Abstract
Title IX investigations have been controversial and much of the scrutiny has been on legal dimensions such as thresholds of proof or cross-examining witnesses. However, another important issue is the accurate and unbiased processing of the information. This chapter discusses a well-known heuristic error known as confirmation bias and presents a methodology for potentially controlling for this bias in Title IX investigations. A hypothesis testing model in which competing hypotheses are developed and disconfirming or confirming information is delineated antecedently is presented. This chapter also discussed the difficulty of making final judgments which is also complicated by the lack of development of clear markers of sexual misconduct or of false allegations.
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O’Donohue, W.T. (2019). Decision Making in Title IX Investigations: A Hypothesis Testing Approach to Overcome Cognitive Bias. In: O’Donohue, W.T., Schewe, P.A. (eds) Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23645-8_37
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23645-8_37
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