9.2 Biases

Learning Goals

[Link to PlayPosit]

[Link to instructional video]

More details: [link to topic on SSS website]

After this lesson, students should

1. Be wary of underestimating the influence of context or circumstance on human behavior (their own and others’). E.g. Circumstance excuses my bad behavior more than it excuses the bad behavior of others.
2. Be aware of the difficulty of resisting pressures to conform, in oneself and others. E.g. Other people conform, but I can easily resist conforming whenever I wish.
3. Be able to sort situations by the difficulty of resisting conformity, according to:
   1. Number of people conforming
   2. Identification with the group
   3. Confidence that the group is mistaken
   4. Presence or absence of a dissenter
4. Be aware of the difficulty of resisting pressures to obey, in oneself and others. E.g. It is easy for people to disobey when they think orders are unjust or wrong.
5. Be able to sort situations by the difficulty of resisting obedience, according to:
   1. Perceived authority of the “authority” giving instructions
   2. Proximity of the authority
   3. Proximity of the “victim”
   4. Presence of another disobeying
   5. Availability or salience of alternative, disobedient behaviors
6. Predict that people will engage in temporal discounting when making decisions between something now vs. something later. E.g. People make decisions based on how good they think the outcomes will be, not based on when those outcomes will happen.
7. Be wary of their own temptation to excessive temporal discounting when making decisions, choosing immediate rewards over longer term benefits. E.g. If I choose to get something less good that I can get sooner, it’s always because I need it sooner.
8. Be aware and wary of status quo bias. E.g. The way things are is the best way for things to be. Keeping things the way they are is safer.
9. Understand not to assume the status quo is necessarily stable, even if we don’t try to change it. E.g. It is possible to keep things just the way they are, and that is the most stable and predictable approach.

Definitions

• Fundamental attribution error

  The tendency to underestimate the importance of context and circumstance and overestimate the importance of individual differences in explaining and predicting behaviors, especially behaviors of other people.

• Conformity

  The tendency to behave similarly to others in proximity or in one’s in-group, sometimes despite good reasons to behave differently from others.

• Obedience

  Behavior following the instructions or commands of others perceived as having some authority.

• Temporal discounting

Examples

• [item 1]

Common Misconceptions

• Mistaken quote

  Explanation.

Context

[Explanation of how the current topic into the larger context of the course by explaining how the previous topic(s) relate to the current topic and leaving cliffhangers for future topics where relevant throughout the lesson]

Before

7.1 Orders of Understanding

Orders of Understanding is about how each event arises from multiple influences, some more important than others. Human behavior, for instance, is affected by both individual differences and by circumstance or context, and we often overestimate the former and underestimate the latter (FAE).

8.1 Heuristics and Biases I]

The first lesson on H&B is on “cold” biases around numbers and frequencies. The second lesson (this one) is on “hot” biases, more emotion and value-laden thinking. Both involve heuristics, strategies for making quick judgments that can be useful in some contexts but can also go awry.

After

10.1 Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is a broader form of bias in which people tend to look for and believe evidence or arguments supporting what they already believe or expect, and to neglect or dismiss evidence and arguments against what they believe or expect. It can exacerbate other biases, including status quo bias, temporal discounting, and/or the fundamental attribution error.

12.1 Wisdom of Crowds and Herd Thinking

Herd thinking is what happens when people in a group conform too much to each other’s ideas, neglecting problems with their ideas and convincing each other to become more confident in their shared ideas than is warranted. This tendency is undergirded by the pressure to conform to the group and also the pressure to go along with anyone in the group perceived as an authority (obedience).

13.1 Scenario Planning

Scenario Planning involves considering four different possible future scenarios. It is one strategy that may reduce status quo bias and temporal discounting by making more salient a variety of possible futures, and how they may differ from the present in both desirable and undesirable ways.

Recommended Outline

Before Class

• [Any essential logistical things that need to be done for this class]
• Prepare a seating chart.
• Review PlayPosit and discussion questions and ask faculty, Gabriel, or Emlen any questions you have.
• (Optional) Prepare a presentation.

During Class

• (5 min) Come up with some fun way to assign the roles of spokesperson and notetaker (e.g. earliest birthday in the year, lives furthest from campus). Remind them of the responsibilities of these roles.
• ([#] min) [Description of some module from #Lesson Content]
• (5 min) Collect questions for plenary.

After Class

• [Any essential logistical things that need to be done as followup for this class]
• Collect answers from notetakers for the forum / plenary.
• Remind students to read the assigned articles for 9.1 Pathological Science.

Lesson Content

Clicker Question

Question

1. First option
2. Second option
3. Third option
4. Fourth option

Activity 1: Name

[Brief description of and motivation for the activity]

Discussion Questions

1. Question 1
   1. Subquestion a

   2. Subquestion b

Collect Questions for Plenary

(5 min) Collect remaining questions from the students for faculty in plenary (can be questions for clarification, extension, discussion, etc.), and add [ here].