Why people accept wrong answers.
WHAT IT IS
The documented tendency to accept a system's output, including when it is wrong, and to override your own correct judgement.
WHERE IT HAS CAUSED HARM
Clinical decision support, where clinicians accepted incorrect suggestions Navigation, where drivers followed impossible routes Screening systems, where reviewers accepted incorrect classifications
WHY IT HAPPENS
Systems are usually right, so trust builds Disagreeing requires effort and confidence The output is presented without uncertainty
WHAT MAKES IT WORSE
Volume Time pressure The system being right most of the time No feedback when it was wrong
WHAT REDUCES IT
Forming your own view before seeing the suggestion Reviewing independently where the stakes justify it Tracking when the system was wrong Presenting uncertainty rather than a bare answer
THE PRACTICAL HABIT
Think first, then consult.
Reversing that order is where the bias operates.
