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Bias in the Counseling Process: How to Recognize and Avoid It
Author(s) -
MORROW KELLY A.,
DEIDAN CECILIA T.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1992.tb01663.x
Subject(s) - heuristics , representativeness heuristic , psychology , debiasing , attribution bias , confirmation bias , attribution , cognitive psychology , psychological intervention , process (computing) , vulnerability (computing) , response bias , social psychology , computer science , computer security , psychiatry , operating system
Counselors' vulnerability to inferential bias during the counseling process may result in misdiagnosis and improper interventions. This article provides readers with information regarding inferential bias. The inferential biases discussed include (a) availability and representativeness heuristics; (b) fundamental attribution error; (c) anchoring, prior knowledge, and labeling; (d) confirmatory hypothesis testing; and (e) reconstructive memory. Each bias is described and illustrated through fictitious case vignettes, and suggestions concerning what precautions counselors may do to avoid each type of bias are presented.