bias

Examples of bias in the following topics:

• Historical Bias

• Media Bias

  • Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers in the selection of events and stories that are reported, and how they are covered.
  • Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media, concerning the selection of events and stories that are reported, and how they are covered.
  • The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article.
  • The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed.
  • The most commonly discussed forms of bias occur when the media support or attack a particular political party, candidate, or ideology; however, other common forms of bias exist, including advertising bias, corporate bias, mainstream bias, sensationalism, and concision bias.

• Diversity Bias

  • A cognitive bias is the human tendency to make systematic decisions in certain circumstances based on cognitive factors rather than evidence.
  • Bias arises from various processes that are sometimes difficult to distinguish.
  • Examples include the false-consensus bias, status quo bias, in-group favoritism, and stereotyping.
  • A cognitive bias in which the current baseline (or status quo) is taken as a reference point, and any change from that baseline is perceived as a loss.
  • A large body of evidence, however, shows that an irrational preference for the status quo—a status quo bias—frequently has a negative affect on decision-making.

• Sampling Bias

  • This section discusses various types of sampling biases including self-selection bias and survivorship bias.
  • A common type of sampling bias is to sample too few observations from a segment of the population.
  • Gains in stock funds is an area in which survivorship bias often plays a role.
  • Therefore, there is a bias toward selecting better-performing funds.
  • There is good evidence that this survivorship bias is substantial (Malkiel, 1995).

• Culture Bias

  • We all carry cultural biases, intentional or otherwise; try to find and address cultural bias within your speech.
  • Remember, bias doesn't necessarily mean exclusion, so bias can mean a preference for one culture over another.
  • Cultural bias exists in two forms when speaking in public.
  • There's the cultural bias you bring to the podium.
  • To overcome cultural bias, take a step back from your speech.

• Gender Bias

  • Gender bias exists because of the social construction and language of gender itself; recognize it and try to avoid it when speaking.
  • Before we can start talking about gender bias, it's first helpful to understand the concept of gender.
  • Just as you want to be cognizant and aware of the cultural biases that exist between both you and your audience, you'll want to be equally aware of how gender bias may factor into your speech.
  • Taking a step back and considering what gender bias you bring to the table, as well as what gender biases your audience might have of you is an important step in eliminating or at least addressing gender bias in your speech.
  • The late Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, faced both gender and cultural bias in her two brief terms as a world leader.

• Gender Bias in the Classroom

  • Gender-based achievement gaps suggest the existence of gender bias in the classroom.
  • Teachers may reinforce gender bias simply by drawing distinctions between boys and girls.
  • Teachers may reinforce gender bias simply by drawing distinctions between boys and girls.
  • If test score gaps are evidence of gender bias, where does that gender bias come from?
  • Further, though most research and debate about gender bias in the classroom focuses on bias against girls, recent evidence suggests that boys may be falling behind girls, especially in literacy.

• Personal Biases

  • Confirmation bias: This is probably the most common and the most subliminal, as many people naturally exhibit this bias without even knowing it.
  • Often times called selective search for evidence, confirmation bias occurs when decision makers seek out evidence that confirms their previously held beliefs, while discounting or diminishing the impact of evidence in support of differing conclusions.
  • Overconfidence bias: This is another potentially disruptive personal bias and occurs when a person subjectively overestimates the reliability of their judgments versus an objectively accurate outcome.
  • Groupthink: This is a bias within group decision making that leads the group toward harmony rather than a realistic evaluation of alternatives.
  • Other personal biases can take on a variety of forms and may extend to either the holder of the bias or to external parties.

• The Problems with Polls

  • Problems with polls typically stem either from issues with the methodology that bias the sample or the responses that cause the bias.
  • In these cases, bias introduces new errors, in addition to errors caused by sample size.
  • Surveys may be affected by response bias, where the answers given by respondents do not reflect their true beliefs.
  • A common technique to control for this bias is to rotate the order in which questions are asked.
  • There may be a purposeful intent on the part of respondents leading to self-selection bias whereas other types of selection bias may arise more inadvertently, possibly as the result of mistakes by those designing any given study.

• Mass Media and Technology

  • Media bias refers the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media.
  • Bias exists in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.
  • The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article.
  • The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed .
  • The apparent bias of media is not always specifically political in nature.