Social bias engulfs the field - Reply to Ward on Krueger on social-bias

Ward (2000) justifies contemporary research on social-perceptual biases by suggesting that biases are rare and that they, because of their rarity, rev eal the properties of the social-perceptual apparatus. I take this argument to mean that social biases are analogous to visual illusions: odd but info rmative. Sometimes, this analogy works, but as a general theoretical platfo rm, it is inadequate. I address this epistemic disagreement by disputing th ree of Ward's specific claims. Pragmatically, however, I agree with Ward on that some biases demand attention because they yield large effects and und esirable social consequences.