This 44-page booklet is widely used by academic departments, faculty developers, ADVANCE campus programs,
diversity councils and officers, professional schools, and government labs and institutes.
RISING ABOVE COGNITIVE ERRORS: GUIDELINES FOR SEARCH, TENURE REVIEW,
AND OTHER EVALUATION COMMITTEES
Written by JoAnn Moody, PhD, JD National Specialist in Faculty Development
and Diversity
Booklet released 2005. Revised 2007.
Part I of the monograph focuses on: 15 typical cognitive errors and shortcuts unwittingly made by
individuals engaged in evaluation processes, such as
*longing to clone,
*seizing a pretext,
*unintended biases and stereotyping,
*pre-mature ranking.
The first section also discusses six common dysfunctions within academic organizations that exacerbate the
intensity of the cognitive errors. These dysfunctions include:
*overloading and rushing an evaluation committee;
*failing to coach and practice the committee before it begins its work;
*no checklists and checks-and-balances;
*no accountability within the committee process and no accountability for results.
Part II outlines 14 ways to rise above the cognitive errors as well as remedy the organizational dysfunctions.
These steps include:
*careful coaching and practicing of an evaluation committee so that members can name and then rise above typical
cognitive biases and errors;
*using a matrix or other device to help keep evaluators focused on the criteria agreed on;
*insistence on "show me the evidence" rather than accepting opinions and personal assumptions from committee
members;
*a non-voting or voting "process person" within the committee to help the committee chair keep members on track.
Part III provides five Discussion Scenarios (mini case studies) that individuals, committees, and entire departments
can use for practice, analysis, and honing their skills.
Note from the Author: This booklet draws on insights and strategies arising from my
long-standing consulting practice. The publication also draws on insights from cognitive scientists, brain-imaging
experts, behavioral economists, organizational psychologists, and medical leaders (such as Jerome Groopman who in his
book How Doctors Think outlines several "predictable and preventable" cognitive shortcuts that often mar medical
diagnoses).