[Professor Robert Prentice] Psychological pressures, especially ones we are not conscious
of, often make it difficult for us to be as good as we would like to be.
One of the most significant is the self-serving bias -- the tendency we have to gather information,
process information, and even remember information in such a manner as to advance our self-interest
and support our pre-existing views.
Because of this bias, even when people try their hardest to be fair and impartial,
their judgments are inevitably shaded by their own self-interest, often in ways that seem indefensible
to others.
[Shawna] As a journalism major, I’ve, you know, written articles before, and I definitely,
you know, sometimes I feel very strongly about an issue that I’m writing about, and I look
for sources that kind of reinforce my own opinion.
The pleasure centers in our brains light up when we are told that our beliefs are correct
or that a conclusion that advances our self-interest is accurate.
Therefore, it's not surprising that people with conservative political beliefs are more
likely to watch Fox News while liberals are more likely to watch MSNBC.
Not only does the self-serving bias affect the information that we seek out, it also
affects how we process that information.
Thus, supporters of competing political candidates who watch the same debate each tend to conclude
that "their guy" won.
[Britta] As a filmmaker, sometimes you have a cut of your movie that’s not complete
yet and you’re seeking feedback from other people.
If they give you feedback that doesn’t go with that, or is the opposite of what you're
expecting them to say, it’s easy to be like, "Oh, well I asked the wrong people."
The self-serving bias even affects how we remember information.
Studies show that we are more likely to recall evidence that supports our point of view than
evidence that opposes it.
Because of the self-serving bias, studies show that when scientists review articles,
they will tend to conclude that those supporting their pre-existing point of view are of higher
quality than those opposing their point of view.
[Caroline] I had an assignment just this past semester that was a debate.
I read our side of the argument and so it’s very easy to be like, "This is great!
Like this is everything that I’ve been looking for!"
And then the failure to read the other side can be a really big problem.
An accountant industry official testified before the SEC, saying, “We are professionals
that follow our code of ethics and practice by the highest moral standards.
We would never be influenced by our own personal financial well-being."
This testimony reflected an embarrassing ignorance of the impact of self-interest upon all humans'
decision-making.
Inevitably, our self-interest clouds our ethical judgement, even in the most well-intentioned people.
The more subjective the judgement, the less certain the facts; and the more that's at stake,
the more influential the self-serving bias is likely to be.
Don’t make the same mistake!
Guard against the self-serving bias!
[Megan] If everyone’s looking out for their own individual effect in what they’re doing,
they’re not going to look out for, collectively, what they could do as a whole and what to
move society forward.
It might be the difference between having a discussion with someone and having an argument
with someone.
And I think having an argument is about winning and proving that your opinion is correct.
[Francisco] You’ve just got to be more objective, and be open to other people's ideas and thoughts.
If you can understand their viewpoint, I think we’ll all be in a better place and you’ve
started to diminish the effects of the self-serving bias.