

People are generally characterized by a self-serving bias which describes the tendency to ascribe positive outcomes or success to internal or personal causes (self-enhancement motivation) and ascribe negative outcomes or failure to external or situational causes (self-protection motivation). It has been found that the individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) who have low self-esteem and high depression exhibit an attenuated self-serving bias. However, the relationships among self-esteem, depression and self-serving bias are not clearly identified. A sample of 138 IGD participants completed self-esteem and depression scales and a causal attribution task (Study 1) to examine the relationships among self-esteem, depression and self-serving bias (both self-enhancement and self-protection). In follow-up Study 2, 28 IGD participants were recruited to undertake self-affirmation intervention which can affirm one's sense of global self-view and bolster self-esteem to explore whether self-affirmation would trigger a reduction of depression and a raise of self-serving bias. The results of path analysis in Study 1 showed that the self-serving bias was predicted by self-esteem and depression, and the depression played a mediating role between self-esteem and self-serving bias. The results of Study 2 showed that the IGD participants reported higher self-esteem, lower depression and engaged in more self-protection motivation after affirming-self manipulation as compared with affirming-other manipulation. These findings suggest that self-esteem predicts self-serving bias through depression and self-affirmation could trigger an increase of self-esteem, further decrease depression and improve self-serving bias for the individuals with IGD. The present article clearly identified the relationships among these factors and provided a new approach to promote positive self-concept in individuals with IGD. Future research is warranted to explore the lasting benefits of self-affirmation on domains of education, relationships and gaming withdrawal for the individuals with IGD among different populations.

Evidence of a self-serving bias in people's attributions for their food intake

People often fail to acknowledge external influences on their food intake, but there might be some circumstances in which people are willing to report that those external factors influenced their behavior. This study examined whether participants who believed that they had overeaten would indicate that the portion size they were served influenced their food intake. Participants (119 women) ate a pasta lunch at two separate sessions, one week apart. At the second session, participants were randomly assigned to receive either a regular portion of pasta (the same portion as the first session) or a large portion of pasta (a portion that was twice the size), and to receive false feedback about their food intake indicating that they had either eaten about the same as or substantially more than they had at the previous session. Participants were then asked to indicate the extent to which the amount of food served influenced how much they ate at that second session. Compared to participants who were informed that they had eaten the same amount across the two sessions, those who were informed that they ate more at the second session reported a stronger influence of the amount of food served if they also received a large portion of pasta, but not if they received a regular portion of pasta. These findings suggest that the willingness to implicate external influences (e.g., portion size) on one's food intake may be driven by a self-serving bias, providing an “excuse” for overeating. However, the external cue must be salient enough to be a plausible explanation for one's behavior.

Latine children's attributions of cultural and structural discrimination and the role of neighborhood context

AbstractWe investigated first‐and second‐generation Latine immigrant children's attributions for cultural and structural discrimination, and how this differed based on their own neighborhood composition. Participants were recruited from 19 elementary schools (N = 101 girls, 101 boys), and ranged in age from 8 to 12 years old (M = 9.22; SD = 11.98 months). All children were either first‐generation (40%) or second‐generation (60%) immigrants from Mexico, South America, and Central America. Mixed ANCOVAs analyzed how attributions of structural and cultural discrimination differed based on children's perceptions of ethnic residential composition. The findings indicated that elementary school‐aged Latine children, regardless of neighborhood composition, were aware of the biased cultural narrative that Latine immigrants are “criminals.” This seems to be the most salient form of cultural discrimination for children in middle childhood and echoes much of the political rhetoric around immigration reform. Children's own neighborhood composition predicted their understanding of residential segregation. Children who lived in predominantly White neighborhoods perceived segregation to be due to White people's biases, whereas children who lived in predominantly Latine neighborhoods perceived segregation to be due to Latine families’ economic disadvantage or both groups’ mutual preferences. These findings suggest that Latine children, by middle childhood, are aware of biased cultural narratives in the U.S., and their understanding of structural inequalities are related to the neighborhood context in which they live.

온라인 마켓의 평점 제공을 위한 시각화 디자인 방식에 따른 소비자 의사결정 편향

This study investigated the biases associated with commonly used bar or star designs for visualizing product or service reviews in online markets. Previous research has shown biases in decision-making when inferring average scores using bar graphs, but it remained unclear whether similar biases exist with star shapes or other visualization designs. Therefore, it is crucial to examine whether the methods of using bar, star, and violin plot designs for product reviews actually induce biases in people's judgment of scores. A total of 257 participants took part in the study, where they were presented with product rating designs created using bar, star, and violin plot methods and asked to make decisions. The results revealed biases in bar and star designs compared to violin plot. This suggests that biases may occur due to human perceptual characteristics even when providing simple average rating designs and indicates that violin plot methods, which provide information on both average and distribution simultaneously, may help reduce biases in specific decision-making tasks.

Agreement with weight-neutral compared to weight-centric physical activity messages and relationships to sedentary behavior, physical activity, and internalized weight bias in people living in larger bodies

Agreement with weight-neutral compared to weight-centric physical activity messages and relationships to sedentary behavior, physical activity, and internalized weight bias in people living in larger bodies

The influence of gender in cognitive insight and cognitive bias in people with first-episode psychosis: an uncontrolled exploratory analysis.

Previous studies have investigated the role of gender in clinical symptoms, social functioning, and neuropsychological performance in people with first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, the evidence of gender differences for metacognition in subjects with FEP is still limited and controversial. The aim of the present study was to explore gender differences in cognitive insight and cognitive biases in this population. Cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 104 patients with FEP (35 females and 69 males) recruited from mental health services. Symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, cognitive insight with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale, and cognitive bias by the Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis. The assessment also included clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. After controlling for potential confounders (level of education, marital status, and duration of psychotic illness) analysis of covariance revealed that males presented greater self-reflectiveness (p = 0.004) when compared to females. However, no significant differences were found in self-certainty and composite index of the cognitive insight scale, as in the cognitive biases assessed. Gender was an independent influence factor for self-reflectiveness, being better for males. Self-reflectiveness, if shown to be relatively lacking in women, could contribute to the design of more gender-sensitive and effective psychotherapeutic treatments, as being able to self-reflect predicts to better treatment response in psychosis.

AGE DIFFERENCES IN SUNK COST DECISIONS FOR ONESELF VERSUS A LOVED ONE

Abstract Previous research has established that older adults are less biased by irretrievable prior investments or ‘sunk costs’ when making a decisions about continuing a failing project. Such decisions often have implications for other people, but most research to date has focused on individuals making decisions for themselves. Here, we investigated whether age differences in willingness to discontinue a failing project and start over depended upon the intended beneficiary (self or loved one) as well as the type of investment (money or time). Participants (N=1075, Mage=53.49 yrs; 56.2% Women) from the American Life Panel responded to an online survey and made hypothetical decisions about a failing project. At all ages, when the project was for oneself, individuals were less willing to discontinue it and start over when money (versus time) had been invested, whereas when the project was for a loved one, willingness to start over did not depend on whether money or time had been invested. The association between older age and greater willingness to discontinue a failing project and start over was stronger when projects were for oneself compared to a loved one. Implications of the findings for understanding aging and decision making in a social context, and strategies for reducing sunk-cost bias in people of all ages are discussed.

Cognitive Biases and Insomnia Symptoms in People With and Without Chronic Pain

Chronic pain and insomnia symptoms are highly comorbid; however, the psychological mechanisms driving this comorbidity are not well understood. The aim of the present study was to assess whether 2 cognitive biases that occur separately in chronic pain and insomnia, that is, interpretation bias and attentional bias, are heightened in people with comorbid chronic pain and elevated insomnia symptoms. A final sample of N = 109 people with chronic pain and N = 79 people without pain who varied in insomnia symptoms were recruited through Prolific Academic to complete this cross-sectional study. Participants completed measures of sleep and pain-related interpretation bias (ambiguous sentences task) and attentional bias (dot-probe task), as well as questionnaires assessing insomnia symptoms, pain symptoms, and general psychological symptoms. We found an interaction between pain status and insomnia symptoms for sleep-related interpretation bias. That is, people with chronic pain showed greater sleep-related interpretation bias than those without pain, but only when insomnia symptoms were also elevated. This interaction did not extend to pain interpretation bias or attentional bias, although we did find an elevated pain interpretation bias in people with chronic pain compared to pain-free individuals. We also found that both pain and sleep-related interpretation bias were associated with depression symptoms, suggesting that interpretation bias could potentially drive a trimorbidity of chronic pain, insomnia, and depression. Taken together, these findings suggest promise for the role of interpretation bias in the mutual maintenance of chronic pain and insomnia symptoms and the importance of also considering depression. PerspectiveThis article presents data on the cognitive biases that are present in chronic pain, and that are associated with increased insomnia symptoms. Identifying such cognitive biases could help in explaining the high comorbidity between chronic pain and insomnia, leading to more effective and targeted treatments.

Perceived position on the social ladder and redistributive preferences – A survey experiment from the Kyrgyz Republic

Prior research has established that both perceived and actual inequality matter for redistributive preferences. Hence, misconceptions can alter public demand for government intervention. Survey experiments have found systematic biases in people's inequality perceptions and found that, in some contexts, the provision of correct information may alter their preferences for redistribution. This literature has, however, centered around high-income, Western nations. This paper uses an experimental survey design to understand the effect of perceived poverty and inequality on the preferences for redistribution in the Kyrgyz Republic. Using primary survey data collected from 2000 households, we first analyze the attitudes of different socio-economic groups towards the poor and the extent to which attitudes predict preferences for redistributive policies. Secondly, we focus on how the perceived socio-economic position influences support for redistribution. Finally, using an experimental survey design, we estimate the effect of correcting misconceptions about individuals' socio-economic position on the support for redistribution. We find that the relationships between poverty attitudes and demand for government redistribution is similar to a high-income, Western context. Overall, demand for redistribution remains robust to new information about the position in the income distribution. The correction of biased perceptions only altered stated preferences for people with specific already-held beliefs.

"It's not an overreaction": Increasing White people's acceptance of the reality of bias and receptivity to Black people's bias concerns

Many White people deny that racial bias is pervasive and suggest that Black people who confront bias are oversensitive. We propose that White people will be more likely to accept the reality of ongoing bias and become receptive to Black people's concerns about this bias if they: (1) understand the cumulative burden of racial bias and (2) recognize that White people's perspective on the frequency and impact of bias is limited. In four longitudinal experiments, we randomly assigned White participants to read a research-based article that communicated these concepts (reality of bias article) or a control article; approximately two weeks later, in ostensibly unrelated studies, we assessed their receptivity to Black people's bias concerns. At Time 2, those who had previously read the reality of bias (vs. control) article were more likely to validate a Black confronter's concern about bias (Study 1), less likely to perceive that Black people generally overreact to bias (Study 2), and more likely to defend Black people's bias concerns when a peer argued that Black people overreact to bias (Studies 2–4). Study 4 tested the independent effect of each concept – cumulative burden and limited perspective – and found that both are needed to create enduring increases in receptivity. An internal meta-analysis indicates that these findings are robust. Learning about cumulative burden and limited perspective increased White people's recognition of ongoing racial bias and validation of Black people's bias concerns in an independent context encountered later. We discuss implications for developing interventions to foster receptivity.

Resampling reduces bias amplification in experimental social networks.

Large-scale social networks are thought to contribute to polarization by amplifying people's biases. However, the complexity of these technologies makes it difficult to identify the mechanisms responsible and evaluate mitigation strategies. Here we show under controlled laboratory conditions that transmission through social networks amplifies motivational biases on a simple artificial decision-making task. Participants in a large behavioural experiment showed increased rates of biased decision-making when part of a social network relative to asocial participants in 40 independently evolving populations. Drawing on ideas from Bayesian statistics, we identify a simple adjustment to content-selection algorithms that is predicted to mitigate bias amplification by generating samples of perspectives from within an individual's network that are more representative of the wider population. In two large experiments, this strategy was effective at reducing bias amplification while maintaining the benefits of information sharing. Simulations show that this algorithm can also be effective in more complex networks.

Comparing cigarette-cue attentional bias between people with HIV/AIDS and people with opioid use disorder who smoke

ABSTRACT Background: Special populations like people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and people with opioid use disorder (OUD) smoke tobacco cigarettes at rates three to four times greater than the general population. Patients with tobacco use disorder exhibit attentional bias (AB) for cigarette cues. Eye tracking can quantify this bias by measuring fixation time (FT) on cigarette and matched neutral cues, to calculate an AB score. Although previous studies have measured this bias in people who smoke without any other comorbid conditions, no study, to our knowledge, has measured or compared this bias in special populations. Methods: We performed exploratory analyses on eye tracking data collected in two separate randomized clinical trials (RCTs) (NCT05049460, NCT05295953). We compared FT and cigarette-cue AB score (measured by subtracting FT on neutral cues from FT on cigarette cues) between PLWHA and people with OUD who smoke, using a visual probe task and Tobii Pro Fusion eye tracker. We used two cigarette cue types, one encompassing people smoking cigarettes and the other consisting of cigarette paraphernalia. We used two cue presentation times, 1000 and 2000 milliseconds (ms). Results: Cues of people smoking cigarettes elicited greater AB than cues of cigarette paraphernalia across both subject groups when cues were presented for 2000 ms, but not 1000 ms. PLWHA who smoke exhibited greater AB for cues of people smoking cigarettes than cigarette paraphernalia when presented for 2000 ms compared to people with OUD who smoke. Conclusion: We use cigarette-cue AB to quantify craving and cigarette consumption in two populations smoking at elevated rates. The addition of social cues potentiates cigarette cue AB, based on cue type and stimulus presentation time. Understanding the neurobiology of this relationship can help design novel smoking cessation treatments that target AB and prevent relapse in these populations with suboptimal response to smoking cessation treatments. Trial registration: Clinical trials that provided the data for post hoc analyses are NCT05049460 and NCT05295953.

Unveiling the process of phishing precautions taking: The moderating role of optimism bias

Phishing has emerged as a critical security threat to individuals and organizations. Academics and practitioners have developed various methods to convince individuals to take preventive measures against phishing attacks. However, people are not rational decision makers. One important factor influencing one's risk decision making is optimism bias, which refers to people's tendency to believe that they are less likely to experience negative events and more likely to experience positive events than others. It is well indicated in the literature that optimism bias may hinder one's efforts to develop and implement risk-reducing behaviors. To the best of our knowledge, the important role played by optimism bias in people's decision-making process with respect to phishing has not been fully explored in previous studies. Drawing on the theory of reasoned action, our research explored how optimism bias moderates the relationship between phishing risk and attitude toward the adoption of preventive measures against phishing attacks. The results indicate that phishing risk determines the attitude toward preventive measures against phishing attacks, and that optimism bias weakens this relationship.

The CollaboUse Test for Automated Creativity Measurement in Individuals and Teams: A Construct Validation Study

ABSTRACT The automation of creativity measurement is a promising avenue of development, given that classic creativity assessments face challenges such as resource-intensive expert judgments, subjective creativity ratings, and biases in people’s self-reports. In this paper, we present a construct validation study for CollaboUse, a test developed to deliver fully automated creativity assessments for individuals and teams, based on the testing logic of the Alternative Uses Task. The CollaboUse can be taken online, with test-takers prompted to think up many, diverse and original ideas in three minutes. A construct validation study has been hosted on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), yielding valid data from N = 103 participants. A comprehensive set of metrics was obtained via automated assessment tools (CollaboUse, Immune Defense, C-Tracer), classic expert ratings of creative performance (Alternative Uses Task, and CollaboUse test responses judged by human experts), as well as self-reports (Creative Achievement Questionnaire, BIG5 Personality Inventory). Results indicate that automated tests as available with the CollaboUse deliver similar results to expert-judged creative performance.

The Bias of Physicians and Lack of Education in Patients of Color With Melanoma as Causes of Increased Mortality: A Scoping Review.

Minorities, particularly non-White minorities, often encounter implicit biases from healthcare professionals that may impact their standard of care and quality of life. The study of dermatology has long been based on Whites, unintentionally affecting the treatment of non-White patients. Melanoma, although mostly curable, can become fatal in those presenting with advanced stages at diagnosis. Despite being rare in racial minorities, melanoma is associated with a worse prognosis among them compared to White populations. In light of this, the objective of this study was to determine the role of education in preventing biases and improving the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma in minority groups to improve patient outcomes. This study was designed as a scoping review to gather evidence on the impact of implicit bias and lack of education on the treatment of melanoma in people of color. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA) guidelines, we searched for peer-reviewed studies involving melanoma, education, and treatment bias in people of color on the databases PubMed, Medline EBSCO, CINAHL, and Cochrane. The data were extracted pertaining to the following main aspects:(1) risk factors, (2) surveys of current knowledge, and 3) educational interventions. This scoping review identified socioeconomic factors, bias, and lack of education in minority populations as causes of increased mortality rates in melanoma. Moreover, because preventative dermatology is largely based on White skin types, incorporating darker skin tones into education will help dispel implicit bias. Additionally, there is evidence to indicate that current patient knowledge and understanding of skin cancer is inaccurate among many and can be significantly improved through educational interventions, such as brochures and videos. Further educational interventions may be beneficial to increase understanding of melanoma in populations of color to address health disparities in dermatological care.

Exposure to Violence Is Not Associated With Accuracy in Forecasting Conflict Outcomes

Exposure to harsh or unpredictable environments can impair social and cognitive functioning. However, people may also develop enhanced abilities for solving challenges relevant in those environments (‘hidden talents’). In the current study, we explored the associations between people’s ability to accurately forecast conflict outcomes and their past and current experiences with violence. To do so, we used dynamic, real-world videos with known outcomes, rather than static, artificial stimuli (e.g., vignettes) with unknown outcomes, as previous research has done. We conducted a preregistered study in the Netherlands that included a final sample of 127 participants: 63 from a community sample and 64 college students. We found no support for our core hypothesis that people who experienced more violence are more accurate in forecasting conflict outcomes. Thus, we did not find support for hidden talents, contributing to an evidence base that was already mixed and inconclusive. We did find support for our auxiliary hypothesis that college students would wear ‘rose-colored glasses’, underestimating the number of conflicts that would escalate into fights. Contrary to our other two auxiliary hypotheses, the community sample did not overestimate the number of conflicts that would escalate into fights, and people who have experienced more violence were not more likely to predict that conflicts will escalate into fights. These findings have implications for the literature on hostile attribution bias, which shows that people with more exposure to violence more likely interpret the ambiguous actions of others as hostile. Whereas this pattern is often attributed to negativity bias in people with more exposure to violence, it might also reflect rose-colored glasses on people living safer lives.

Bias in Self-Reports: An Initial Elevation Phenomenon

Researchers have long worried about a phenomenon where study participants give higher ratings on self-report scales the first time they take a survey compared to subsequent times, particularly for negative subjective experiences. Recent experimental evidence, using samples of U.S. college students, suggests that this initial elevation phenomenon is due to an upward bias in people’s initial responses. Such bias potentially undermines the validity of many research findings. However, more recent studies have found little evidence in support of the phenomenon. To investigate the robustness of the initial elevation phenomenon, we conducted the largest experiments to date in diverse online samples (N = 5,285 across three studies, from Prolific.co). We observed an initial elevation on self-reports of negative subjective experiences such as mood and mental and physical health symptoms. Our findings show that the threats to validity posed by the phenomenon are real and need to be reckoned with.

Perceptions and correspondence of climate change beliefs and behavior among romantic couples

Romantic partners influence each other's beliefs and behaviors. However, little is known about the dynamics of climate change beliefs and behaviors within romantic couples. We surveyed 758 romantic couples (N = 1,516 individuals) to investigate (a) correspondence between partners' climate change beliefs/behaviors, (b) accuracy and bias in people's perceptions of their partner's beliefs/behaviors, (c) whether a person's perceptions of their partner's beliefs/behaviors are more strongly predicted by that partner's actual beliefs/behaviors or by projections of one's own beliefs/behaviors, and (d) how perceptual accuracy varies across moderating variables such as frequency of discussion about global warming. We find that climate change beliefs and behaviors often differ between romantic partners. Moreover, people's perceptions of their partner's beliefs/behaviors are predicted by their own beliefs and behaviors (assumed similarity), independently from the predictive effect of their partner's actual beliefs and behaviors (accuracy). We identify opportunities for future research on relationship-based climate change interventions.