Cognitive bias

Cognitive bias refers to the systematic errors in thinking that affect the decisions and judgments that people make. Some of these biases are related to memory. The way you remember an event may be biased for a number of reasons and that in turn can lead to biased thinking and decision-making. Other cognitive biases might be related to problems with attention. Since attention is a limited resource, people have to be selective about what they pay attention to in the world around them. Because of this, subtle biases can creep into how people see and think about the world.

Types of Cognitive Biases

There are several different types of cognitive biases that can distort our thinking. Some of the most common include:

• Confirmation bias: This is favoring information that confirms your existing beliefs and discounting evidence that does not agree.
• Hindsight bias: Sometimes called the "I-knew-it-all-along" effect, the tendency to think, after an event has occurred, that you knew the outcome before it happened.
• Self-serving bias: The tendency to blame external forces when bad things happen and give yourself credit when good things happen. When you win a poker hand it is due to your skill at reading the other players and knowing the odds, while when you lose it is due to getting dealt a poor hand.
• Availability heuristic: This is placing greater value on information that comes to your mind quickly. You give greater credence to this information and tend to overestimate the probability and likelihood of similar things happening in the future.

Effects of Cognitive Biases

Cognitive biases can lead to systematic deviations from a standard of rationality or good judgment, and are often studied in psychology and behavioral economics. They can significantly affect the decision-making processes and lead to poor judgments. Cognitive biases can lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, or what is broadly called irrationality.

Overcoming Cognitive Biases

While it's impossible to eliminate cognitive biases, we can take steps to mitigate their effects. This begins by acknowledging that biases exist and attempting to identify them. In addition, we can also consciously apply techniques designed to overcome biases and improve decision-making. These may include using probabilistic thinking, seeking out different perspectives, and trying to think in terms of systems rather than absolutes.

Cognitive bias Resources
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