Naive Realism and the Bias Blind Spot
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac? With this simple question, comedian George Carlin aptly summarizes people’s naturally tendencies to view their own beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors as correct and as the “right” way to think or act. These naïve realist perceptions, then, often lead us to view behavior or beliefs that differ from our own as biased, uninformed, and/or wrong — to see people driving a different speed than us as either slow driving idiots or speeding maniacs. In Being Wrong, Schulz draws upon research by WSU’s own Dr. Joyce Ehrlinger to describe people’s tendencies to have a “blind spot” when it comes to their own biases. Dr. Ehrlinger will use Schulz’s discussion as a launch pad to talk with students about the tendency for people to be blind to their own biases but keenly observant of bias of others. She will also talk about the social consequences of the bias blind spot as well as strategies that we can use to avoid the natural tendency to think ourselves always “right” but view others as often “wrong.”
Presenter Name: Dr. Joyce Ehrlinger
Date Recorded: November 26, 2013