Forensic Confirmation Bias: Is Consider-the-Opposite an Effective Debiasing Strategy?
Loading...
Authors
Griffith, Rebecca L.
Issue Date
2019
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Psychology , Mental health services--Evaluation
Alternative Title
Abstract
Confirmation bias is the tendency to remember or seek out information in a way that confirms
one’s hypothesis rather than seeking out information that disproves the hypothesis. A large
body of research suggests that confirmation bias is present in forensic contexts (i.e., police
investigations). However, less is known about confirmation bias in forensic mental health
evaluations (FMHE). The purpose of the present study is to gain a better understanding of
confirmation bias in FMHE and test a debiasing strategy that may be useful in counteracting
confirmation bias effects. Forty-four forensic clinicians were asked to consider hypothetical
vignettes and select information they would like to see next to uncover if they are using a
confirmatory search (i.e., engaging in confirmation bias). Next, a debiasing strategy, considerthe-
opposite, was tested. Results indicated forensic clinicians were susceptible to confirmation
bias (p = .001) and the de-biasing intervention was effective in reducing this phenomenon (p
= .036). The de-biasing intervention was brief and has the potential to generalize to a variety
of clinical assessments and settings.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Washburn University