My bias checklist

“How might the opposite be true?”

The surer I am about something, the less appealing this tough little question feels… but the more important it becomes. As an investigator, I use a literal "bias checklist" to engage properly with perspectives that I don’t find as obvious or appealing. “Check” it out (ha ha) - and let me know your strategies for staying curious and broadening your perspective.

                BIAS CHECKLIST (Jess Hadley, 2024)

☐ Confirmation bias – have I favoured evidence that supports my working theory of the case?

☐ Primacy bias – am I favouring the evidence I heard first? 

☐ Association bias – am I finding anyone hard (or easy) to believe due to differences (or similarities) between me and them?

☐ Empathy bias or empathy gap – how is my analysis being affected by my own experience with (or lack of experience with) the kind of situation a witness is describing?

☐ Cultural or implicit bias – how might engrained racist, sexist (etc.) ideas be factoring into my analysis?

☐ Courtesy bias – am I hesitating to make a certain finding because I know it will be hard for someone (my client, a party)?

☐ Likeability bias – am I preferring the evidence from someone who seems nicer or more appealing to me?

☐ Repetition bias – am I tending to believe something just because it’s been said many times?

☐ Defensive attribution bias – am I doing any victim-blaming (which can happen in service of one’s wish to feel in control of the world and their own outcomes)?