Can an Unambiguous Cue Reduce Bias? [Under Review]

Many companies attempt to simplify information to ease decision-making for human perceivers. They operate under the assumption that if the available information is less ambiguous, perceivers’ decisions will be less biased. This assumption is a logical conclusion of prior literature. When perceivers have access to multiple qualifications, they differentially weigh those cues to justify biased decisions. It is then possible that, if a perceiver had access to only one qualification to use when deciding, bias will be reduced. In two studies, we manipulate the number of qualifications participants have access to and the ambiguity of the qualification. In Study 1, we find that participants are more accurate with one qualification compared to multiple qualifications. However, this increase in accuracy does not reduce bias. In Study 2, reducing the ambiguity of the single qualification again increased accuracy but did not reduce bias. Although many people and organizations presume that a single cue will make decisions easier and thus reduce bias, we only find that the decisions become easier and not necessarily less biased. A single, unambiguous qualification is still subject to biased responding.