objectivity illusion

the tendency of people to see themselves as more impartial, more insightful, and less biased than others. For example, someone who likes a particular song might think that his or her opinion is based on objective reasoning and assume that the opinion of someone who dislikes the song is subjective and biased. Various studies have shown that people are aware of the objectivity illusion and can recognize it in others yet fail to identify the phenomenon in their own judgments. See also bias blind spot.

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Psychology term of the day

February 17th 2025

sexually dimorphic nucleus

a nucleus of the central nervous system that differs in size between males and females. In humans, for example, a nucleus in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus that synthesizes gonadotropin-releasing hormone tends to be larger and more active in males than in females because gonadotropin release is continuous (it is cyclical in females). In songbirds whose males sing more than females, several brain nuclei associated with both song learning and song production are larger in males than in females.