WHAT SCIENTIFIC TERM OR CONCEPT OUGHT TO BE MORE WIDELY KNOWN? - SCIENTIFIC BIAS
Editor’s Note: In this piece Joe Petrini (‘19) explains the concept of scientific bias and connects it to a wider idea of social awareness and accountability in the current political climate.
The scientific term or concept that I think should be more widely known is experimenter bias. A term that has become more relevant with the development and widespread distribution of social science and other kinds of human behavioral study. Experimenter bias through a scientific lens is a procedural corruption of an experiment based on a preconception about the potential findings. However this is different from a hypothesis. A hypothesis is something that is often a product of the procedure as opposed to experimenter bias, which is an idea that is coming into play during the creation of the procedure. To me the broader use of the term experimenter bias would speak more to its conceptual value and the intent behind the word. By this, I mean that the intent to look at data to try and identify some kind of bias can be analogous to using a similarly critical eye to analyzing and internalizing information we are all exposed to.
I think the other main conceptual background to this term that is important is the way that it is used to give an individual his or her own intellectual value, whether that is disagreeing with a well established scientific paper’s findings or having a unique political ideology that contrasts a large political movement. Having that unique intellectual value is what makes our society thrive. The concept of experimenter bias is increasingly relevant in today’s society because taking a critical eye to information has become more and more important. In a period that internationally has been categorized by the spread of nationalist and xenophobic fundamentals, two mentalities that together lend itself to the spread of propaganda. The power of maintaining an individual critical eye in a political climate, similar to that of our current global one, can be the difference between allowing a political figure running on xenophobic rhetoric to become a leader or not. More than this having a unique and individual ideology can be extremely rewarding. Whether that means being involved in some kind of political movement or just having your own ideas that are different to that of your peers. On a less serious note having a critical eye to information just makes a person more empowered socially. The term of experimenter bias and its conceptual value use in a widespread society would have a massive effect on mitigating and truncating the spread of “fake news” and other propaganda tools.
I think the other main conceptual background to this term that is important is the way that it is used to give an individual his or her own intellectual value, whether that is disagreeing with a well established scientific paper’s findings or having a unique political ideology that contrasts a large political movement. Having that unique intellectual value is what makes our society thrive. The concept of experimenter bias is increasingly relevant in today’s society because taking a critical eye to information has become more and more important. In a period that internationally has been categorized by the spread of nationalist and xenophobic fundamentals, two mentalities that together lend itself to the spread of propaganda. The power of maintaining an individual critical eye in a political climate, similar to that of our current global one, can be the difference between allowing a political figure running on xenophobic rhetoric to become a leader or not. More than this having a unique and individual ideology can be extremely rewarding. Whether that means being involved in some kind of political movement or just having your own ideas that are different to that of your peers. On a less serious note having a critical eye to information just makes a person more empowered socially. The term of experimenter bias and its conceptual value use in a widespread society would have a massive effect on mitigating and truncating the spread of “fake news” and other propaganda tools.
