Cognitive Biases in the Political Arena

Vocabulary flashcards covering common cognitive biases that distort political perspectives as discussed in the lecture notes.

Confirmation bias

Favoring or seeking information that affirms your pre-existing beliefs.

Coverage bias

The extent to which different issues are reported on and discussed.

Concision bias

Selectively focusing on information, losing nuance.

Authority bias

The tendency to believe or follow the opinions of people in positions of authority, even if they might be wrong, based on their title, status, or expertise.

Dunning-Kruger effect

A cognitive bias where people with limited knowledge or competence in a specific area greatly overestimate their own skills.

Availability cascade

An idea accumulates more credibility as it spreads among people.

Halo effect

This occurs when a positive characteristic influences what we think of a person’s other qualities, even when there is not enough evidence.

Declinism

A bias where we romanticize the past and believe that society and institutions are in decline.

Framing effect

Drawing different conclusions based on how an idea is presented to us.

Groupthink

A decision-making problem where members of a group prioritize agreement and unity over critical thinking, causing them to ignore risks and suppress different opinions.

False consensus

The tendency to assume that one's own political views are more common and widely accepted than they actually are.