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| "The Children Act" (2018), starring Emma Thompson |
202. According to Tversky and Kahneman, if you give an evaluator irrelevant specific, biographical information about another person, it will harm the evaluator's ability to make a wise judgement about that person. In other words, when it comes to evaluation, irrelevant information is not simply neutral--it is actually harmful.
Consider how it might be possible to screen out irrelevant information in the electoral process, the courtroom, the health care system, the classroom, in a business, or in the management of a sports team.
Do you think evaluators in these contexts (voters, jury members, health care professionals, teachers, employers, coaches) might be better off if they had more restricted access to information about the subjects they are evaluating? Would restricting information in some these domains be more helpful (or harmful) in some of these domains than it would be in others? For example, would it be better to read edited reports than to have face to face encounters that are give evaluators access to lots of irrelevant information (including the appearance of the person being evaluated)?
This is a very tricky question to answer. A knee-jerk reaction would be to say yes and go purely by need-to-know information. However, some things can only be learned about a person through face-to-face interaction. Different mannerisms and body language can tell a lot about a person and can strengthen what would otherwise be potentially overlooked attributes if they were described on paper. I think a healthy blend would be to have only strictly relevant information presented, and afterwards in interviews ask specific, drilling questions about the information given. This would help eliminate ad hominem while still allowing for a thorough analysis.
ReplyDeleteThere’s so much that can distort the human mind about another human being. Mannerisms, religions, and more are so prominent whenever a person meets or sees someone else. The mind can be really judgemental naturally about another just by how they speak. I believe this question has a give and take to either side, but I think in many careers it’s needed. In high school, I was an aide to four different classes to help their students who needed extra attention. There was a mother who spoke so hatefully rude about her child-- to everyone (teachers, faculty, and more)! I could never understand why because when I met the child, they were the kindest being ever! Sometimes it is needed to see both so you can develop an accurate opinion.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know the same could be said that you can think wrongly about a person, like the mother did to her child. I just hope goodness can shine through, although that is sadly not the most realistic outcome usually.