TYPES OF COGNITIVE BIAS

UNIT 2 CHAPTER 6 PSYCHOLOGY

COGNITIVE BIAS

A subconscious error in thinking that leads you to misinterpret information from the world around you. It can become a habitual way of distorted thinking which negatively impacts on a person’s personal and professional life.

ANCHORING BIAS

Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely heavily on the very first piece of information received when making a decision and to not modify this anchor sufficiently in light of later information.

A salesperson might deliberately set the anchor too high (as in the price of a car) so that any future decrease in price will seem like a discount.

ATTENTIONAL BIAS

Attentional bias is the tendency to prioritise attention to certain information (or other stimuli) over other information.

For example, when really hungry, you may find yourself inordinately distracted by food related words or images, and you may have a hard time thinking of anything other than food.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek, recall or interpret information in a way that confirms existing beliefs or expectations, while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence

For example, during presidential elections, people tend to seek information that paints the candidate they support in a positive light, while dismissing any information that paints them in a negative light.

FALSE-CONSENSUS BIAS

False-consensus bias is the tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people are like them in terms of sharing beliefs, personal characteristics or behaviours.

For example, a child might assume that their favourite snack is every other child's favourite snack.

HINDSIGHT BIAS

Hindsight bias is the tendency, only after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen.

For example, after attending a football game, you might insist that you knew that the winning team was going to win beforehand.

MISINFORMATION EFFECT

The misinformation effect is the tendency for information acquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the memory of the original event. A person will mistakenly recall information acquired after an event as being part of that event instead of accurately recalling the information that had been acquired during the event.

For example, if someone gives their version of a car accident you saw, this new information may interfere with the accuracy of your eyewitness memory. It is possible for the new information to become part of your memory of the event even though it didn’t occur or you didn’t actually witness it.

OPTIMISM BIAS

Optimism bias is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events in the future.

For example, not adding money to an emergency savings fund because you overestimate your job security.

DUNNIN-KRUGER EFFECT

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a type of cognitive bias whereby people overestimate their knowledge or ability, particularly in areas with which they have little to no knowledge or experience.

For example an amateur chess player overestimates their performance in the upcoming chess tournament compared to their competent counterparts.