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Unconscious bias and observation distortions

Content Slides to strengthen skills such as.

Assessment ability, Self Management

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What do you see?

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What do you see?

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Basics

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Systematic divergence from accurate facts during observation and recording of data and information

Our information processing runs in patterns and categories to reduce complexity in order to be able to cope more easily in everyday life

This simplification of our brain can be unfair and stigmatizing

Humans are not machines: observation and the resulting assessment can be subject to distortions

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Have you ever noticed any perception or observation biases within your daily business? If so please describe…

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Someone is yawning during your speech. What are your first thoughts?

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Perception and Interpretation

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interpretation

observation

Separation of perception and interpretation

We are used to immediately attaching an interpretation to perception

Depending on our experience and personal self-concept, we filter our perception and interpret

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Cognitive problems

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Observation problems

Perceptual problems

Processing problems

Memory problems

Storage problems

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Halo Effect

Individual features perceived as positive or negative outshine the overall image

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Cognitive bias

E.g. facial expression, negative or positive reporting, physical attraction

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Serial-Position Effect (Primacy-Recency Effect)

Information and impressions received first and last are better remembered

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Unconsciously weighed more strongly

Cognitive ability to recall information

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Self-fulfilling prophecy

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Strong urge within humans to fulfill own expectations

People predict an outcome and unconsciously anticipates it through his*her behaviour

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What kind of people do you often perceive as particularly competent or likeable? What behaviors do you assess as unsympathetic or incompetent?

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Contrast effect

Lower ratings for average performance if predecessor is particularly positive or vice versa

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Orientation at previous experiences

A tendency to make social comparison and judgement

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Priming-Effect

Preparing a stimulus-response scheme by so-called “priming”

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The initial stimulus triggers certain associations

This can have a significant impact on behavior

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Scale distortions

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Tendency �towards the �middle

Tendency

to be lenient

Sympathetic-Effect

Tendency�to be strict

Similarity-

likeness-

pheno-�menon

better evaluation

poorer evaluation

Antipathy-�Effect

Similarity-

likeness-

pheno-�menon

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Would you describe yourself as strict or mild?
How do you determine that?

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(Un)conscious falsifications

Unconscious falsification

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Pressure on the individual to behave in the way expected of him or her by a group, social desirability,...

Results are aligned to those of others

Should not happen in an assessment that is to be taken seriously

Company goals or the assessor's own goals guide the result in assessment processes

decision conformity

assessment as a means to an end

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Tips to be sensitive to perceptual distortions

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Reflection

Be aware of the different effects and reflect on them regularly

Deal with mistakes

Address this in the team and correct your mistake

Record observation

Take as many notes as you can with behavioral anchors - what do you base your observation on?

Question your thought patterns

Do it often and regularly

Standardised observation sheets

Better to compare and easier for observers to concentrate on the observation