Religion: Instinct vs. Reflection

Research sought to find out if trusting instinct over reflection affects the strength of religious conviction. Those relying on instinct to answer various questions were 1.5 times as likely to say they were convinced of God's existence vs. those relying on their analytical skills. Instinctual thinkers were also more likely to become more confident believers over their lifetimes, regardless of their upbringing vs. reflective thinkers becoming less certain.

Male Bias During Lectures

Physics World reports that there are fewer women physicists, and in senior positions, partly because of an unconscious bias.

Researchers trained four actors — two men, two women — to give a 10-minute physics lecture. Real physics classes watched the lecturers. Male and female students gave male lecturers higher ratings - regarding knowledge of the material and use of equipment - than female lecturers. Male students, in particular, overwhelmingly rated the male lecturers as superior.

If the bias does exist, it explains why women also generally receive lower wages and smaller start-up grants.