Topic: Bias

An illustration featuring text that reads "happiness" and other items such as scissors and a ruler Research Brief / Happiness

How-To Guide for Happiness Surveys, Which Increasingly Drive Public Policy

Advice for researchers aims to help improve both data collection and its interpretation

An illustration of two figures marching inside endless treadmills. Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

The More They Do It, the More Some People Prefer To Continue a Tedious Task

Even when there’s an easy-to-access better alternative, some prefer their rut

Woman in red shirt with brown paper bag on her head with an angry expression on it Research Brief / Accountable Care Organizations

Populism’s Rise in U.S. Isn’t Only About Anger

2016 vote shares for Trump and Sanders point to a mix of negative emotions

A flow chart overlaid on programming language. Research Brief / Technology

The Trade-Off Between Fairness and Accuracy in Algorithm Design

What happens when data is excluded?

Humanoid robot among a large number of symbolic people. Research Brief / Technology

AI from AI: a Future of Generic and Biased Online Content?

Sharing the technology’s weak work product negatively influences the quality of its output going forward

Police cars and officers on highway at night. Research Brief / Bias

Smartphone Records Reveal Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Policing

Police patrol Black areas more frequently than others with similar homicide rates and income levels

Black pencil with white eraser removing a written mistake on a piece of paper. Research Brief / Gender

Removing Words With Gender Bias in Job Ads: More Diverse Applicants

Women — and some men — more inclined to apply for positions

Aerial view of marathon city runners. One person leading marathon. Research Brief / Forecasting

Experts Struggle to Accurately Forecast Societal Change

On COVID-19’s impacts, social scientists’ predictions weren’t much better than those of laypeople

A photo illustration of the American flag with a crack through it and the Capitol building overlaid and a red filter over the entire image. Research Brief / Politics

Cultural Polarization Isn’t New — But Its Alignment With Political Divisions Is

A new way to classify individuals delivers insights on social divisions and the culture war

Five open doors in various colors on a hilly grass expanse. Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

Why We Think Differently About Money Than About Probabilities

Learning gradually versus all at once and how we estimate value

A black and orange detour sign on a fance. Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

Another Political Trick? Inducing Forgetting By Mentioning Irrelevant Information

Positive views on, say, a social policy are more easily suppressed than negative ones

A classroom of middle school students taking a test at their desks. Research Brief / Education

Why So Few Women in STEM Fields: The Role of Middle-School Peer Influence

Notion that boys are innately better at math undermines girls’ self-belief

A nighttime image of a homeless encampment on a city corner in Los Angeles. Research Brief / Wealth Inequality

Go Ahead, You Decide How Much Wealth Should Be Redistributed

Can modern decision theory, paired with a half-century-old thought experiment, help make a more just society?

Thousands of exuberant backers of the Equal Rights Amendment, marched on Congress to plea for extension of the ratification deadline. Research Brief / Public Policy

Do Social Laws Always Cause a Backlash?

Laws that threaten ideological preferences prompt some opponents to adopt more extreme beliefs

A side view of feet on a scale Research Brief / Health

Modest Financial Incentives Help with Weight Loss

Tying payments to weight, rather than behaviors, marginally more effective

An out of foucs image of a female in a conference room with windows Research Brief / Gender Gap

Do the Benefits of Pay Transparency Accrue Mostly to Employers?

Revealed compensation might motivate workers to do more, without a raise