Cognitive Biases

AP Seminar

anchoring

when people believe the first thing that they hear but are biased towards the others ex. first car deal is good so they assume its better than rest of the prices

curse of knowledge

assuming others do or do not know an amount of info ex. you know a lot so you assume that everyone does too

belief bias

believing a claim based on prior knowledge without verification ex. 99% success rate of a gym for weight loss

barnum effect

when people believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them, but in reality it applies to anyone ex. fortune tellers

sunk cost fallacy

when a person puts their time, effort, and money into something hard to let go even if it is the better choice ex. watching a bad movie

confirmation bias

only paying attention to information that aligns with your ideals ex. i believe that left handed people are smarter, so i place greater importance on every left handed person i meet

self-serving bias

when you take credit for something that benefits you and blame an external factor when something detriments you ex. take a test, fail and blame the teacher

groupthink

when multiple people in a group think alike and come to the same agreement ex. avoiding the feeling of being the outcast

availability heuristic

more resent powerful and emotional memories can make information to seem more relevant and important to you ex. shark attacks on movies make people think that shark attacks are a main form of death

dunning-kruger effect

linked with when you over or underestimate your ability to. do something but the opposite occurs instead ex. new employee thinks that they understand job requirements and did not ask enough questions, but job is much more complex

backfire effect

when evidence meant to go against an argument only strengthens the argument ex. info on promoting vaccinations only convinced people to not get vaccinated

negativity bias

when negative emotions cause pessimistic thinking that may influence opinions and decisions ex. watching a horror movie on woods causes a fear of camping

declinisim

a belief that a society is heading towards decline ex. school was safe but now the school shootings are leading to a decline

halo effect

tendency for an impression created in 1 area to influence an opinion in another area ex. fancy suit looks like a good worker but is bad at job

just world hypothesis

assumes that people get what they deserve ex. karma

bystander effect

people are less likely to help a victim when others are present and assuming that someone else will take action ex. murder of Kitty Genovese

framing effect

making decisions based on how an issue is presented ex. grocery products with different labels

optimism bias

causes the belief that someone is less likely to experience a negative event ex. “there is always a tomorrow”

in-group bias

favoritism in group members favoring one over another ex. preferring a person of the same nationality

reactance

reacting in an opposite way of being persuaded ex. child eating more candy when told not to

fundamental attribution error

attributing one’s actions to their character or personality outside of control ex. thinking that someone who didn’t answer your call is rude when in reality their phone was dead

pessimism bias

unhealthy overestimated expectancy of something negative to occur with or without necessary preparation ex. thinking that you will fail even after you studied

placebo effect

when people report real improvements after taking a fake medicine ex. taking fake headache pills and claiming that you no longer have a headache or you feel different/better

spotlight effect

belief that others pay attention to you more than they actually do ex. something embarrassing happens and you think everyone noticed but they didn’t