Browsing by Subject "Bias"
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Associations Impacting Food ChoicesReader, Shane WolfItem Biased judgment and decision making in constituents evaluating representatives in negotiation(2015-05) Willard, Daniel Francis Xavier, Jr.; Markman, Arthur B.; Henderson, MarloneResearch in representative negotiation has sought to understand how relationships between representatives and their constituents influence the negotiation process. While much of this research has focused negotiations once the representative has been selected, little attention has been paid to how constituents select their representatives, and how their performance is evaluated. The present work shows that constituents are biased towards selecting representatives whose offers are in line with their expectations for a negotiation, and that this bias affects their performance evaluations and likelihood of being rehired regardless of the negotiation's outcome. In Study 1, I show initial evidence for this effect using an ultimatum game design. Study 2 elaborates upon Study 1 by demonstrating that the direction of difference between expectations and offers does not influence constituent judgment or behavior. Study 3 shows that the effect holds across time and constituents do not learn to overcome the bias, while ruling out experience as an alternate explanation. I discuss these findings by drawing from the theory of naïve realism, providing implications for theory and practice of representative negotiation.Item Improving college students’ self-knowledge through engagement in a learning frameworks course(2016-05) Stano, Nancy Kathleen; Schallert, Diane L.; Weinstein, Claire E.; Acee, Taylor W.; Cawthon, Stephanie; Whittaker, TiffanyThis study tested hypotheses about the accuracy of students’ strategic learning self-assessments using a sample of students enrolled in an undergraduate learning frameworks course at a highly competitive research institution. Previous studies demonstrated that learning frameworks courses significantly improve grade point averages, semester-to-semester retention rates, and graduate rates (Weinstein et al., 1997; Weinstein, 1994). Less is known, however, about changes that happen during the semester. Researchers have found that students tend to overestimate their academic abilities (Miller & Geraci, 2011), but that improving participant skill levels increases their ability to recognize the limitations of their abilities (Kruger & Dunning, 2009). This study built on the existing learning frameworks and calibration literatures and addressed the following research questions: Does students’ calibration accuracy improve from the beginning to the end of a semester-long strategic learning course (a type of learning frameworks course)? Does generation status influence calibration? What is the relationship between an individual’s theory of intelligence and their strategic learning calibration? And, is there a relationship between accurate self-assessment and demographic factors such as family income and ethnicity? The methods used in this study included self and objective assessments of strategic learning for 10 learning factors known to impact student success. Based on the Model of Strategic Learning (Weinstein, Acee, Jung, & Dearman, 2009), these 10 factors were assessed by the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, 2nd Edition (LASSI) (Weinstein & Palmer, 2002). I used mixed ANOVA and regression analyses to identify how accurate students were at the beginning of the semester, how accurate they were at the end of the semester, if this difference was significant, and if other factors – a student’s theory of intelligence, parental education level, family income, and ethnicity – were related to the accuracy of these self assessments. I was particularly interested in the extent to which the least strategic students became more accurate in their self-assessments. Overall, three key findings emerged from the current study: 1) Students’ initial self-assessments were inaccurate and, for the most part, students overestimated their actual strategic learning capabilities, 2) self-assessments are amenable to change and accuracy can improve within a learning frameworks course, even among the least strategic learners in this sample, and 3) parental education level was associated with actual level of strategic learning for some factors at the beginning of the semester, but by the end of the semester, it was no longer a significant predictor. The relationship between the accuracy of student’s self assessments and selected personal demographic factors (income and ethnicity) and their theory of intelligence were mixed.Item Measuring temptation bias through eye-tracking(2012-08) Wheeler, Amanda; Garos, Sheila; Cogan, Rosemary; Hendrick, Clyde A.; Larsen, Jeff T.Temptation bias, a form of self-enhancement bias, occurs when individuals believe they are better at resisting temptation than other people (Garos, Beggan, & Kluck, 2005; Garos et al., 2008). To examine the presence of temptation bias, previous research has relied exclusively on self-report questionnaires (Garos, Beggan, & Kluck, 2005; Garos et al., 2008). The current study employs an experimental design to examine to what extent participants’ estimations of their ability to resist sexual situations correlate with their actual ability to do so. Eye-tracking technology has been used in various disciplines to study visual attention. The present study measured an individual’s actual ability to resist a temptation by examining where an individual focused attention while looking at nude photographs of male and female models. The eye-tracking measurements were compared to an individual’s perceived ability to resist temptation before viewing the photographs and after viewing the photographs, as measured by self-report. Thirty heterosexual, single men, aged 18 to 23 (M = 19.73, SD = 1.55) were used in the primary study. The majority of the participants identified as Caucasian (66.7%), and many were Freshman (40%). Results found no significant differences between participants’ perceived ability to resist a sexually tempting situation and their actual ability to resist, F(1.31, 40.55) = 2.30, p = .130. However, in comparison to other body regions men overestimated their viewing of male models’ heads and underestimated their viewing of female models’ heads. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed.Item New faces in the classroom : teachers' perceptions of students' academic behaviors by nativity and ethnoracial origin(2010-08) Blanchard, Sarah Faith; Muller, Chandra; Hummer, RobertA substantial literature has drawn inconsistent conclusions about bias in teachers’ perceptions of minority students and girls. Although the number of immigrant students in U.S. schools is increasing rapidly, research on teachers’ perceptions of foreign-born students is lacking. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, this work evaluates teachers’ perceptions of academic behavior by student nativity and ethnoracial identity. Net of objective criteria, teachers disproportionally perceive students as hardworking or passive in ways conforming to ethnic and immigrant stereotypes. These appraisals are highly subject-specific, racialized, and gendered. This work has important implications for the assimilation of immigrant students into the U.S. educational system.Item Racial Differences in the Psychometric Properties of Grades: Are the Grades of non-White Students More Variable?(2014-03-31) Dovalina, Christen LAlthough college grades are used in the assessment of academic performance and in the determination of the criterion-related validity of tests designed to predict academic performance, there exists virtually no systematic empirical research investigating race differences in the psychometric properties of college grades. One reason to suspect that the psychometric properties of grades might display subgroup differences is that current theories of racial bias suggest some professors might grade non-White students more harshly, but others might grade them more leniently, meaning that grades for these students might be more variable and less intercorrelated throughout the college career than the grades of White students. In addition to the possibility of racial bias, there are a number of other race-related factors which could also increase grade variability for non-White students. In the present study, I use a large educational data set, which includes the first 60 grades received by more than 150,000 students from 41 different colleges, to determine (1) whether White students? grades are more intercorrelated than non-White students? grades, (2) whether the average within-person standard deviation of grades is higher for non-White students than for White students, (3) whether the patterns of race differences in within-persons grade variability are the same for both public and private schools, (4) whether the increased variability of non-White student grades can be accounted for by other alternative explanatory factors (SAT scores, socioeconomic status, high school grade point average, course load, English as best language, and college GPA), and (5) whether race differences in within-persons grade variability is a persistent trend across all four years of college. I found that Asian, Black, and Hispanic students did tend to have more variable grades than White students; however, this greater variability was almost completely accounted for by race differences in course load, high school GPA, English as best language, SES, SAT scores, and cumulative college GPA. Although the present study does not provide definitive evidence for or against the possibility of bias in grading, it suggests that, if there is bias in grading, it is not expressing itself by increasing the variability of non-White students? grades.Item The "dirty slate": An analysis of political bias in the evaluation of parliamentary debates(Texas Tech University, 2005-08) Gantt, Joseph J.; Williams, David E.; Gring, Mark A.; Scholl, Juliann C.Among many biases that exist in the evaluation of academic debates, one of the least studied but most controversial is that of political or ideological bias. The researcher completed a two-part study that analyzed both the existence of bias from existing tournament data and perception of bias through use of survey instruments. In both cases, results are indicative of political bias. The differences between stated expectations and outcomes are discussed along with institutional and personal recommendations.Item The "dirty slate": An analysis of political bias in the evaluation of parliamentary debates(2005-08) Gantt, Joseph J.; Williams, David E.; Gring, Mark A.; Scholl, Juliann C.Among many biases that exist in the evaluation of academic debates, one of the least studied but most controversial is that of political or ideological bias. The researcher completed a two-part study that analyzed both the existence of bias from existing tournament data and perception of bias through use of survey instruments. In both cases, results are indicative of political bias. The differences between stated expectations and outcomes are discussed along with institutional and personal recommendations.