Encountering Bias: Examining Biases and Stereotypes in the Evaluation Process Among Expert Psychologists During Specialization Exams.

This article investigates cognitive biases exhibited by expert psychologists serving on specialization examination committees in Israel, focusing on clinical and educational psychology exams. The study found that clinical psychologists demonstrated several biases—including ethnic prominence bias, gender bias against men, exam order bias, and theoretical orientation bias—while educational psychologists showed no such biases. Candidates with non-Ashkenazi ethnic prominence and men in clinical psychology had higher failure rates, and examinees tested second or in the afternoon were more likely to fail, particularly in clinical psychology. Additionally, failing the exam was associated with increased distress symptoms, with educational psychology examinees reporting greater distress despite the absence of identified biases in their evaluations. These findings highlight the persistence of implicit biases even among trained experts and suggest the need for structured assessment procedures and further research into the causes and consequences of such biases in professional evaluations.