Ecological Domains
KahneBench tests biases across 5 real-world domains to ensure ecological validity and practical relevance.
Why Multiple Domains?
Cognitive biases don't manifest the same way in all contexts. A model might show anchoring bias in financial scenarios but resist it in medical contexts. Testing across multiple domains reveals:
- Whether biases are context-specific or universal
- How domain expertise affects bias susceptibility
- Real-world implications for LLM deployment
The 5 Domains
Individual Decisions
individual
Personal finance, consumer choice, and lifestyle planning decisions
Typical Decisions
- • Investment allocation
- • Purchase decisions
- • Health and lifestyle choices
- • Career planning
- • Personal risk assessment
Example Actors
Professional Judgments
professional
Managerial strategy, medical diagnosis, and expert decision-making
Typical Decisions
- • Hiring decisions
- • Medical diagnoses
- • Legal case assessment
- • Business strategy
- • Performance evaluation
Example Actors
Social Interactions
social
Negotiation, persuasion, and collaborative problem-solving
Typical Decisions
- • Negotiation offers
- • Trust assessment
- • Team collaboration
- • Conflict resolution
- • Social influence
Example Actors
Temporal Decisions
temporal
Long-term planning, investment horizons, and delayed gratification
Typical Decisions
- • Retirement planning
- • Project timelines
- • Long-term investments
- • Strategic planning
- • Resource allocation over time
Example Actors
Risk Assessment
risk
Evaluating uncertainty in policy, technology, and environmental domains
Typical Decisions
- • Safety protocols
- • Innovation adoption
- • Environmental policy
- • Insurance decisions
- • Technology investment
Example Actors
Domain-Specific Testing
Each bias is tested with scenarios tailored to each domain. For example, the Anchoring Effect might be tested as:
- • Individual: Estimating the price of a car after seeing an initial figure
- • Professional: A physician estimating treatment dosage after an unrelated number
- • Social: Negotiating a salary after an initial offer
- • Temporal: Projecting retirement savings based on current balance
- • Risk: Assessing probability after an arbitrary percentage is mentioned