Lecture 1 Illusory Biases Flashcards
Name the four types of illusory biases and briefly describe what each one means
Unrealistic view of self- we perceive ourselves as being greater than the average person particularly so in driving research.
Positive attributional bias- we attribute positive outcomes and situations to personal qualities but negative outcomes to external factors.
Unrealistic optimism bias- we believe that there is a greater chance for positive things to happen to us and a smaller chance of negative things happening to us.
Illusion of control- the tendency to think that we have control over events that are determined by chance
Name the two studies conducted by Svenson (1981) and Horswill, Waylon and Tofield (2004) that show that people have an unrealistic view of themselves when it comes to driving.
Svenson (1981) asked uni students to rate how skilful and safe they were when it came to comparing their driving with those of the average driver. They found that people rated themselves as above average in both skill and safety. But moreso for safety- this is likely due to the fact that safety is harder to objectively measure than skill. Horswill, Waylon and Tofield (2004) asked people to rate themselves and their peers on their driving skill compared with the average U.K. Driver. People rated themselves the highest but peers were still rated above the average driver.
Is an unrealistic view of the self reduced in experts? Describe a study that supports this idea.
Waylen, Horswill, Alexander and McKenna (2004) asked expert and novice drivers to compare their driving ability to those within their cohort. It was found that experts still thought they were above the average expert when it came to driving. The same was true for novices
How big is the correlation found by Horswill and colleagues (2013) between actual driving performance and perceived driving performance? Why is it likely that this bias is prominent in driving?
Zero correlation.
Likely to be prominent in driving due to the rare feedback given. Even crashes, which occur on average 1 in 10 years, do not indicate who was the faulty driving in the situation.
What is positive attributional bias? Describe the results of the meta-analysis conducted by Mezuilis et al. (2004.
Positive attributional bias is the tendency to think good outcomes are a result of personal qualities and poor or negative outcomes are a result of external factors. Mezuilis et al(2004) found that on average the positive attributional bias was large (d=0.96). It was larger for young children and older adults particularly in Western cultures. Depression, anxious and those with ADHD had less pronounced effects.
Why Greenwald and Breckler (1985) argue that positive attributional bias is reflected by genuine beliefs and not how people portray themselves to others?
Because they respond the same when in private as they do in public. They respond quickly (without time to think). They respond the same even with incentives.
Beliefs are reflected in actions.
What is unrealistic optimism bias? Describe a study that confirms it.
Unrealistic optimism bias is the tendency to think that an above average amount of positive things will happen to you and a below average amount of negative things will happen to you. This is confirmed by a study that asked students to compare the likelihood of positive events happening to them with other students and the same for negative events. Students were more likely to attribute positive events happening to them and negative events happening to other people.
What is the illusion of control? Describe the lottery study conducted by Langer (1975) that supports this bias. Does Horswill and McKenna (1999) car driving study support this bias and how?
The illusion of control is the tendency to think that you are able to control things that happen at a chance rate. Langer (1975) either gave ps a lottery ticket or gave them the choice to pick a ticket. They then had an opportunity to sell the ticket the next day. Those who had the choice to pick the lottery ticket sold the ticket for $8.67 compared with those who got given the ticket who sold it for $1.96. Yes Horswill and McKennas (1999) did support this by showing that the tolerance of people’s driving speed decreased when they were the passenger in the car as opposed to the driver.
Why do some think that unrealistic optimism bias is a by-product of the illusion of control? What is the relationship between perception of control and unrealistic optimism?
It has been suggested that when people are not in control of a situation they perceive the other person as a worse driver then them so that is why they prefer slower speeds when not in control. There is a positive relationship between perceived control of a situation and unrealistic optimism bias
What studies suggest that illusory biases are adaptive ?
People with depression tend to not experience these illusory biases. A study by Alloy and Abramson (1979) divided ps into depressed and non depressed groups. They were asked to press a button or not when a yellow light was displayed. Then a green light was flashed at random after the occurrence of the yellow. Ps were asked to estimate how much control they had over the green light occurring. Those in the non depressed group overestimated their ability or control whereas the depressed group knew that they had no control over the light.Furthermore happy people are more likely to experience these biases and this is associated with greater risk taking, improved motivation, persistence and performance.
What studies suggest that illusory biases are maladaptive?
Underestimation of negative or adversive events happening to them. More risk taking behaviours. See safety campaigns directed towards the average person
What are the two main criticisms of illusory research ?
The use of the word “average” can be taken negatively. Therefore do think that they are better. Also if the distribution is postively skewed such that there are few poor or unskillful drivers then it is thereotically possible that people are better than average
When has it been found that we can manipulate illusory bias and get people to be more realistic and careful in observations?
When people have been in serious car accidents they no longer believe they are better than the average person at driving. When you can simulate that the driver was responsible for a serious car accident then the illusory bias is eliminated.
It has been suggested that good mental health is reflected by accurate representations of the world however what psychological phenomenon suggests otherwise and what did Fiske and Taylor say this meant for the type of scientists we are?
It has been suggested that we view the world through illusory biases such that we become charlatan scientists
