Inference bias stems from self-centered attention, not self-serving favoritism
Evidence
In foreign policy as well, the degree to which a factor is seen as influential depends in part on the amount of information that the decision-maker has about it. What the decision-maker is most likely to know about are his own worries and plans, thus contributing to the egocentric nature of inference. This bias is not necessarily a selfserving one—the actor does not always see himself in a favorable light. Rather, people place themselves at the center of others’ attention, believing that others are reacting to them or trying to affect them. Since the decision-maker knows about his state’s policy in great detail, it will be relatively easy for him to find some element in it that could have been the cause or the object of the other state’s actions. By contrast, many of the other possible causes of the other state’s behavior are seen only in dim outline. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2579 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Because one of the main causes of ingroup bias is thought to be the association of the ingroup with the self (Cadinu & Rothbart, 1996), attributing traits associated with the self to the outgroup target is likely to lead to a more positive evaluation of her or him, which may then generalize to the outgroup as a whole. The increased cognitive accessibility of the self-concept after perspective-taking might also result in the preferential use of the self-concept rather than a stereotype schema to guide the categorization and evaluation of an outgroup member. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1836 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
Many market economists have long asserted that eventually the people of the Eastern nations would give up on communist command economics. Interests must eventually trump an ideology that runs counter to interests. Market economists and rabid anti-Communists agreed that the ideology was counter to interests. But the economists had better (more generally applicable) grounds for understanding citizens of communist states than did the American far right because their conclusions were grounded in expectations of rationality, not expectations of irrationality. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 533 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Diffusing meat ownership reduces self-serving bias in distribution. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 514; Attitudes predict behavior even without attentional focus — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition: Attitudes,…, 79; Implicit biases can be consciously overridden through deliberate attention — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1362 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Information asymmetry, not self-serving motives, drives egocentric inference in foreign policy
#corroborates(0.92) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2579 - Perspective-taking reduces bias by transferring self-attributes onto outgroup members.
#complicates(0.74) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1836 - Predicting behavior from rational self-interest offers firmer ground than assuming ideological irrationality.
#complicates(0.73) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 533