View source for Bias

{{short description|Inclination for or against}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Man In The Moon2.png|thumb|[[Man in the Moon|Interpretations of the random patterns of craters on the Moon]]. A common example of a perceptual bias caused by [[pareidolia]].]]
'''Bias''' is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is inaccurate, [[Open-mindedness|closed-minded]], [[Prejudice|prejudicial]], or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, or a belief.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Steinbock|first1=Bonnie|title=Speciesism and the Idea of Equality|journal=Philosophy|date=1978|issue=204|pages=247–256|doi=10.1017/S0031819100016582|volume=53|s2cid=170331649 }}</ref> In science and engineering, a bias is a [[systematic error]]. [[Statistical bias]] results from an unfair [[Sample (statistics)|sampling]] of a population, or from an [[estimation]] process that does not give accurate results on average.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal|last1=Welsh|first1=Matthew|last2=Begg|first2=Steve|date=2016|title=What have we learned? Insights from a decade of bias research|journal=The APPEA Journal|volume=56|issue=1|pages=435|doi=10.1071/aj15032|issn=1326-4966}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word appears to [[Derivative (linguistics)|derive]] from [[Old Occitan|Old Provençal]] into [[Old French]] ''biais'', "sideways, askance, against the grain". Whence comes [[French language|French]] ''biais'', "a slant, a slope, an oblique".<ref name=etymology>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/bias|title=Online Etymology Dictionary, ''Bias''|access-date=26 Aug 2018|archive-date=26 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826113428/https://www.etymonline.com/word/bias|url-status=live}}</ref>

It seems to have entered [[English (language)|English]] via the game of [[bowls]], where it referred to balls made with a greater weight on one side. Then, it expanded to the figurative use, "a one-sided tendency of the mind", and, at first especially in law, "undue propensity or prejudice".<ref name=etymology /> or [[ballast]], used to lower the centre of gravity of a ship to increase stability and to keep the ship from one side.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Westcott |first=Sir Abell |title=The Shipwright's Trade |publisher=University Press |year=1948 |isbn=9781001385709}}</ref>

==Types==

===Cognitive biases===
{{Main|Cognitive bias|List of cognitive biases}}
A cognitive bias is a repeating or basic misstep in thinking, assessing, recollecting, or other cognitive processes.<ref name=Chegg>{{cite web| title =Definition of Cognitive Bias | publisher =Chegg | url =http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/cognitive-bias-13 | access-date =1 September 2015 | url-status =live | archive-url =https://archive.today/20160509015823/http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/cognitive-bias-13 | archive-date =9 May 2016 }}</ref> That is, a pattern of deviation from standards in judgment, whereby inferences may be created unreasonably.<ref>{{cite book|last=Haselton, M. G. |author2=Nettle, D. |author3=Andrews, P. W. |name-list-style=amp|title=The evolution of cognitive bias.|year=2005|publisher=Hoboken, NJ, US: John Wiley & Sons Inc|location=In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology|pages=724–746}}</ref> People create their own "subjective [[social reality]]" from their own perceptions,<ref>{{cite book|last=Bless, H. |author2=Fiedler, K. |author3=Strack, F. |name-list-style=amp |title=Social cognition: How individuals construct social reality.|year=2004|publisher=Hove and New York: Psychology Press|pages=2}}</ref> their view of the world may dictate their behaviour.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bless, H. |author2=Fiedler, K. |author3=Strack, F. |name-list-style=amp |title=Social cognition: How individuals construct social reality|year=2004|publisher=Hove and New York: Psychology Press}}</ref> Thus, cognitive biases may sometimes lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, or what is broadly called [[irrationality]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kahneman |first1=D. |last2=Tversky |first2=A. |year=1972 |title=Subjective probability: A judgment of representativeness |journal=Cognitive Psychology |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=430–454 |doi=10.1016/0010-0285(72)90016-3 }}</ref><ref>Baron, J. (2007). ''Thinking and Deciding'' (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>Ariely, D. (2008). ''[[Predictably Irrational]]: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions''. New York, NY: HarperCollins.</ref> However some cognitive biases are taken to be [[Adaptive behavior|adaptive]], and thus may lead to success in the appropriate situation.<ref>For instance: {{cite journal|author1=Gigerenzer, G.|author2=Goldstein, D. G.|name-list-style=amp|title=Reasoning the fast and frugal way: Models of bounded rationality|journal=Psychological Review|year=1996|volume=103|pages=650–669|doi=10.1037/0033-295X.103.4.650|pmid=8888650|issue=4|hdl=21.11116/0000-0000-B771-2 |url=http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/ft/gg/gg_reasoning_1996.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922235244/http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/ft/gg/gg_reasoning_1996.pdf|archive-date=2017-09-22|citeseerx=10.1.1.174.4404}}</ref> Furthermore, cognitive biases as an example through education may allow faster choice selection when speedier outcomes for a task are more valuable than precision.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tversky, A. |author2=Kahneman, D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Judgement under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases|journal=Science|year=1974|volume=185|pages=1124–1131|doi=10.1126/science.185.4157.1124|pmid=17835457|issue=4157|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0767426|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924045349/http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0767426|url-status=live|archive-date=September 24, 2017|bibcode=1974Sci...185.1124T |s2cid=143452957 }}</ref> Other cognitive biases are a "by-product" of human processing limitations,<ref name="Haselton, M. G., Nettle, D., & Andrews, P. W. 2005 724–746">{{cite book|last=Haselton, M. G. |author2=Nettle, D. |author3=Andrews, P. W. |name-list-style=amp |title=The evolution of cognitive bias|year=2005|publisher=Hoboken, NJ, US: John Wiley & Sons Inc.|location=In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology|pages=724–746}}</ref> coming about because of an [[bounded rationality|absence of appropriate mental mechanisms]], or just from human limitations in [[Information processing (psychology)|information processing]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bless, H. |author2=Fiedler, K. |author3=Strack, F. |name-list-style=amp |title=Social cognition: How individuals construct social reality.|year=2004|publisher=Hove and New York: Psychology Press.}}</ref>

====Anchoring====
{{Main|Anchoring_(cognitive_bias)|l1=Anchoring}}
Anchoring is a [[heuristics in judgment and decision making|psychological heuristic]] that describes the propensity to rely on the first piece of [[information]] encountered when [[decision making|making decisions]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Welsh|first1=Matthew B.|last2=Delfabbro|first2=Paul H.|last3=Burns|first3=Nicholas R.|last4=Begg|first4=Steve H.|date=2014|title=Individual differences in anchoring: Traits and experience|journal=Learning and Individual Differences|volume=29|pages=131–140|doi=10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.002|issn=1041-6080}}</ref><ref name="ScienceDaily">{{cite web | title = Anchoring bias in decision-making | website = Science Daily | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/anchoring.htm | access-date = September 29, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150929180102/https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/anchoring.htm | archive-date = September 29, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Investopedia">{{cite web | title = Anchoring Definition | publisher = Investopedia | url = http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/anchoring.asp | access-date = September 29, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171023052312/http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/anchoring.asp | archive-date = October 23, 2017 }}</ref> According to this [[heuristic]], individuals begin with an implicitly suggested reference point (the "anchor") and make adjustments to it to reach their estimate.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> For example, the initial price offered for a [[used car]] sets the standard for the rest of the [[negotiation]]s, so that [[price]]s lower than the initial price seem more reasonable even if they are still higher than what the car is worth.<ref name="TverskyKahneman1974">{{cite journal|last1=Tversky|first1=A.|last2=Kahneman|first2=D.|title=Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases|journal=Science|volume=185|issue=4157|year=1974|pages=1124–1131|doi=10.1126/science.185.4157.1124|url=http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~camerer/Ec101/JudgementUncertainty.pdf|pmid=17835457|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817144047/http://www.hss.caltech.edu/%7Ecamerer/Ec101/JudgementUncertainty.pdf|archive-date=2014-08-17|bibcode=1974Sci...185.1124T|s2cid=143452957}}</ref><ref>Edward Teach, "[http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/3014027 Avoiding Decision Traps] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614061542/http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/3014027 |date=2013-06-14 }}", [[CFO (magazine)|''CFO'']] (1 June 2004). Retrieved 29 May 2007.</ref>

====Apophenia====
{{Main|Apophenia|Pareidolia}}{{See also|Hindsight bias}}
Apophenia, also known as patternicity,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shermer |first=Michael |title=Patternicity: Finding Meaningful Patterns in Meaningless Noise |journal=Scientific American |volume=299 |issue=6 |pages=48 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1208-48 |pmid=19143444 |year=2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=GrrlScientist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2010/sep/25/michael-shermer-belief-self-deception |title=Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception |newspaper=Guardian |date=29 September 2010 |access-date=2011-06-29 |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926040551/http://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2010/sep/25/michael-shermer-belief-self-deception |archive-date=26 September 2015 }}</ref> or agenticity,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQO4y2bueAM|title=Why Do We Need a Belief in God with Michael Shermer|website=[[YouTube]] |date=2011-08-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314224302/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQO4y2bueAM|archive-date=2016-03-14}}</ref> is the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within [[Randomness|random]] data. Apophenia is well documented as a [[Rationalization (making excuses)|rationalization]] for gambling. Gamblers may imagine that they see patterns in the numbers which appear in [[Lottery|lotteries]], [[card game]]s, or [[roulette wheel]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://waterstone.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/apophenia-illusory-correlation/ |title=Apophenia & Illusory Correlation « Paul Xavier Waterstone |publisher=Waterstone.wordpress.com |date=2007-05-24 |access-date=2011-06-29 |archive-date=2014-12-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217012242/http://waterstone.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/apophenia-illusory-correlation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One manifestation of this is known as the "[[gambler's fallacy]]".

Pareidolia is the visual or auditory form of apophenia. It has been suggested that pareidolia combined with [[hierophany]] may have helped ancient societies organize chaos and make the world intelligible.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rupestreweb.info/china.html |last1=Bustamante |first1=Patricio |last2=Yao |first2=Fay |last3=Bustamante |first3=Daniela |year=2010 |title=The worship to the mountains: a study of the creation myths of the chinese culture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092744/http://www.rupestreweb.info/china.html |archive-date=2015-09-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bustamante |first1=Patricio |last2=Yao |first2=Fay |last3=Bustamante |first3=Daniela |year=2010 |title=Search for meanings: from pleistocene art to the worship of the mountains in early China. Methodological tools for Mimesis |url=http://www.rupestreweb.info/mimesis.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093315/http://www.rupestreweb.info/mimesis.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

====Attribution bias====
{{Main|Attribution bias}}
An attribution bias can happen when individuals assess or attempt to discover explanations behind their own and others' behaviors.<ref name="Heider">Heider, F. (1958). "The psychology of interpersonal relations", New York: Wiley, 322 p.</ref><ref name="Kelley 1967">Kelley, H.H. (1967). Attribution theory in social psychology. In D. Levine (Ed.) ''Nebraska Symposium on Motivation'', Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Abramson | first1 = L.Y. | last2 = Seligman | first2 = M.E. | last3 = Teasdale | first3 = J.D. | year = 1978 | title = Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation | journal = Journal of Abnormal Psychology | volume = 87 | issue = 1| pages = 49–74 | doi = 10.1037/0021-843X.87.1.49 | pmid=649856| s2cid = 2845204 }}</ref> People make [[attribution (psychology)|attributions]] about the causes of their own and others' behaviors; but these attributions do not necessarily precisely reflect reality. Rather than operating as objective perceivers, individuals are inclined to perceptual slips that prompt biased understandings of their social world.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Funder | first1 = D.C. | year = 1987 | title = Errors and mistakes: Evaluating the accuracy of social judgment | url = http://psy.ucsd.edu/%7Emckenzie/FunderPsychBull1987.pdf | journal = Psychological Bulletin | volume = 101 | issue = 1 | pages = 75–90 | doi = 10.1037/0033-2909.101.1.75 | pmid = 3562704 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080516210858/http://psy.ucsd.edu/~mckenzie/FunderPsychBull1987.pdf | archive-date = 2008-05-16 }}</ref><ref name="Nisbett and Ross 1980">Nisbett, R.E. & Ross, L. (1980). ''Human inference: Strategies and shortcomings of social judgment'', Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.</ref> When judging others we tend to assume their actions are the result of internal factors such as [[personality]], whereas we tend to assume our own actions arise because of the necessity of external circumstances. There are a wide range of [[Attribution bias#List of attribution biases|sorts]] of attribution biases, such as the [[ultimate attribution error]], [[fundamental attribution error]], [[actor-observer bias]], and [[self-serving bias]].

Examples of attribution bias:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://grabien.com/file.php?id=582443|title=Rewind: Watch the Media Spend Two Years Hyping a Now-Debunked Story|website=Grabien |access-date=29 March 2019|archive-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329085906/https://grabien.com/file.php?id=582443|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Confirmation bias====
{{Main|Confirmation bias}}
[[File:Fred Barnard07.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=A drawing of a man sitting on a stool at a writing desk|Confirmation bias has been described as an internal "[[Wikt:yes man|yes man]]", echoing back a person's beliefs like [[Charles Dickens]]' character [[Uriah Heep (character)|Uriah Heep]].<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |title=How to Ignore the Yes-Man in Your Head |first=Jason |last=Zweig |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=November 19, 2009 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703811604574533680037778184 |access-date=2010-06-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214052645/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703811604574533680037778184 |archive-date=February 14, 2015 }}</ref>]]

Confirmation bias is the tendency to [[Research|search for]], [[Evaluation|interpret]], favor, and [[recall (memory)|recall]] information in a way that confirms one's [[belief]]s or [[hypothesis|hypotheses]] while giving disproportionately less attention to information that contradicts it.<ref>{{cite book | last=Plous | first=Scott | title=The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making | url=https://archive.org/details/psychologyjudgme00plou_528 | url-access=limited | pages=[https://archive.org/details/psychologyjudgme00plou_528/page/n201 233] | date=1993| publisher=McGraw-Hill Education | isbn=9780070504776 }}</ref> The effect is stronger for [[emotion]]ally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. People also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position. Biased search, interpretation and memory have been invoked to explain [[attitude polarization]] (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), [[Confirmation bias#Persistence of discredited beliefs|belief perseverance]] (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series) and [[illusory correlation]] (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations). Confirmation biases contribute to [[overconfidence effect|overconfidence]] in personal beliefs and can maintain or strengthen beliefs in the face of contrary evidence. Poor [[decision making|decisions]] due to these biases have been found in political and organizational contexts.<ref name=cbiaspolitics>{{cite journal|last=Nickerson|first=Raymond S.|title=Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises|journal=Review of General Psychology|date=June 1998|volume=2|issue=2|pages=175–220|doi=10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175|s2cid=8508954}}</ref><ref>[[Barbara W. Tuchman|Tuchman, Barbara]] (1984). ''The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam''. New York: Knopf.</ref>

====Framing====
{{anchor|Cultural bias}} {{Main|Cultural bias|Framing (social sciences)}}
Framing involves the [[social construction]] of [[social phenomenon|social phenomena]] by [[mass media]] sources, [[Ideology|political or social movements]], [[Politician|political leaders]], and so on. It is an influence over how people organize, perceive, and communicate about [[reality]].<ref name="Druckman2001">{{cite journal |last1=Druckman |first1=J.N. |year=2001 |title=The Implications of Framing Effects for Citizen Competence |journal=Political Behavior |volume=23 |issue=3|pages=225–256 |doi=10.1023/A:1015006907312|s2cid=10584001 }}</ref> It can be positive or negative, depending on the audience and what kind of information is being presented. For political purposes, framing often presents facts in such a way that implicates a problem that is in need of a solution. Members of political parties attempt to frame issues in a way that makes a solution favoring their own political leaning appear as the most appropriate course of action for the situation at hand.<ref name="van der Pas">{{cite journal|last=van der Pas|first=D.|title=Making Hay While the Sun Shines: Do Parties Only Respond to Media Attention When The Framing is Right?|journal=Journal of Press/Politics|year=2014|volume=19|issue=1|pages=42–65|doi=10.1177/1940161213508207|s2cid=220652512 }}<!--|access-date=6 March 2014--></ref> As understood in [[social theory]], framing is a [[Schema (psychology)|schema]] of [[interpretation (logic)|interpretation]], a collection of [[Anecdotal evidence|anecdotes]] and [[stereotype]]s, that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events.<ref name="Goffman1974">Goffman, E. (1974). ''Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.</ref> People use filters to make sense of the world, the choices they then make are influenced by their creation of a frame.

Cultural bias is the related phenomenon of interpreting and judging phenomena by standards inherent to one's own culture. Numerous such biases exist, concerning cultural norms for color, location of body parts, [[mate selection]], concepts of [[justice]], [[linguistics|linguistic]] and [[logic]]al validity, acceptability of [[evidence]], and [[taboo]]s. Ordinary people may tend to imagine other people as basically the same, not significantly more or less valuable, probably attached emotionally to different groups and different land.

====Halo effect and horn effect====
{{Main|Halo effect|Horn effect}}
The halo effect and the horn effect are when an [[Observation|observer's]] overall impression of a person, [[organization]], [[brand]], or [[product (business)|product]] influences their feelings about specifics of that entity's character or properties.<ref name="study.com">{{cite web | last = Long-Crowell | first = Erin | title = The Halo Effect: Definition, Advantages & Disadvantages | work = Psychology 104: Social Psychology | publisher = study.com | url = http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-halo-effect-definition-advantages-disadvantages.html | access-date = September 30, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151001041235/http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-halo-effect-definition-advantages-disadvantages.html | archive-date = October 1, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Investopedia halo">{{cite web | title = Halo Effect | publisher = Investopedia | url = http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/halo-effect.asp | access-date = September 30, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171106034111/http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/halo-effect.asp | archive-date = November 6, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Thorndike | first = EL | title = A constant error in psychological ratings | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | year = 1920 | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 25–29 | doi = 10.1037/h0071663 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1429134 | access-date = 2019-12-20 | archive-date = 2019-07-13 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190713184358/https://zenodo.org/record/1429134 | url-status = live }}</ref>

The name halo effect is based on the concept of the [[Halo (religious iconography)|saint's halo]], and is a specific type of [[confirmation bias]], wherein positive sentiments in one area cause questionable or unknown characteristics to be seen positively. If the observer likes one aspect of something, they will have a positive predisposition toward everything about it.<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = Horns and halo effect | dictionary = The Free Dictionary | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/horns+and+halo+effect | access-date = September 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name=nisbett>{{cite journal | last1 = Nisbett | first1 = Richard E | last2 = Wilson | first2 = Timothy D | year= 1977 |title= The halo effect: Evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments |journal= Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | volume =35 |issue=4 |pages=250–56 |issn=1939-1315 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.35.4.250|url= https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92158/1/TheHaloEffect.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92158/1/TheHaloEffect.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | hdl = 2027.42/92158 | s2cid = 17867385 |hdl-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Glennie|first=Jonathan|title=Hugo Chávez's reverse-halo effect|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/may/03/hugo-chavez-reverso-halo-effect|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816022229/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/may/03/hugo-chavez-reverso-halo-effect|archive-date=16 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="ostrove_sigall1975">{{cite journal| last1 = Ostrove| first1 = Nancy| last2 = Sigall| first2 = Harold| title = Beautiful but Dangerous: Effects of Offender Attractiveness and Nature of the Crime on Juridic Judgment| journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology| year = 1975| volume = 31| issue = 3| pages = 410–14| url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232451231| doi = 10.1037/h0076472| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160701005930/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232451231_Beautiful_but_Dangerous_Effects_of_Offender_Attractiveness_and_Nature_of_the_Crime_on_Juridic_Judgment| archive-date = 2016-07-01}}</ref> A person's [[Physical attractiveness|appearance]] has been found to produce a halo effect.<ref>{{cite journal|doi= 10.1023/A:1023582629538|title=Weight Halo Effects: Individual Differences in Perceived Life Success as a Function of Women's Race and Weight|year= 2003|last1= Wade | first1 = T Joel|last2=DiMaria|first2=Cristina |journal=Sex Roles|volume=48|issue=9/10|pages=461–465|s2cid=141143275}}</ref> The halo effect is also present in the field of [[brand marketing]], affecting perception of [[company|companies]] and [[non-governmental organization]]s (NGOs).<ref>{{cite news|title=Apple shares surfs on big profits|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4172211.stm|access-date=18 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=13 January 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118053436/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4172211.stm|archive-date=18 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Chandon |first1 = Pierre| first2 = Brian | last2 = Wansink| title= The Biasing Health Halos of Fast-Food Restaurant Health Claims: Lower Calorie Estimate and Higher Side-Dish Consumption Intentions | journal = Journal of Consumer Research|year=2007|volume=34|issue=3|pages=301–14|doi= 10.1086/519499|citeseerx = 10.1.1.173.2288|s2cid = 3881018}}<!--|access-date = --></ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Jeffray|first=Nathan|title=Interview: Gerald Steinberg|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/33415/interview-gerald-steinberg|newspaper=The Jewish Chronicle|date=24 June 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701192611/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/33415/interview-gerald-steinberg|archive-date=1 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Balanson| first = Naftali | title= The 'halo effect' shields NGOs from media scrutiny|url= https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=110648 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=8 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ronaldhousedurham.org/page/corporate-donors|last= Jones|first= Nancy|title= Corporate Donors|publisher= Ronald House Durham|access-date= 26 November 2013|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013311/http://www.ronaldhousedurham.org/page/corporate-donors|archive-date= 3 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1 =Coombs|first1 =Timothy W | last2 = Holladay | first2 =Sherry J|title=Unpacking the halo effect: reputation and crisis management|journal=Journal of Communication Management|year=2006|volume=10|issue= 2|pages = 123–37 |doi=10.1108/13632540610664698}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1 =Klein|first1 =Jill| first2 = Niraj | last2 = Dawar|title= Evaluations in a Product-Harm Crisis| journal= International Journal of Research in Marketing | year= 2004|volume=21|issue=3|pages=203–17|doi=10.1016/j.ijresmar.2003.12.003}}</ref>

The opposite of the halo is the horn effect, when "individuals believe (that negative) traits are inter-connected."<ref name="JoshKennon">{{Cite web|url=https://www.joshuakennon.com/mental-model-horns-effect-and-halo-effect|title=Mental Model: Horns Effect and Halo Effect|website=www.joshuakennon.com|date=12 November 2011 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=2018-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625213158/https://www.joshuakennon.com/mental-model-horns-effect-and-halo-effect/|url-status=live}}</ref> The term horn effect refers to [[Sign of the horns|Devil's horns]].{{Citation needed|reason=[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a reliable source]]|date=August 2018}} It works in a negative direction: if the observer dislikes one aspect of something, they will have a negative predisposition towards other aspects.<ref name="Attitudes">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rightattitudes.com/2010/04/30/rating-errors-halo-effect-horns-effect/|title=The Halo and Horns Effects [Rating Errors]|date=2010-05-01|website=Right Attitudes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823114921/http://www.rightattitudes.com/2010/04/30/rating-errors-halo-effect-horns-effect/|archive-date=2017-08-23|url-status=live|access-date=2017-09-08}}</ref>

====Self-serving bias====
{{Main|Self-serving bias}}
Self-serving bias is the tendency for [[cognition|cognitive]] or [[perception|perceptual]] processes to be [[Cognitive distortion|distorted]] by the individual's need to maintain and enhance [[self-esteem]].<ref>Myers, D.G. (2015). ''Exploring Social Psychology'', 7th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Education.</ref> It is the propensity to credit accomplishment to our own capacities and endeavors, yet attribute failure to outside factors,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Campbell | first1 = W.K. | last2 = Sedikides | first2 = C. | year = 1999 | title = Self-threat magnifies the self-serving bias: A meta-analytic integration | journal = Review of General Psychology | volume = 3 | pages = 23–43 | doi=10.1037/1089-2680.3.1.23| s2cid = 144756539 }}</ref> to dismiss the legitimacy of negative criticism, concentrate on positive qualities and accomplishments yet disregard flaws and failures. Studies have demonstrated that this bias can affect [[Human behavior|behavior]] in the [[Job|workplace]],<ref name=Pal>{{cite journal|last=Pal|first=G.C.|title=Is there a universal self-serving attribution bias?|journal=Psychological Studies|year=2007|volume=52|issue=1|pages=85–89}}</ref> in [[interpersonal relationships]],<ref name="Campbell et al.">{{cite journal|last=Campbell|first=W. Keith |author2=Sedikides, Constantine |author3=Reeder, Glenn D. |author4=Elliot, Andrew J.|title=Among friends? An examination of friendship and the self-serving bias|journal=British Journal of Social Psychology|year=2000|volume=39|issue=2|pages=229–239|doi=10.1348/014466600164444|pmid=10907097 |citeseerx=10.1.1.559.7984 }}</ref> playing [[sport]]s,<ref name=DeMichele>{{cite journal|last=De Michele|first=P.|author2=Gansneder, B. |author3=Solomon, G. |title=Success and failure attributions of wrestlers: Further Evidence of the Self-Serving Bias|journal=Journal of Sport Behavior|year=1998|volume=21|issue=3|pages=242}}</ref> and in [[Consumer behaviour|consumer decisions]].<ref name=Moon>{{cite journal|last=Moon|first=Youngme|title=Don't Blame the Computer: When Self-Disclosure Moderates the Self-Serving Bias|journal=Journal of Consumer Psychology|year=2003|volume=13|issue=1|pages=125–137|doi=10.1207/153276603768344843}}</ref>

====Status quo bias====
{{Main|Status quo bias}}
Status quo bias is an [[emotional bias]]; a preference for the current state of affairs. The current baseline (or status quo) is taken as a reference point, and any change from that baseline is perceived as a loss.
Status quo bias should be distinguished from a rational preference for the [[status quo]] ante, as when the current state of affairs is objectively superior to the available alternatives, or when imperfect information is a significant problem. A large body of evidence, however, shows that status quo bias frequently affects human decision-making.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Samuelson|first1=William|last2=Zeckhauser|first2=Richard|date=1988|title=Status quo bias in decision making|journal=Journal of Risk and Uncertainty|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=7–59|doi=10.1007/bf00055564|issn=0895-5646|citeseerx=10.1.1.632.3193|s2cid=5641133}}</ref>

===Conflicts of interest===
{{Main|Conflict of interest}}
A conflict of interest is when a [[person]] or [[organization|association]] has intersecting interests ([[finance|financial]], [[interest (emotion)|personal]], etc.) which could potentially corrupt. The potential conflict is autonomous of actual [[Inappropriateness|improper actions]], it can be found and intentionally defused before [[corruption]], or the appearance of corruption, happens. "A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest."<ref>{{cite book|first1=Bernard|last1=Lo|first2=Marilyn J.|last2=Field|title=Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice|publisher=[[National Academies Press]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-309-13188-9}}</ref> It exists if the circumstances are sensibly accepted to present a hazard that choices made may be unduly affected by auxiliary interests.<ref name=Cain>{{cite journal | last1 = Cain | first1 = D.M. | last2 = Detsky | first2 = A.S. | year = 2008 | title = Everyone's a Little Bit Biased (Even Physicians) | journal = JAMA | volume = 299 | issue = 24 | pages = 2893–289 | doi = 10.1001/jama.299.24.2893 | pmid = 18577735 }}</ref>

====Corruption====
A conflict of interest arises when a decision-maker participates in a corrupt act that seeks to influence the outcome in favor of a specific individual, organization, or entity in a decision-making process.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=Cecily |title=Corruption and conflicts of interests in the United Kingdom |journal=Corruption and Conflicts of Interest |date=28 February 2014 |pages=150–166 |doi=10.4337/9781781009352.00018|isbn=978-1-78100-935-2 }}</ref> For example, attempts to solicit a [[bribe]] or [[Kickback (bribery)|kickback]] in exchange for favoring a party creates a conflict of interest.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobsson |first1=Katarina |title='A Token of Gratitude'? A Morally Ambiguous Case of Bribery |journal=Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention |date=June 2006 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=3–22 |doi=10.1080/14043850600643462}}</ref> A perceived conflict of interest may also arise in an individual who is offered such a payment, even if it is declined, particularly in situations where the attempt to bribe is not reported.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pringle |first1=Sam |title=SIB Guidance on Conflicts of Interest |url=https://niopa.qub.ac.uk/bitstream/NIOPA/13999/1/SIB-Guidance-on-Conflicts-of-Interest.pdf |website=The Strategic Investment Board |access-date=7 February 2025 |date=2021}}</ref>

Laws restricting whether a monetary transaction is appropriate can differ between jurisdictions based upon their criminal laws. For example, some nations criminalize the receipt of political [[campaign contributions]] in the form of cash, while other nations permit cash donations provided that donors otherwise adhere to election law.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

====Favoritism====
{{Main|In-group favoritism}}
Favoritism, sometimes known as in-group favoritism, or in-group bias, refers to a pattern of favoring members of one's [[Ingroups and outgroups|in-group]] over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, in allocation of resources, and in many other ways.<ref name=aronson>Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. (2010). ''Social psychology''. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Taylor|first1= Donald M.|last2= Doria|first2= Janet R.|date= April 1981|title= Self-serving and group-serving bias in attribution|journal= [[Journal of Social Psychology]]|volume= 113|issue= 2|pages= 201–211|issn= 0022-4545|doi=10.1080/00224545.1981.9924371}}<!--|access-date=11 November 2014 --></ref> This has been researched by [[psychologist]]s, especially [[social psychology|social psychologists]], and linked to [[group conflict]] and [[prejudice]]. [[Cronyism]] is favoritism of long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications.<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = Cronyism | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cronyism | dictionary = The Free Dictionary | access-date = October 1, 2015}}</ref> [[Nepotism]] is favoritism granted to [[Kinship|relatives]].<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = Nepotism | dictionary = The Free Dictionary | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nepotism | access-date = September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="dictionary">[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nepotism "Nepotism."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125235043/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nepotism |date=2016-01-25 }} Dictionary.com. Retrieved 20 June 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=In Praise of Nepotism: A Natural History |work=[[Adam Bellow]] Booknotes interview transcript |url=http://booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1742|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926013727/http://booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1742 |archive-date=26 September 2010 |access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="Article Nepotism">{{cite web|title=Article Nepotism |work=New Catholic Dictionary |url=http://catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd05726.htm |access-date=2007-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224025607/http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/ncd05726.htm |archive-date=February 24, 2007 }}</ref>

====Lobbying====
{{Main|Lobbying}}
[[File:Tabakslobby.jpg|thumb|Box offered by [[tobacco lobbyists]] to Dutch [[Member of the European Parliament]] [[Kartika Liotard]] in September 2013]]

Lobbying is the attempt to influence choices made by [[government|administrators]], frequently [[legislator|lawmakers]] or individuals from [[regulatory agency|administrative agencies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbying|title=lobbying|work=Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917052337/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbying|archive-date=2015-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/82529.stm|title=lobbying|work=BBC News|date=1 October 2008|access-date=24 March 2010|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103102647/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/82529.stm|archive-date=3 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbyist|title=lobbyist|work=Random House Unabridged Dictionary|year=2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002030958/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbyist|archive-date=2015-10-02}}</ref> Lobbyists may be among a legislator's [[Electoral district|constituencies]], or not; they may engage in lobbying as a [[business]], or not. Lobbying is often spoken of with [[contempt]], the implication is that people with inordinate [[Power (social and political)|socioeconomic power]] are [[corruption|corrupting]] the [[law]] in order to serve their own interests. When people who have a [[duty]] to act on behalf of others, such as elected officials with a duty to serve their constituents' interests or more broadly the [[common good]], stand to benefit by shaping the law to serve the interests of some private parties, there is a conflict of interest. This can lead to all sides in a debate looking to sway the issue by means of lobbyists.

====Regulatory issues====
{{Main|Industry self-regulation|Regulatory capture}}
Self-regulation is the process whereby an organization monitors its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a third party entity monitor and enforce those standards.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Self-regulation dictionary definition | url = http://www.yourdictionary.com/self-regulation | website = YourDictionary | access-date = October 2, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151005144250/http://www.yourdictionary.com/self-regulation | archive-date = October 5, 2015 }}</ref> Self-regulation of any group can create a conflict of interest. If any organization, such as a corporation or government bureaucracy, is asked to eliminate unethical behavior within their own group, it may be in their interest in the short run to eliminate the appearance of unethical behavior, rather than the behavior itself.

Regulatory capture is a form of [[political corruption]] that can occur when a [[regulatory agency]], created to act in the [[public interest]], instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special [[interest group]]s that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating.<ref>{{cite web | title = Regulatory Capture Definition | url = http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regulatory-capture.asp | publisher = Investopedia | access-date = October 2, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151003140220/http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regulatory-capture.asp | archive-date = October 3, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/regulatory-capture-101-1412544509|title=Regulatory Capture 101|date=2014-10-06|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=2017-09-08|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903202258/https://www.wsj.com/articles/regulatory-capture-101-1412544509|archive-date=2017-09-03}}</ref> Regulatory capture occurs because groups or individuals with a high-stakes interest in the outcome of policy or regulatory decisions can be expected to focus their resources and energies in attempting to gain the policy outcomes they prefer, while members of the public, each with only a tiny individual stake in the outcome, will ignore it altogether.<ref name="nyt-tbl">Timothy B. Lee, [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/opinion/03lee.html "Entangling the Web"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511175150/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/opinion/03lee.html |date=2011-05-11 }} ''The New York Times'' (August 3, 2006). Retrieved April 1, 2011</ref> Regulatory capture is a risk to which a regulatory agency is exposed by its very nature.<ref>Gary Adams, Sharon Hayes, Stuart Weierter and John Boyd, [http://www.iceaustralia.com/apsacc2011/pdf/papers07/day1_24oct07/StreamA2/RegulatoryCaptureManagingTheRisks_JohnBoyd.pdf "Regulatory Capture: Managing the Risk"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720083041/http://www.iceaustralia.com/apsacc2011/pdf/papers07/day1_24oct07/StreamA2/RegulatoryCaptureManagingTheRisks_JohnBoyd.pdf |date=2011-07-20 }} ICE Australia, International Conferences and Events (PDF) (October 24, 2007). Retrieved April 14, 2011</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2013/01/07/000158349_20130107132037/Rendered/PDF/wps6305.pdf |title=Small is beautiful, at least in high-income democracies: the distribution of policy-making responsibility, electoral accountability, and incentives for rent extraction |author=Hamilton, Alexander |access-date=2013-05-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005005009/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2013/01/07/000158349_20130107132037/Rendered/PDF/wps6305.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-05 }}, World Bank.</ref>

====Shilling====
{{Main|Shill}}
Shilling is deliberately giving spectators the feeling that one is an energetic autonomous [[customer|client]] of a [[seller|vendor]] for whom one is working. The effectiveness of shilling relies on [[crowd psychology]] to encourage other onlookers or audience members to purchase the goods or services (or accept the ideas being marketed). Shilling is illegal in some places, but legal in others.<ref>{{cite court |url=http://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/x030044/greeting-cards-america-inc-et-al |litigants=FTC v. Greeting Cards of America, Inc. et al - USA |court=S.D. Fla. |date=2004}}</ref> An example of shilling is [[Review#Bought review|paid reviews]] that give the impression of being autonomous opinions.

===Statistical biases===
{{main|Bias (statistics)}}
Statistical bias is a systematic tendency in the process of data collection, which results in lopsided, misleading results. This can occur in any of a number of ways, in the way the sample is selected, or in the way data are collected.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rumsey |first=Deborah J. |author-link= Deborah J. Rumsey |url=https://www.dummies.com/education/math/statistics/how-to-identify-statistical-bias/ |title=HOW TO IDENTIFY STATISTICAL BIAS |publisher=Dummies.com |access-date=2018-08-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214195807/https://www.dummies.com/education/math/statistics/how-to-identify-statistical-bias/ |archive-date=2018-02-14 }}</ref> It is a property of a [[statistics|statistical]] technique or of its results whereby the [[expected value]] of the results differs from the true underlying quantitative [[parameter#Statistics and econometrics|parameter]] being [[estimation theory|estimated]].

====Forecast bias====
{{main|Forecast bias}}
A forecast bias is when there are consistent differences between results and the forecasts of those quantities; that is: forecasts may have an overall tendency to be too high or too low.

====Observer-expectancy effect====
{{main|Observer-expectancy effect}}
The observer-expectancy effect is when a [[researcher|researcher's]] expectations cause them to subconsciously influence the people participating in an experiment. It is usually [[experimental control|controlled]] using a [[double-blind experiment|double-blind system]], and was an important reason for the development of double-blind experiments.

====Reporting bias and social desirability bias====
{{main|Reporting bias|Social desirability bias}}
In [[epidemiology]] and [[empirical research]], reporting bias is defined as "selective revealing or suppression of information" of undesirable behavior by subjects<ref name="Porta2008">{{cite book|editor=Porta, Miquel|title=A Dictionary of Epidemiology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7R-MLMyEgwC&pg=PT275|access-date=27 March 2013|date=5 June 2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-157844-1|page=275|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216010931/https://books.google.com/books?id=s7R-MLMyEgwC&pg=PT275|archive-date=16 December 2016}}</ref> or researchers.<ref>[http://www.cochrane.org/resources/handbook/ Green S, Higgins S, editors: Glossary. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions 4.2.5.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309033953/http://www.cochrane.org/resources/handbook/ |date=2010-03-09 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McGauran | first1 = N | last2 = Wieseler | first2 = B | last3 = Kreis | first3 = J | last4 = Schüler | first4 = YB | last5 = Kölsch | first5 = H | last6 = Kaiser | first6 = T | year = 2010 | title = Reporting bias in medical research - a narrative review | url = http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/pdf/1745-6215-11-37.pdf | journal = Trials | volume = 11 | article-number = 37 | doi = 10.1186/1745-6215-11-37 | pmid = 20388211 | pmc = 2867979 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160108110151/http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/pdf/1745-6215-11-37.pdf | archive-date = 2016-01-08 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
It refers to a tendency to under-report unexpected or undesirable experimental results, while being more trusting of expected or desirable results. This can propagate, as each instance reinforces the status quo, and later experimenters justify their own reporting bias by observing that previous experimenters reported different results.

Social desirability bias is a bias within [[Social research|social science research]] where [[survey methodology|survey]] respondents can tend to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed positively by others.<ref name="SDRdef">{{cite web | title = Social Desirability Bias | date = 13 November 2011 | publisher = psychologyconcepts.com | url = http://www.psychologyconcepts.com/social-desirability-bias/ | access-date = September 1, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150831110944/http://www.psychologyconcepts.com/social-desirability-bias/ | archive-date = August 31, 2015 }}</ref> It can take the form of over-reporting laudable behavior, or under-reporting undesirable behavior. This bias interferes with the interpretation of average tendencies as well as individual differences. The inclination represents a major issue with [[Self-report study|self-report]] questionnaires; of special concern are self-reports of abilities, [[Personality|personalities]], [[Human sexual activity|sexual behavior]], and [[Recreational drug use|drug use]].<ref name="SDRdef" />

====Selection bias====
{{main|Selection bias}}
[[File:Simple random sampling.PNG|thumb|[[Sampling (statistics)|Sampling]] is supposed to collect of a representative [[statistical sample|sample]] of a [[population (statistics)|population]].]]
Selection bias is the conscious or unconscious bias introduced into a study by the way individuals, groups or data are selected for analysis, if such a way means that true randomization is not achieved, thereby ensuring that the sample obtained is not representative of the population intended to be analyzed.<ref>[http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary?CdrID=44087 Dictionary of Cancer Terms → selection bias] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705015055/http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary?CdrID=44087 |date=2014-07-05 }}. Retrieved on September 23, 2009.</ref> This results in a sample that may be significantly different from the overall population.

===Prejudices===
{{Main|Bigotry|Prejudice|Cultural bias}}
Bias and prejudice are usually considered to be closely related.<ref name=Merriam-Webster>"bias ...; prejudice", The New Merriam–Webster Dictionary, {{ISBN|0877799008}}</ref> Prejudice is prejudgment, or forming an opinion before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case. The word is often used to refer to preconceived, usually unfavorable, judgments toward people or a person because of [[gender]], political opinion, [[social class]], [[Ageing|age]], [[disability]], [[religion]], [[sexual orientation|sexuality]], [[Race (human classification)|race]]/[[ethnicity]], [[language]], [[nationality]], or other personal characteristics. Prejudice can also refer to unfounded beliefs<ref>[[William James]] wrote: "A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." [http://www.freemaninstitute.com/quotes.htm Quotable Quotes – Courtesy of The Freeman Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221131435/https://www.freemaninstitute.com/quotes.htm |date=2023-02-21 }}</ref> and may include "any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosnow |first1=Ralph L. |title=Poultry and Prejudice |journal=Psychologist Today |date=March 1972 |volume=5 |issue=10 |pages=53–6}}</ref>

====Ageism====
{{Main|Ageism}}
Ageism is the stereotyping and/or discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. It can be used in reference to prejudicial attitudes towards older people, or towards younger people.

====Classism====
{{Main|Class discrimination}}
Classism is [[discrimination]] on the basis of [[social class]]. It includes attitudes that benefit the [[upper class]] at the expense of the [[under class|lower class]], or vice versa.<ref name=Kadi>{{cite book | last = Kadi | first = Joanna | title = Thinking Class | url = https://archive.org/details/thinkingclassske00kadi | url-access = registration | publisher = [[South End Press]] | year = 1996 | location = U.S. | isbn = 978-0-89608-548-0}}</ref>

====Lookism====
{{Main|Lookism}}
Lookism is [[stereotype]]s, [[prejudice]], and [[discrimination]] on the basis of [[physical attractiveness]], or more generally to people whose appearance matches cultural preferences.<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = Lookism | dictionary = The Free Dictionary | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lookism | access-date = September 30, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher = Bartleby.com|url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/64/L0246450.html |title = Lookism|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205050857/http://www.bartleby.com/61/64/L0246450.html |archivedate=December 5, 2008|work =The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition|date = 2000}}</ref><ref>[[Farrell, Warren]] (2005). ''Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth About the Pay Gap -- And What Women Can Do About It''. AMACOM, {{ISBN|0814472109}} p. 193</ref> Many people make automatic judgments of others based on their physical appearance that influence how they respond to those people.<ref name="Eagly et al., 1991).">{{cite journal | last1 = Eagly | first1 = Alice| last2 = Ashmore | first2 = Richard | last3 = Makhijani| first3 = Mona G.| last4 = Longo| first4 = Laura C.| year = 1991 | title = What is beautiful is good, but. | journal = Psychological Bulletin| volume = 110 | pages = 109–128 | doi=10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.109}}</ref><ref name="Rhodes, Simmons, & Peters, 2005).">{{cite journal | last1 = Rhodes | first1 = Gillian |last2=Simmons | first2 = Leigh | last3= Peters | first3= Marianne | year = 2005 | title = Attractiveness and Sexual Behavior: Does Attractiveness Enhance Mating Success?| journal = Evolution and Human Behavior| volume = 26 | issue = 2 | pages = 186–201 | doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.014| bibcode = 2005EHumB..26..186R }}</ref>

====Racism====
{{Main|Racism}}
Racism consists of ideologies based on a desire to dominate or a belief in the inferiority of another race.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/racism|title=Oxford English Dictionary, ''Racism''|access-date=24 Aug 2015|quote=''Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior:''|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829065706/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/racism|archive-date=2015-08-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=SCHMID|first1=W. THOMAS|title=The Definition of Racism|journal=Journal of Applied Philosophy|date=April 1996|volume=13|issue=1|pages=31–40|doi=10.1111/j.1468-5930.1996.tb00147.x}}</ref> It may also hold that members of different races should be treated differently.<ref>[http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/racism Racism] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911222636/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/racism |date=2012-09-11 }} Oxford Dictionaries</ref><ref name="schaefer">"Racism" in R. Schefer. 2008 Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Society. SAGE. p. 1113</ref><ref name="newman">{{cite book | last = Newman | first = D. M. | title = Sociology : exploring the architecture of everyday life | publisher = SAGE | location = Los Angeles | year = 2012 | edition = 9th | isbn = 978-1-4129-8729-5 | page = 405 | quote = racism: Belief that humans are subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as superior or inferior.}}</ref>

====Sexism====
{{Excerpt|Sexism}}

==Contextual biases==

===Biases in academia===
{{See also|Statistical bias}}

====Academic bias====
{{Main|Academic bias}}
Academic bias is the bias or perceived bias of [[academia|scholars]] allowing their [[belief]]s to shape their [[research]] and the [[scientific community]]. Claims of bias are often linked to claims by conservatives of pervasive bias against political conservatives and religious Christians.<ref>{{citation|last=Hibbing|first=John D|year=2014|title=Differences in negativity bias underlie variations in political ideology|journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences|volume=37|issue=3|pages=297–350|issn=1939-1323|doi=10.1017/S0140525X13001192|pmid=24970428|hdl=1911/77132|s2cid=54466287|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=poliscifacpub|hdl-access=free|access-date=2019-09-02|archive-date=2019-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221122248/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=poliscifacpub|url-status=live}}</ref> Some have argued that these claims are based upon [[anecdotal evidence]] which would not reliably indicate systematic bias,<ref name="Ames 2005">{{citation|last1=Ames|first1=Barry|first2=David C|last2=Barker|first3=Chris W|last3=Bonneau|first4=Christopher J|last4=Carman|year=2005|title=Hide the Republicans, the Christians, and the Women: A Response to "Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty"|journal=The Forum|volume=3|issue=2|issn=1540-8884|doi=10.2202/1540-8884.1075|s2cid=14322810}}</ref><ref name="Lee 2006">{{citation|last=Lee |first=John |date=November 2006 |title=The "Faculty Bias" Studies: Science or Propaganda |publisher=American Federation of Teachers |url=http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/facultybiasstudies1106.pdf |access-date=2014-01-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217043411/http://www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/facultybiasstudies1106.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-17 }}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Giroux|first=Henry A.|year=2006|title=Academic Freedom Under Fire: The Case for Critical Pedagogy|journal=College Literature|volume=33|issue=4|pages=1–42|issn=1542-4286|doi=10.1353/lit.2006.0051|s2cid=143909432 }}</ref> and have suggested that this divide is due to [[self-selection]] of conservatives choosing not to pursue academic careers.<ref name="Ames 2005"/><ref name=Gross2>{{citation|last=Gross|first=Neil|title=Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-VLm9EcghoC|date=9 April 2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-674-07448-4|access-date=2014-01-24|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627000945/http://books.google.com/books?id=5-VLm9EcghoC|archive-date=27 June 2014}}</ref>
There is some evidence that perception of classroom bias may be rooted in issues of [[Homophobia|sexuality]], [[Racism|race]], [[Class discrimination|class]] and [[Sexism|sex]] as much or more than in [[Religious discrimination|religion]].<ref>{{citation|last1=Boysen|first1=Guy A|first2=David L|last2=Vogel|first3=Marissa A|last3=Cope|first4=Asale|last4=Hubbard|s2cid=11334709|year=2009|title=Incidents Of Bias in College Classrooms: Instructor and Student Perceptions|journal=Journal of Diversity in Higher Education|volume=2|issue=4|pages=219–231|issn=1938-8934|doi=10.1037/a0017538}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brady | first1 = K. L. | last2 = Eisler | first2 = R. M. | year = 1995 | title = Gender Bias in the College Classroom: A Critical Review of the Literature and Implications for Future Research | journal = Journal of Research and Development in Education | volume = 29 | issue = 1| pages = 9–19 }}</ref>

====Experimenter bias====
{{main|Experimenter's bias}}
In [[Experimental science|science research]], experimenter bias occurs when experimenter expectancies regarding [[Experiment|study]] results bias the research outcome.<ref name= Sackett>{{cite journal |last=Sackett |first=D. L. |title=Bias in analytic research |journal=Journal of Chronic Diseases |year=1979 |volume=32 |issue=1–2 |pages=51–63 |doi=10.1016/0021-9681(79)90012-2 |pmid=447779 }}</ref> Examples of experimenter bias include conscious or [[unconscious cognition|unconscious]] influences on subject behavior including creation of [[demand characteristics]] that influence subjects, and altered or [[Publication bias|selective recording of experimental results themselves]].<ref name="KantowitzIII2009">{{cite book|author1=Barry H. Kantowitz|author2=Henry L. Roediger, III|author3=David G. Elmes|title=Experimental Psychology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2-5VL8PHLsIC&pg=PA371|access-date=7 September 2013|year=2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-495-59533-5|page=371|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101061647/http://books.google.com/books?id=2-5VL8PHLsIC&pg=PA371|archive-date=1 January 2014}}</ref> It can also involve asking leading probes and not neutrally redirecting the subject back to the task when they ask for validation or questions.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Geisen |first1=Emily |url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRGN8RNT |title=Bias testing in market research: A framework to enable inclusive research design |last2=Sha |first2=Mandy |last3=Roper |first3=Farren |year=2024 |isbn=979-8862902785 |publication-date=January 3, 2024 |pages=}}</ref>

====Funding bias====
{{Main|Funding bias}}
Funding bias refers to the tendency of a scientific study to support the interests of the study's financial sponsor. This phenomenon is recognized sufficiently that researchers undertake studies to examine bias in past published studies.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Krimsky | first1 = Sheldon | author-link = Sheldon Krimsky | year = 2012 | title = Do Financial Conflicts of Interest Bias Research? An Inquiry into the "Funding Effect" Hypothesis | url = http://www.tufts.edu/~skrimsky/PDF/Funding%20Effect%20and%20Bias.PDF | journal = Science, Technology, & Human Values | volume = 38 | issue = 4| pages = 566–587 | doi = 10.1177/0162243912456271 | s2cid = 42598982 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121017165144/http://www.tufts.edu/~skrimsky/PDF/Funding%20Effect%20and%20Bias.PDF | archive-date = 2012-10-17 | access-date = 2015-09-23 }}</ref> It can be caused by any or all of: a conscious or subconscious [[Reciprocity (social psychology)|sense of obligation]] of researchers towards their employers,<ref>{{cite book | author=Cialdini, Robert B | title=Influence: Science and Practice (5th ed) | publisher=Prentice Hall | date=2008-08-08 | isbn=978-0-205-60999-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/influencescience00cial_1 }}</ref> [[Scientific misconduct|misconduct]] or [[Scientific malpractice|malpractice]],<ref name="washingtonpost">{{cite news |author=David Michaels |title=It's Not the Answers That Are Biased, It's the Questions |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402145.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2008-07-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009011219/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/14/AR2008071402145.html |archive-date=2017-10-09 }}</ref> [[publication bias]],<ref name="washingtonpost" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wilmshurst |first=Peter |title=Dishonesty in Medical Research |journal=The Medico-Legal Journal |year=2007 |volume=75 |issue=Pt 1 |pages=3–12 |doi=10.1258/rsmmlj.75.1.3 |pmid=17506338 |s2cid=26915448 |url=http://www.medico-legalsociety.org.uk/articles/dishonesty_in_medical_research.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521050439/http://www.medico-legalsociety.org.uk/articles/dishonesty_in_medical_research.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-21 }}</ref><ref name="lexchin">{{cite journal |first1=Joel |last1=Lexchin |last2=Bero |first2=Lisa A |first3=Benjamin |last3=Djulbegovic |first4=Otavio |last4=Clark |title=Pharmaceutical industry sponsorship and research outcome and quality: systematic review |journal=BMJ |date=2003-05-31 |volume=326 |pmid=12775614 |issue=7400 |pages=1167–1170 |pmc=156458 |doi=10.1136/bmj.326.7400.1167 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=Anders Sandberg | author-link=Anders Sandberg | title=Supping with the Devil | url=http://www.overcomingbias.com/2007/01/supping_with_th.html | publisher=OvercomingBias | date=2007-01-14 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923171357/http://www.overcomingbias.com/2007/01/supping_with_th.html | archive-date=2015-09-23 }}<!-- This is a science blog written by a notable scientist; therefore it can be considered a reliable source --></ref> or [[reporting bias]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Types of Bias |url=http://www.chalmersresearch.com/bmg/types_bias.html |publisher=Cochrane Bias Methods Group |date=2009-06-19 |access-date=2010-08-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723051446/http://www.chalmersresearch.com/bmg/types_bias.html |archive-date=2010-07-23 }}</ref>

====Full text on net bias====
{{Main|FUTON bias}}
Full text on net (or FUTON) bias is a tendency of [[scholarly method|scholars]] to cite [[academic journal]]s with [[open access]]—that is, journals that make their full text available on the [[internet]] without charge—in their own writing as compared with [[Closed-access|toll access publications]]. Scholars can more easily discover and access articles that have their full text on the internet, which increases authors' likelihood of reading, quoting, and citing these articles, this may increase the [[impact factor]] of open access journals relative to journals without open access.<ref name="pmid 15301326">{{cite journal|last1=Murali |first1=N. S. |last2=Murali |first2=H. R. |last3=Auethavekiat |first3=P. |last4=Erwin |first4=P. J. |last5=Mandrekar |first5=J. N. |last6=Manek |first6=N. J. |last7=Ghosh |first7=A. K. |title=Impact of FUTON and NAA bias on visibility of research |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |volume=79 |issue=8 |pages=1001–1006 |year=2004 |pmid=15301326 |url=https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)62573-1/ |doi=10.4065/79.8.1001 }}</ref><ref name="pmid 12937253">{{cite journal | last1 = Ghosh | first1 = A. K. | last2 = Murali | first2 = N. S. | title = Online access to nephrology journals: The FUTON bias | journal = Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation | volume = 18 | issue = 9 | pages = 1943; author reply 1943 | year = 2003 | pmid = 12937253 | doi = 10.1093/ndt/gfg247 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="cite pmid|16517987">{{cite journal|last1=Mueller |first1=P. S. |last2=Murali |first2=N. S. |last3=Cha |first3=S. S. |last4=Erwin |first4=P. J. |last5=Ghosh |first5=A. K. |title=The effect of online status on the impact factors of general internal medicine journals |journal=The Netherlands Journal of Medicine |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=39–44 |year=2006 |pmid=16517987 |url=http://www.njmonline.nl/njm/getpdf.php?t=a&id=10000037 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719153236/http://www.njmonline.nl/njm/getpdf.php?t=a&id=10000037 |archive-date=2011-07-19 }}</ref><ref name="cite pmid|18974812">{{cite journal | last1 = Krieger | first1 = M. M. | last2 = Richter | first2 = R. R. | last3 = Austin | first3 = T. M. | doi = 10.3163/1536-5050.96.4.010 | title = An exploratory analysis of PubMed's free full-text limit on citation retrieval for clinical questions | journal = Journal of the Medical Library Association | volume = 96 | issue = 4 | pages = 351–355 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18974812 | pmc =2568849}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Gilman, Isaac |title=Opening up the Evidence: Evidence-Based Practice and Open Access |year=2009 |journal=Faculty Scholarship (PUL) |url=http://commons.pacificu.edu/libfac/4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221233556/http://commons.pacificu.edu/libfac/4/ |archive-date=2011-02-21 |access-date=2015-09-02 }}</ref><ref name="pmid 12401287" />

The related bias, no abstract available bias (NAA bias) is scholars' tendency to cite journal articles that have an [[abstract (summary)|abstract]] available online more readily than articles that do not.<ref name="pmid 15301326" /><ref name="pmid 12401287">{{cite journal | last1 = Wentz | first1 = R. | title = Visibility of research: FUTON bias | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11264-5 | journal = The Lancet | volume = 360 | issue = 9341 | pages = 1256 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12401287| s2cid = 5084231 }}</ref>

====Publication bias====
{{main|Publication bias}}
Publication bias is a type of bias with regard to what academic [[research]] is likely to be published because of a tendency among researchers and journal editors to prefer some outcomes rather than others (e.g., results showing a [[Statistical significance|significant]] finding), which leads to a problematic bias in the published literature.<ref name="Song2010">{{cite journal | last1 = Song | first1 = F. | last2 = Parekh | first2 = S. | last3 = Hooper | first3 = L. | last4 = Loke | first4 = Y. K. | last5 = Ryder | first5 = J. | last6 = Sutton | first6 = A. J. | last7 = Hing | first7 = C. | last8 = Kwok | first8 = C. S. | last9 = Pang | first9 = C. | last10 = Harvey | first10 = I. | title = Dissemination and publication of research findings: An updated review of related biases | journal = Health Technology Assessment | volume = 14 | issue = 8 | pages = iii, iix–xi, iix–193 | year = 2010 | doi = 10.3310/hta14080 | pmid = 20181324 | doi-access = free }}</ref> This can propagate further as [[literature review]]s of claims about support for a [[hypothesis]] will themselves be biased if the original literature is contaminated by publication bias.<ref name="Rothstein2005">H. Rothstein, A. J. Sutton and M. Borenstein. (2005). ''Publication bias in meta-analysis: prevention, assessment and adjustments''. Wiley. Chichester, England; Hoboken, NJ.</ref> [[Experiment|Studies]] with significant results often do not appear to be superior to studies with a [[null result]] with respect to quality of [[Design of experiments|design]].<ref name=Easterbrook>{{cite journal |last1=Easterbrook |first1=P. J. |last2=Berlin |first2=J. A. |last3=Gopalan |first3=R. |last4=Matthews |first4=D. R. |title=Publication bias in clinical research |journal=[[Lancet (journal)|Lancet]] |year=1991 |volume=337 |issue=8746 |pages=867–872 |doi=10.1016/0140-6736(91)90201-Y |pmid=1672966|s2cid=36570135 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, statistically significant results have been shown to be three times more likely to be published compared to papers with null results.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dickersin |first1=K. |last2=Chan |first2=S. |last3=Chalmers |first3=T. C. |title=Publication bias and clinical trials |journal=[[Controlled Clinical Trials]] |year=1987 |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=343–353 |doi=10.1016/0197-2456(87)90155-3 |display-authors=etal |pmid=3442991}}</ref>

===Biases in law enforcement===
====Driving while black====
{{main|Driving while black}}
[[Driving]] while black refers to the [[racial profiling]] of [[African American]] drivers. The phrase implies that a motorist might be pulled over by a [[police]] officer, questioned, and searched, because of a [[Racism|racial bias]].<ref name=DWB_matters>{{cite web|last=Harris|first=D.|date=1999|url=http://academic.udayton.edu/race/03justice/dwb01.htm|title=The stories, the statistics, and the law: Why 'Driving While Black' matters|work=84 Minnesota Law Review|pages=265–326|access-date=May 7, 2007|archive-date=May 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515053141/http://academic.udayton.edu/race/03justice/dwb01.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/10/23/thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-a-black-man|title=Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man|last=Gates|first=Henry L.|date=1995-10-16|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2017-03-14}}</ref>

====Racial profiling====
{{main|Racial profiling}}
Racial profiling, or ethnic profiling, is the act of suspecting or targeting a person of a certain [[Race (human categorization)|race]] on the basis of racially observed characteristics or behavior, rather than on individual suspicion.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Profiling |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition |date=9 August 2023 |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profiling }}</ref><ref name="Warren 2009 52–63">{{Cite journal|last1=Warren|first1=Patricia Y.|last2=Farrell|first2=Amy|date=2009|title=The Environmental Context of Racial Profiling|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=623|pages=52–63|jstor=40375886|doi=10.1177/0002716208330485|s2cid=146368789}}</ref> Racial profiling is commonly referred to regarding its use by [[law enforcement]], and its leading to discrimination against [[Minority group|minorities]].

====Victim blaming====
{{main|Victim blaming}}
Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a wrongful act is held at fault for the harm that befell them.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Victim Blaming|url = http://crcvc.ca/docs/victim_blaming.pdf|website = Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime|access-date = 2018-08-31|archive-date = 2015-03-25|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150325023438/http://crcvc.ca/docs/victim_blaming.pdf|url-status = live}}</ref> The study of [[victimology]] seeks to mitigate the perception of victims as responsible.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0886260511403752 |pmid=21602202 |title=Is Knowledge Power? The Effects of a Victimology Course on Victim Blaming |year=2011 |last1=Fox |first1=K. A. |last2=Cook |first2=C. L. |journal=[[Journal of Interpersonal Violence]] |volume=26 |issue=17 |pages=3407–3427|s2cid=25378556 }}</ref>

===Biases in media===
{{main|Media bias|Media manipulation}}
{{Anchor|Media bias}}
Media bias is the bias or perceived bias of [[journalist]]s and [[news producer]]s within the [[mass media]] in the selection of events, the stories that are reported, and how they are covered. The term generally implies a pervasive or widespread bias violating [[Journalism ethics and standards|the standards of journalism]], rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article.<ref>[https://umd.academia.edu/StefanoRivolta/Papers/1052068/Strategic_Maneuvering_and_Media_Bias_in_Political_News_Magazine_Opinion_Articles ''Strategic Maneuvering and Media Bias in Political News Magazine Opinion Articles''], Stefano Mario Rivolta, 7 June 2011</ref> The level of media bias in different nations is debated. There are also [[watchdog journalism|watchdog]] groups that report on media bias.

Practical limitations to media neutrality include the inability of journalists to report all available stories and facts, the requirement that selected facts be linked into a coherent narrative, [[government]] influence including overt and covert [[censorship]],<ref>[http://cpj.org/reports/2006/05/10-most-censored-countries.php "10 Most Censored Countries"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016063824/https://cpj.org/reports/2006/05/10-most-censored-countries.php |date=2015-10-16 }}, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2 May 2006</ref> the influence of the owners of the news source, [[concentration of media ownership]], the selection of staff, the preferences of an intended [[audience]], and pressure from [[advertiser]]s.

Bias has been a feature of the mass media since its birth with the invention of the [[printing press]]. The expense of early printing equipment restricted media production to a limited number of people. Historians have found that publishers often served the interests of powerful social groups.<ref>Ann Heinrichs, ''The Printing Press (Inventions That Shaped the World)'', p. 53, Franklin Watts, 2005, {{ISBN|0-531-16722-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-531-16722-9}}</ref>

====Agenda setting====
{{main|Agenda-setting theory}}
Agenda setting describes the capacity of the media to focus on particular stories, if a news item is covered frequently and prominently, the audience will regard the issue as more important. That is, its [[Salience (language)#Public opinion|salience]] will increase.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McCombs|first=M|author2=Reynolds, A|title=News influence on our pictures of the world|journal=Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research|year=2002}}</ref>

====Gatekeeping====
{{main|Gatekeeping (communication)}}
Gatekeeping is the way in which information and news are filtered to the public, by each person or corporation along the way. It is the "process of culling and crafting countless bits of information into the limited number of messages that reach people every day, and it is the center of the media's role in modern public life. [...] This process determines not only which information is selected, but also what the content and nature of the messages, such as news, will be."<ref>{{cite book|last=Shoemaker|first=Pamela J.|title=Gatekeeping Theory|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=978-0415981392|author2=Vos, Tim P.}}</ref>

====Sensationalism====
{{main|Sensationalism}}
Sensationalism is when events and topics in news stories and pieces are overhyped to present skewed impressions of events, which may cause a misrepresentation of the truth of a story.<ref name="fair">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120205021104/http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=7&issue_area_id=49 "Issue Area: Sensationalism."] [[Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting]]. Accessed June 2011.</ref> Sensationalism may involve reporting about insignificant matters and events, or the presentation of [[News#Newsworthiness|newsworthy]] topics in a trivial or [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]] manner contrary to the standards of [[Journalism#Professional journalism|professional journalism]].<ref name="stephens">{{cite book |last=Stephens |first=Mitchell |author-link= Mitchell Stephens (academic) |title=A History of News |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-518991-9 |year=2007}}</ref><ref name="thompson">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=John |author1-link=John Thompson (sociologist) |editor1-first=Hugh |editor1-last=Mackay |editor2-first=Tim| editor2-last=O'Sullivan |title=The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation |publisher=Sage Publications Ltd |date=June 22, 1999 |chapter=The Media and Modernity |isbn=978-0-7619-6250-2}}</ref>

===Other contexts===
====Educational bias====
{{main|Bias in education}}
Bias in education refers to real or perceived bias in the educational system. The content of school textbooks is often the issue of debate, as their target audience is young people, and the term "whitewashing" is used to refer to selective removal of critical or damaging evidence or comment.<ref name="7forms">{{cite web | last = Sadker | first = David | title = Seven Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials | website = sadker.org | url = http://www.sadker.org/curricularbias.html | access-date = 3 September 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151021055904/http://www.sadker.org/curricularbias.html | archive-date = 21 October 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Washpost">{{cite news | last = Strauss | first = Valerie | title = Proposed Texas textbooks are inaccurate, biased and politicized, new report finds | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = 12 September 2014 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/12/proposed-texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized-new-report-finds/ | access-date = 3 September 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150908172705/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/12/proposed-texas-textbooks-are-inaccurate-biased-and-politicized-new-report-finds/ | archive-date = 8 September 2015 }}</ref><ref name="whitewashhist">{{cite web | last = Czitrom | first = Daniel | title = Texas school board whitewashes history | publisher = CNN | date = 22 March 2010 | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/18/czitrom.texas.textbooks/ | access-date = 3 September 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150328170047/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/18/czitrom.texas.textbooks/ | archive-date = 28 March 2015 }}</ref> Religious bias in textbooks is observed in countries where religion plays a dominant role. There can be many forms of educational bias. Some overlooked aspects, occurring especially with the pedagogical circles of public and private schools—sources that are unrelated to fiduciary or mercantile impoverishment which may be unduly magnified—include teacher bias as well as a general bias against women who are going into STEM research.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanmentalhealthfundation.org/|title=How to Get Your Ex Boyfriend Back – Tips to Win Back His Love and Get Him Back|website=www.americanmentalhealthfundation.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=2018-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628065741/https://www.americanmentalhealthfundation.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>"Crisis Counseling with Children," Van Ornum and Murdock, 1990, NY: Crossroad/Continuum.</ref>

====Inductive bias====
{{main|Inductive bias}}
Inductive bias occurs within the field of [[machine learning]]. In machine learning one seeks to develop [[algorithm]]s that are able to ''learn'' to anticipate a particular output. To accomplish this, the learning algorithm is given training cases that show the expected connection. Then the learner is tested with new examples. Without further assumptions, this problem cannot be solved exactly as unknown situations may not be predictable.<ref name=Mitchell1980 /><ref name=DesJardinsandGordon1995>{{cite journal | last1=Gordon | first1=Diana F. | last2=Desjardins | first2=Marie | title=Evaluation and Selection of Biases in Machine Learning | journal=Machine Learning | date=1995 | volume=20 | issue=1–2 | pages=5–22 | doi=10.1023/A:1022630017346 }}</ref> The inductive bias of the learning algorithm is the set of assumptions that the learner uses to predict outputs given inputs that it has not encountered.<ref name=Mitchell1980>{{cite report | last = Mitchell | first = T. M. | title = The need for biases in learning generalizations | place = New Brunswick, New Jersey, US | publisher = Rutgers University | series = CBM-TR 5-110 | year = 1980 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.19.5466 }}</ref> It may bias the learner towards the correct solution, the incorrect, or be correct some of the time. A classical example of an inductive bias is [[Occam's Razor]], which assumes that the simplest consistent hypothesis is the best.

====Insider trading====
{{Main|Insider trading}}
Insider trading is the trading of a [[public company]]'s [[stock]] or other [[security (finance)|securities]] (such as [[bond (finance)|bonds]] or [[Option (finance)|stock options]]) by individuals with access to [[market moving information|non-public information]] about the company. In [[Insider trading#Legal differences among jurisdictions|various countries]], trading based on insider information is illegal because it is seen as unfair to other investors who do not have access to the information as the investor with insider information could potentially make far larger profits that a typical investor could make.

====Match fixing====
{{Main|Match fixing|Spot-fixing}}
In organized [[sports]], match fixing occurs when a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law.<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = match-fixing | publisher = [[Oxford University Press|Oxford]] dictionaries | url = http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/match-fixing | access-date = September 23, 2015 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150831115837/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/match-fixing | archive-date = August 31, 2015 }}</ref> There is a variety of reasons for this, but the most common is in exchange for a payoff from gamblers. Players might also intentionally perform poorly to get an advantage in the future (such as a better [[draft pick]], or an easier opponent in a [[Playoffs|playoff]]), or to rig a [[handicap (sports)|handicap]] system. Match-fixing generally refers to fixing the final result of the game. Another form of match-fixing, known as [[spot-fixing]], involves fixing small events within a match which can be gambled upon, but which are unlikely to prove decisive in determining the final result of the game.

===Implicit bias===
{{main|implicit stereotype}}An '''implicit bias''', or '''implicit stereotype''', is the unconscious attribution of particular qualities to a member of a certain social group.<ref name="GandB95">{{cite journal | last1 = Greenwald | first1 = A. G. | last2 = Banaji | first2 = M. R. | year = 1995 | title = Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes | journal = Psychological Review | volume = 102 | issue = 1| pages = 4–27 | doi=10.1037/0033-295x.102.1.4| pmid = 7878162 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.411.2919 | s2cid = 8194189 }}</ref>

Implicit stereotypes are shaped by experience and based on learned associations between particular qualities and social categories, including race and/or gender. Individuals' perceptions and behaviors can be influenced by the implicit stereotypes they hold, even if they are unaware/unintentionally hold such stereotypes. Implicit bias is an aspect of implicit [[social cognition]]: the phenomenon that perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes operate without conscious intention. For example, researchers may have implicit bias when designing survey questions and as a result, the questions do not produce accurate results or fail to encourage survey participation.<ref name=":2" /> The existence of implicit bias is supported by a variety of scientific articles in psychological literature. Implicit stereotype was first defined by psychologists [[Mahzarin Banaji]] and [[Anthony Greenwald]] in 1995.

==See also==
{{Portal|Psychology}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
* [[Algorithmic bias]]
* [[List of cognitive biases]]
* [[Detection theory]]
* [[Evidence]]
* [[Deception|Falsity]]
* [[Impartiality]]
* [[Metascience]]
* [[Opinion]]
* [[Personal equation]]
* [[Prejudice]]
* [[Proof (truth)]]
* [[Scholarly method]]
* [[Source criticism]]
* Wikipedia:
** [[Racial bias on Wikipedia]]
** [[Systemic bias in Wikipedia]]
** [[Ideological bias on Wikipedia]]
** [[Gender bias on Wikipedia]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|c=Category:Personal bias|d=Q742736|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|wikt=bias|s=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no}}
{{Biases|state=expanded}}
{{Conflict of interest}}
{{Discrimination}}
{{Philosophical logic}}

[[Category:Bias| ]]
[[Category:Communication of falsehoods]]
[[Category:Barriers to critical thinking]]
[[Category:Prejudices]]