SELECTIVE HYPOTHESIS-TESTING

A diverse set of biases that have been found to characterize judgment may be similarly mediated by a process of selective hypothesis testing . Our paper begins with a definition of selective hypothesis testing a nd an explanation of how and when this process leads to error We then review a diverse and often disconnected set of findings in the person perception, judgment, cognition, attitudes, attribution, and rule disc overy literatures that can be explained by this process. Finally, we e xamine the question of why the selective testing of hypotheses occurs. Although the psychological literature suggests that selective hypothe sis testing contributes to a variety of errors, in many contexts it ma y be a useful and efficient strategy that leads to satisfactory judgme nt.