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Unveiling the Mind Maze: Navigating the Landscape of Cognitive Biases

What are Cognitive Biases?

Cognitive biases are regular thought processes or mental heuristics that cause people to see reality incorrectly or erroneously. The brain uses heuristics (rules of thumb) and snap judgments in an effort to streamline information processing and decision-making, which leads to the development of these biases. While these mental shortcuts are frequently advantageous, they can also result in mistakes, incorrect interpretations, and irrational decisions.

Here are some different types of cognitive biases:

  1. Anchoring Bias: the practice of making conclusions based solely on the initial piece of information (the "anchor"), even when that information is irrelevant or incorrect. To understand Anchoring Bias with example please click here

  2. Availability Heuristic: People assess an event's likelihood based on their ability to quickly and easily recall similar circumstances. It is sometimes assumed that something is more plausible if it is easier to recall.

  3. Availability Bias: Using information from memory that is fresh, which causes an overestimation of the frequency or likelihood of more recent or vivid events. To understand Availability Heuristic Bias with example please click here

  4. Base Rate Neglect: Ignoring statistical information about the general population when making decisions and focusing instead on specific information about the case at hand.

  5. Confirmation Bias: The propensity to ignore or minimise information that contradicts one's ideas in favour of seeking out and emphasising information that supports those beliefs. To understand Confirmation bias with example please click here.

  6. Fundamental Attribution Error: The bias of attributing others' behaviours to their character or disposition while attributing our own behaviours to situational factors.

  7. Groupthink: In group settings, individuals tend to conform to the opinions of the group, suppressing dissenting viewpoints and critical thinking.

  8. Hindsight Bias: The inclination to perceive past events as having been predictable after they've occurred. People may think they knew it all along.

  9. Loss Aversion: Avoiding losses over gaining gains is preferred. People frequently go to tremendous lengths to preserve what they currently possess.

  10. Overconfidence Bias: People frequently overestimate their own skills, expertise, and the precision of their conclusions. This may result in making poor decisions and underestimating hazards.

  11. Sunk Cost Fallacy: The propensity to invest more money in a project or decision based on the resources previously committed, even though it is not prudent to do so.

  12. Status Quo Bias: The preference for things to stay the same by default. This bias can lead to resisting change even when change might be beneficial.

  13. Selective Perception: The default preference for things to remain the same. This bias may cause people to oppose change, even when it would be advantageous.

  14. Self-Serving Bias: The propensity to blame one's own qualities and skills for good results while blaming outside sources for bad results.

These biases can lead to an impact on decision making, problem solving and interpersonal interaction. We can make more informed and logical decisions in all aspects of life.

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