Motivated reasoning and faculty interpretation of student evaluation research

Abstract

In higher education, student evaluation surveys are an important tool for the assessment and improvement of teaching. Despite decades of investigation, research has yet to resolve disagreement about gender bias in student evaluations. One cause of disagreement may be motivated interpretation of research based on preexisting beliefs about gender bias. The current study examined how faculty members’ (N = 436) initial beliefs about gender bias and student evaluations influenced their interpretation of research on the topic. Participants read a summary of a study that either supported or refuted their initial beliefs about bias and then evaluated the study. Analysis of participants’ initial beliefs showed that 54% believed that student evaluations have a gender bias, 19% believed there is no bias, and 27% were neutral. Although participants believed that scientific evidence is relevant to the issue of gender bias in student evaluations, their initial beliefs affected perceptions of the study. Participants tended to view the study as stronger and more convincing when the results supported their initial belief. There was little reported attitude change after reading the summary. Overall, the current research suggests that motivated reasoning may contribute to the disagreement about the scientific status of gender bias in student evaluations.

Keywords:

• student evaluations of teaching
• biased assimilation
• attitude polarization
• motivated reasoning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Note

The materials and data that support the findings of this study are openly available at https://osf.io/284pc/