Cognitive Biases and Heuristics

Flashcards covering various cognitive biases and their definitions to help with understanding and recalling the concepts.

Anchoring Bias

A bias where people place disproportionate weight on the first information they receive, the 'anchor', affecting their decision-making.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

When someone overestimates their ability at a task due to a lack of knowledge or awareness of their own mistakes.

Belief Bias

Accepting claims that align with one's beliefs even if they are logically flawed.

Self-Serving Bias

The belief that one is responsible for their successes while blaming external factors for failures.

Backfire Effect

When a person's belief strengthens in response to being challenged, leading to an emotional rather than reasoned reaction.

Barnum Effect

The tendency to believe vague, generic personality descriptions apply specifically to oneself.

Groupthink

A psychological phenomenon where a cohesive group prioritizes consensus and conformity over critical analysis, leading to poor decision-making.

Optimism Bias

The belief that good things are more likely to happen to oneself than bad things, despite unrealistic expectations.

Pessimism Bias

Overestimating the likelihood of negative events while underestimating the likelihood of positive ones.

Negativity Bias

The tendency to focus more on negative experiences or information than positive ones, even when positives outweigh negatives.

Halo Effect

How much you like someone influences your other judgments of them.

Placebo Effect

The phenomenon where a person's expectations lead them to perceive an improvement in condition without an active treatment.

Bystander Effect

The tendency not to help someone in need when others are present, often due to assumed responsibility.

Spotlight Effect

The tendency to overestimate how much others notice one's appearance or mistakes, leading to self-consciousness.

Just-World Hypothesis

The belief that the world is fair, resulting in the assumption that people 'get what they deserve'.

Declinism

The belief that a society is declining over time while romanticizing the past.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to attribute a person's actions to their character rather than situational factors.

Reactance

A psychological response where individuals resist threats to their freedom of choice.