Binding Problems: Biases in Legal and Forensic Psychology

Decision making is in general quite sophisticated but at the same time hindered by biases. Biases present flaws in decision making that go beyond an incidental error, and are thus structural and to some extent predictable. One famous example is the myside bias: the structural overconfidence that we are right in any situation. Given its ubiquity, bias has also been shown to occur in important contexts such as legal decision making. Moreover, even individuals who serve as expert witnesses in legal proceedings do not seem to be free from bias. In this chapter, first, some general remarks about biases are made, and examples of biases are given. Next, sources of bias are discussed, and, third, examples of biases in the context of legal decision making are reviewed. Finally, the tenacity of biases, and hence the challenge of finding remedies, is discussed.