Bias

Bias

Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of (possibly equally valid) alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.

Contents

In statistics

In judgement and decision making

A cognitive bias is the human tendency to make systematic decisions in certain circumstances based on cognitive factors rather than evidence. Such biases can result from information-processing shortcuts called heuristics. They include errors in judgment, social attribution, and memory. Cognitive biases are a common outcome of human thought, and often drastically skew the reliability of anecdotal and legal evidence. It is a phenomenon studied in cognitive science and social psychology.

In the media

Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media, in the selection of which events and stories are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed.

Practical limitations to media neutrality include the inability of journalists to report all available stories and facts, and the requirement that selected facts be linked into a coherent narrative (Newton 1989). Since it is impossible to report everything, selectivity is inevitable. Government influence, including overt and covert censorship, biases the media in some countries. Market forces that result in a biased presentation include the ownership of the news source, concentration of media ownership, the selection of staff, the preferences of an intended audience, and pressure from advertisers.

Political 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.[1]

Other aspects

  • Economic: When People/Government interpret a law/contract in their favor for economic reasons.
  • Cultural: interpreting and judging phenomena in terms particular to one's own culture.
  • Racism, regionalism and tribalism.
  • Inductive bias in machine learning.
  • Sexism, homophobia, transphobia and heteronormativity.
  • Sensationalist: favoring the exceptional over the ordinary. This includes emphasizing, distorting, or fabricating exceptional news to boost commercial ratings.
  • Funding bias in scientific studies.
  • Medical bias is also known as a physician having a conflict of interest.[2]
  • Biasing or bias in electrical engineering: force applied as a reference level in order to operate a device.

See also

References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ Cain, D.M. and Detsky, A.S. Everyone's a Little Bit Biased (Even Physicians) JAMA 2008;299(24):2893-289.

External links


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  • Bias — [ˈbaɪəs] (englisch für ‚Verzerrung‘, oft ‚statistische Verzerrung‘, ‚Vorspannung‘ oder ‚Vorbeaufschlagung‘) bezeichnet: in der Statistik die Differenz zwischen dem Erwartungswert einer Statistik und dem zu schätzenden Objekt, siehe Verzerrung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • bias — bi‧as [ˈbaɪəs] noun biases PLURALFORM [countable, uncountable] MARKETING in market research, errors in results, usually caused by working with a group of people who are not typical of the group you want to know about, or by asking confusing… …   Financial and business terms

  • bias — bi·as / bī əs/ n: a personal and often unreasoned judgment for or against one side in a dispute: prejudice a judge disqualified because of bias Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Bías — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Bías de Priene Bías de Priene, filósofo del siglo VI a. C. Es uno de los siete sabios de Grecia y, en opinión de muchos, como Satyrus, el más destacado de ellos. Sus conciudadanos le consultaban con… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Bias — Bi as (b[imac] as), n.; pl. {Biases} ( [e^]z). [F. biasis, perh. fr. LL. bifax two faced; L. bis + facies face. See {Bi }, and cf. {Face}.] 1. A weight on the side of the ball used in the game of bowls, or a tendency imparted to the ball, which… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bias — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El término Bias hace referencia a varios artículos según su traducción. Lugares en Francia Bias, comuna francesa situada en Landas. Bias, comuna francesa situada en Lot y Garona. Significado en inglés Sesgo… …   Wikipedia Español

  • bias — [bī′əs] n. pl. biases [MFr biais, a slope, slant < OFr < OProv < ?] 1. a line, cut or sewn diagonally across the weave of cloth, as in making seams, binding tape, etc. 2. a mental leaning or inclination; partiality; bent 3. Lawn Bowling… …   English World dictionary

  • bias — [n1] belief in one way; partiality bent, bigotry, chauvinism, disposition, favoritism, flash, head set*, illiberality, inclination, intolerance, leaning, mind set*, mind trip*, narrowmindedness, one sidedness, penchant, preconception,… …   New thesaurus

  • Bias — Bi as, adv. In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally; as, to cut cloth bias. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bias — Désigne en principe celui qui est originaire de Bias, nom de plusieurs hameaux et de deux communes du Sud Ouest (40, 47). Sens du toponyme : chemin, route (du latin via). Le nom de famille se rencontre plus rarement en Normandie, où il pourrait… …   Noms de famille

  • bias — n prejudice, prepossession, partiality, *predilection Analogous words: slant, standpoint, *point of view, viewpoint, angle: Meaning, propensity: inclining or inclination, predisposition, disposition (see corresponding verbs at INCLINE) Contrasted …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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