Seek and ye shall find: test results are what you hypothesize they are

Disregarding Preliminary Information When Rating Job Applicants' Performance: Mission Impossible?1

“…It is plausible for an overall appraisal of a candidate and an assessment of his or her performance in a specific test to be positively correlated so that considering one while examining the other seems to be reasonable. However, it is doubtful that individuals can assign the preliminary information the “correct” weight, rather than rely on it overly, as indicated by ample studies (e.g., Ben‐Shakhar et al., 1998). These considerations led us to try to reduce reliance on preliminary information by means of instructions to disregard, and an array of interventions.…”

Toward a General Framework of Biased Reasoning: Coherence-Based Reasoning

“…Confirmation bias has been observed also in the domains of scientific research (Greenhoot et al, 2004), medical decision-making (Graber et al, 2005; Kohn et al, 2000; Ludolph & Schulz, 2018; O’Sullivan & Schofield, 2018; Wallsten, 1981), psychiatric diagnoses (Langer & Abelson, 1974), clinical psychology (Ben-Shakhar et al, 1998; Zapf et al, 2018), and other contexts. Researchers have also identified the reciprocal “disconfirmation bias,” by which evidence that is incompatible with one’s beliefs is dismissed or perceived as too weak to affect the conclusion (Edwards & Smith, 1996; Taber et al, 2009).…”

Current status of forensic lie detection with the comparison question technique: An update of the 2003 National Academy of Sciences report on polygraph testing.

“…This bias is ubiquitous, influencing judgments across a broad variety of contexts, and of substantial current concern as it relates to the reproducibility crisis confronting science (Forstmeier, Wagenmakers, & Parker, 2017). It has been observed in economics (Jones & Sugden, 2001), emergency medical decision making (Pines, 2006), psychodiagnosis (Ben-Shakhar, Bar-Hillel, Bilu, & Shefler, 1998), and political beliefs (Taber & Lodge, 2006). Evidence for confirmation bias has also been observed in forensic settings, demonstrating that all stages of This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”