Fatal first impressions?
Unravelling biased decision-making in rater-based assessments

Project summary

Within a split second assessors form a first impression of a trainee. How does this first impression influence the final rating? Is this the reason for poorer ratings for ethnic minority trainees? Unravelling this judgment process is essential for fair assessments for all students in our multicultural society. This project will address essential knowledge gaps in understanding the mechanisms underlying decision-making in rater-based assessments and their relation to persistent ethnic disparities.

This project will inform theories of decision-making and of implicit bias and will contribute to a fair and just method of assessing all our future professionals, including those from ethnic minorities.