4. Perceptions and Attributions

• Selective Attention: Noticing certain things, ignoring others (based on interests, experiences, attitudes)
  

• Heuristic: Shortcut in decision-making
  

• Confirmation Bias: Focus on info that supports existing beliefs/decisions
  

• Attribution Biases: Misinterpreting causes of events/behaviors
  

• Common Errors: Primacy effect, Recency effect, Peak-End Effect
  

• Availability Bias: Relying on easily recalled info
  

• Pygmalion Effect: Higher expectations → improved performance
  

Other Biases/Effects:

• Dunning-Kruger Effect – low-skill individuals overestimate, experts underestimate → overconfidence bias
  

• Randomness Error – belief in predicting random events → overconfidence bias
  

• Escalation of Commitment – sticking with bad decision despite negative info (examples: failing projects, Ford Pinto case)
  

• Brain Systems:

  • System 1 – fast, automatic, emotional (“cognitive misers”)
    

  • System 2 – slow, deliberate, rational, effortful (important decisions)