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Behavioral

A Simple Thumbs Up or Down Eliminates Racial Bias in Online Ratings‌‌

Yale SOM’s Tristan Botelho and his co-authors found that the ubiquitous five-star rating system could subtly propagate discrimination. But they also found a surprisingly simple fix: switching to a two-point scale (thumbs up or thumbs down) eliminated subtle racial bias in customer ratings of gig workers.‌‌

An illustration of people wearing glasses in the shape of thumbs up and thumbs down