What Is Cognitive Bias

What Is Cognitive Bias ?
(Govier, Trudy. 2010. A Practical Study of Argument. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning).
A cognitive bias is a strong, preconceived notion of someone or something, based on information

we have, perceive to have, or lack. These preconceptions are mental shortcuts the human brain
produces to expedite information processing—to quickly help it make sense of what it is seeing.
The many types of cognitive biases serve as systematic errors in a person’s subjective way of
thinking, which originate from that individual’s own perceptions, observations, or points of
view. There are different types of bias people experience that influence and affect the way we
think and behave, as well as our decision-making process.
How Does Cognitive Bias Impact the Way We Think ?
Biases make it difficult for people to exchange accurate information or derive truths. A cognitive
bias distorts our critical thinking, leading to possibly perpetuating misconceptions or
misinformation that can be damaging to others.
Biases lead us to avoid information that may be unwelcome or uncomfortable, rather than
investigating the information that could lead us to a more accurate outcome. Biases can also
cause us to see patterns or connections between ideas that aren’t necessarily there.
12 Examples of Cognitive Bias
There are many common cognitive biases that people exhibit. Some examples of common biases
are:
1. Confirmation bias. This type of bias refers to the tendency to seek out information that
supports something you already believe, and is a particularly pernicious subset of cognitive
bias—you remember the hits and forget the misses, which is a flaw in human reasoning.
People will cue into things that matter to them, and dismiss the things that don’t, often
leading to the “ostrich effect,” where a subject buries their head in the sand to avoid
information that may disprove their original point.
2. The Dunning-Kruger Effect. This particular bias refers to how people perceive a concept
or event to be simplistic just because their knowledge about it may be simple or lacking—
the less you know about something, the less complicated it may appear. However, this form
of bias limits curiosity—people don’t feel the need to further explore a concept, because it
seems simplistic to them. This bias can also lead people to think they are smarter than they
actually are, because they have reduced a complex idea to a simplistic understanding.
3. In-group bias. This type of bias refers to how people are more likely to support or believe
someone within their own social group than an outsider. This bias tends to remove
objectivity from any sort of selection or hiring process, as we tend to favor those we
personally know and want to help.
4. Self-serving bias. A self-serving bias is an assumption that good things happen to us when
we’ve done all the right things, but bad things happen to us because of circumstances
outside our control or things other people purport. This bias results in a tendency to blame
outside circumstances for bad situations rather than taking personal responsibility.
5. Availability bias. Also known as the availability heuristic, this bias refers to the tendency
to use the information we can quickly recall when evaluating a topic or idea—even if
this information is not the best representation of the topic or idea. Using this mental
shortcut, we deem the information we can most easily recall as valid, and ignore
alternative solutions or opinions.
6. Fundamental attribution error. This bias refers to the tendency to attribute someone’s
particular behaviors to existing, unfounded stereotypes while attributing our own
similar behavior to external factors. For instance, when someone on your team is late to
an important meeting, you may assume that they are lazy or lacking motivation without
considering internal and external factors like an illness or traffic accident that led to the
tardiness. However, when you are running late because of a flat tire, you expect others to
attribute the error to the external factor (flat tire) rather than your personal behavior.
7. Hindsight bias. Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along effect, is when people
perceive events to be more predictable after they happen. With this bias, people
overestimate their ability to predict an outcome beforehand, even though the
information they had at the time would not have led them to the correct outcome. This
type of bias happens often in sports and world affairs. Hindsight bias can lead to
overconfidence in one’s ability to predict future outcomes.
8. Anchoring bias. The anchoring bias, also known as focalism or the anchoring effect,
pertains to those who rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive—an
“anchoring” fact— and base all subsequent judgments or opinions on this fact.
9. Optimism bias. This bias refers to how we as humans are more likely to estimate a
positive outcome if we are in a good mood.
10. Pessimism bias. This bias refers to how we as humans are more likely to estimate a
negative outcome if we are in a bad mood.
11. The halo effect. This bias refers to the tendency to allow our impression of a person,
company, or business in one domain influence our overall impression of the person or
entity. For instance, a consumer who enjoys the performance of a microwave that they
bought from a specific brand is more likely to buy other products from that brand because of
their positive experience with the microwave.
12. Status quo bias. The status quo bias refers to the preference to keep things in their
current state, while regarding any type of change as a loss. This bias results in the
difficulty to process or accept change.
How to Reduce Cognitive Bias
Even though cognitive biases are pervasive throughout every system, there are ways to address
your bias blind spots:
Be aware. The best way to prevent cognitive bias from influencing the way you think or make
decisions is by being aware that they exist in the first place. Critical thinking is the enemy of
bias. By knowing there are factors that can alter the way we see, experience, or recall things, we
know that there are additional steps we must take when forming a judgment or opinion about
something.
Challenge your own beliefs. Once you’re aware that your own thinking is heavily biased,
continuously challenge the things you believe is a good way to begin the debiasing process—
especially when receiving new information. This can help you expand your pool of knowledge,
giving you a greater understanding of the subject matter.
Try a blind approach. Especially in the case of observer bias, researchers conduct blind studies
to reduce the amount of bias in scientific studies or focus groups. By limiting the amount of
influential information a person or group of people receive, they can make less affected
decisions.
What Is the Difference Between Logical Fallacy and Cognitive Bias ?
Cognitive biases are often confused with logical fallacies. A cognitive bias refers to how our
internal thinking patterns affect how we understand and process information. A logical fallacy
refers to an error in reasoning that weakens or invalidates an argument. Cognitive biases are
systematic errors in a person’s subjective way of thinking, while logical fallacies are about the
errors in a logical argument.

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What Is Cognitive Bias ?

(Govier, Trudy. 2010. A Practical Study of Argument. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning).

A cognitive bias is a strong, preconceived notion of someone or something, based on information

How Does Cognitive Bias Impact the Way We Think ?

12 Examples of Cognitive Bias

How to Reduce Cognitive Bias

What Is the Difference Between Logical Fallacy and Cognitive Bias ?

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