Cognitive Biases that all of us have to know about
Menanteau Serfontein – 25 February 2022
Definition: A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from objective rational judgment. People create their own “subjective reality” from their perception of input (an event, what was said, etc). People’s subjective biased construction of reality, not the objective input, may dictate their beliefs, opinions and behaviour.
While we like to believe that we are rational and logical, the fact is that all of us are continually under the influence of cognitive biases. These biases distort our thinking, influence beliefs, and sway our daily judgments and decisions.
Sometimes these biases are fairly obvious, and you might even find that you recognize these tendencies in yourself or others. In other cases, these biases are so subtle that they are almost impossible to notice.
These biases happen because we often rely on mental shortcuts that speed up our ability to make judgments, but this often leads to bias and mistakes in our decision-making.
The following are just a few of the different cognitive biases that have a powerful influence on how we think, feel, and behave.
- The Confirmation Bias
The confirmation bias is the tendency to prefer to listen more often to information that confirms our existing beliefs. Through this bias, people tend to favour information that reinforces the things that they already think or believe.
Examples include:
- Only paying attention to information that confirms your current beliefs.
- Refusing to listen to the opposing side.
- Not considering all of the facts in a logical and rational manner.
- Choosing news sources that present stories that support your views.
There are a few reasons why this happens. One is that only seeking to confirm, helps to minimise our mental and emotional energy that we need to consider options and make decisions. It also helps to protect our self-esteem by making us feel that our beliefs are accurate.
Confirmation bias causes “bias” in forming and confirming our opinions.
One of the disadvantages of confirmation bias is that it could lead to incorrect understanding and poor choices. It could also result in an unwillingness and/or inability to listen to opposing views, or to contribute to discussions/debates with people who hold different opinions.
- The Anchoring Bias
The anchoring bias occurs when we rely too much on pre-existing information or the first information we find when making decisions. Some examples of how this works:
- The first number voiced during a price negotiation typically becomes the anchoring point from which all further negotiations are based.
- Whilst shopping for a used car, you might see a car for sale for $13,000. If the next car you see is only $9,000, you might view this car as cheap, regardless of the actual value of the car.
Like other cognitive biases, anchoring can have an effect on the decisions you make each day and can sometimes lead to poor choices, because the bias makes it more difficult to consider other important factors before making a decision.
- The Misinformation Effect
The misinformation effect is the tendency for memories to be heavily influenced by things that happened after the actual event itself. A person who witnesses a car accident or crime might believe that their recollection is crystal clear, but researchers have found that memory, is surprisingly susceptible to even very subtle influences.
For example:
- Simply asking questions about an event can change someone’s memories of what happened.
- Hearing other people talk about a memory from their perspective may change your memory of what transpired.
- The Actor-Observer Bias
The actor-observer bias is the tendency to attribute our actions to external influences and other people’s actions to internal ones. The way we perceive others and how we attribute their actions, hinges on a variety of variables, but it can be heavily influenced by whether we are the actor or the observer in a situation.
When it comes to our own actions, we are often far too likely to attribute things to external influences. For example:
- You might complain that you botched an important meeting because you had jet lag.
- You might say you failed an exam because the teacher posed too many trick questions.
When it comes to explaining other people’s actions, however, we are far more likely to attribute their behaviours to internal causes. For example:
- A colleague screwed up an important presentation because he’s lazy and incompetent (not because he also had jet lag).
- A fellow student bombed a test because they lack diligence and intelligence (and not because they took the same test as you with all those trick questions).
- The False-Consensus Effect
The false-consensus effect is the tendency people have to overestimate how much other people agree with their own beliefs, behaviours, attitudes, and values. For example:
- Thinking that other people share your opinion on controversial topics.
- Overestimating the number of people who are similar to you.
- Believing that the majority of people share your preferences.
Researchers have found that some of the reasons why the false-consensus effect trips us up so easily, include:
- The people with whom we spend a lot of our time, our family and friends, do often tend to share very similar opinions and beliefs. Because of this, we start to think that this way of thinking is the majority opinion, even when we are with people who are not part of our family and friends.
- When we believe that other people are just like us, it soothes our self-esteem and ego. It allows us to feel “normal” and maintain a positive view of ourselves in relation to other people.
- The Halo Effect
The halo effect applies when our initial impression of a person influences what we think of them overall. Also known as the “physical attractiveness stereotype“ or the “what is beautiful is ‘good’ principle”. We are either influenced by, or use the halo, to influence others almost every day. For example:
- Thinking people who are good-looking are also smarter, kinder, and funnier than less attractive people.
- Believing that products marketed by attractive people are also more valuable.
- Thinking that a political candidate who is confident must also be intelligent and competent.
- The Self-Serving Bias
The self-serving bias is a tendency for people to tend to give themselves credit for successes, but lay the blame for failures on outside causes. When you do well on a project, you probably assume that it’s because you worked hard. But when things turn out badly, you are more likely to blame it on circumstances or bad luck.
This bias does serve an important role in protecting self-esteem. However, it can often also lead to faulty attributions such as blaming others for our own shortcomings.
- The Availability Heuristic
The availability heuristic is the tendency to estimate the probability of something happening based on how many examples readily come to mind. One example:
- After seeing several news reports of car thefts in your neighbourhood, you might start to believe that such crimes are more common than they are.
It is essentially a mental shortcut designed to save us time when we are trying to determine risk. The problem with relying on this way of thinking is that it often leads to poor assessments and bad decisions.
- The Optimism Bias
The optimism bias is a tendency to overestimate the likelihood that good things will happen to us, while underestimating the probability that negative events will impact our lives. Essentially, we tend to be too optimistic for our own good. For example:
- We may assume that negative events such as job loss, illness or death won’t affect us.
- This bias can lead people to take unnecessary risks.
The good news is that this tendency toward optimism helps people to have hope for the future and the motivation they need to pursue their goals, trusting that they will succeed.
Comment
The cognitive biases above are common, but there are various other biases that can also affect your thinking and decision making.
NOTE: A large amount of the content of this essay has been derived from an article entitled “List of Common Cognitive Biases” by Kendra Cherry – Reviewed by Amy Morin, LCSW – Updated on January 20, 2021
https://www.verywellmind.com/cognitive-biases-distort-thinking-2794763
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