ModSCAN: Measuring Stereotypical Bias in Large Vision-Language Models from Vision and Language Modalities

Large vision-language models (LVLMs) have been rapidly developed and widely used in various fields, but the (potential) stereotypical bias in the model is largely unexplored. In this study, we present a pioneering measurement framework, ModSCAN, to SCAN the stereotypical bias within LVLMs from both vision and language Modalities. ModSCAN examines stereotypical biases with respect to two typical stereotypical attributes (gender and race) across three kinds of scenarios: occupations, descriptors, and persona traits. Our findings suggest that 1) the currently popular LVLMs show significant stereotype biases, with CogVLM emerging as the most biased model; 2) these stereotypical biases may stem from the inherent biases in the training dataset and pre-trained models; 3) the utilization of specific prompt prefixes (from both vision and language modalities) performs well in reducing stereotypical biases. We believe our work can serve as the foundation for understanding and addressing stereotypical bias in LVLMs. Disclaimer: This paper contains potentially unsafe information. Reader discretion is advised. Specify the Evaluated LVLM for ModSCAN Modality Human Face <Image> + Stereotypical Scenario <Text> Vision Modality Language Modality Stereotypical Scenario <Image> + Demographic <Text> Nurse, Firefighter, …