Intelligence, competitive altruism, and “clever silliness” may underlie bias in academe

Why is social bias and its depressing effects on low-status or low-performing groups exaggerated? We show that the higher intelligence of academics has at best a very weak effect on reducing their bias, facilitates superficially justifying their biases, and may make them better at understanding the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Behavioral and brain sciences 2017, Vol.40, p.e9-e9, Article e9
Main Authors: Madison, Guy, Dutton, Edward, Stern, Charlotta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Archives & records
Behavior
Bias
Conformity
Higher education
Human bias
Hypotheses
Intelligence
Open Peer Commentary
Personality
Personality traits
Population
Psychology
Sexual behavior
Social Conformity
Social Perception
Sociology
Studies
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Summary:Why is social bias and its depressing effects on low-status or low-performing groups exaggerated? We show that the higher intelligence of academics has at best a very weak effect on reducing their bias, facilitates superficially justifying their biases, and may make them better at understanding the benefits of social conformity in general and competitive altruism specifically. We foresee a surge in research examining these mechanisms and recommend, meanwhile, reviving and better observing scientific ideals.
ISSN:0140-525X
1469-1825
DOI:10.1017/S0140525X15002368