In an era marked by the widespread accessibility of information through the democratization of the Internet, our minds grapple with an overwhelming influx of data. Consequently, our cognitive processes often resort to convenient mental shortcuts, commonly referred to as mental heuristics. This leads to potential pitfalls in our thought patterns.
Everyone is prone to cognitive biases; it's critical to understand what biases you are susceptible to ensure that they affect your decision-making as little as possible.
Cognitive bias vs logical fallacy
Many tend to confuse logical fallacies with cognitive biases. Though both are ways through which people fail at thinking, cognitive biases represent inherent tendencies
toward flawed reasoning in individuals, while logical fallacies denote isolated instances when an individual fails to reason effectively.
An example of a logical fallacy is a red herring, where a misleading argument is made to distract from the main issue discussed. As the misleading argument is not an inherent bias that the speaker has, it is not a cognitive bias but rather a logical fallacy.
Common causes of cognitive bias
The most common cause of cognitive biases is mental heuristics, but other causes of cognitive biases include:
Personal motivations
Emotions that cloud ones’ reasoning
Societal pressures/ values
Decrease in cognitive flexibility due to age
Signs of cognitive biases
Here are some signs that cognitive bias affects your judgments and decisions:
You exclusively focus on news stories that validate your pre-existing beliefs.
You assign blame to external factors when faced with setbacks.
You credit luck for other people's achievements while claiming personal merit for your successes.
You presume that everyone else holds the same opinions or beliefs as you.
You learn a little about a topic, however, you assume that you have a comprehensive understanding.
Examples of cognitive biases
Swimmer’s body illusion:
This is the confusion of selection factors with the outcome.
As the name of the bias suggests, professional swimmers are thought to have the perfect body shape thanks to their sport, which requires them to work out many muscle groups. In reality, professional swimmers are chosen based on their body shape, which makes them optimal for swimming professionally.
This bias is seen in real life when universities talk about their placement statistics and most notable alumni. When both of these are impressive, one is prone to think that the college has top-notch facilities and professors that aid their students to succeed. However, sometimes, the college itself is not great, but due to its rigorous selection criteria, it only admits the top 1%. As these students are already bright, no matter how impressive the college teaches, they get good placements. Hence, the majority of them succeed in life.
Sunken cost fallacy
This is when individuals continue to pursue an endeavor due to previously invested resources like financial resources and time, despite evidence showing that it is wiser to drop the endeavor.
A famous example of the Sunken Cost Fallacy that cost governments millions is the Concorde Fallacy. In 1956, the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee convened to explore the development of the Concorde, a supersonic airplane. An intergovernmental collaboration between the French and the British, this project was initially estimated to cost nearly $100 million. Well before the project's completion, it became evident that escalating costs would not be offset by the anticipated financial returns from the plane's operation. Despite this realization, manufacturers and governments pressed forward due to substantial financial and time investments already made. Ultimately, this persistence resulted in the squandering of millions of dollars, and the Concorde had an operational lifespan of less than 30 years.
Impacts of cognitive biases
Cognitive biases may impact an individual’s decision-making and problem-solving and affect their relationships and professionalism.
Decision-Making: Cognitive biases can distort information processing, leading individuals to make suboptimal decisions based on flawed judgments and perceptions.
Problem-Solving: Cognitive biases hinder objective analysis, causing individuals to overlook alternative solutions or fixate on familiar approaches, limiting creativity and effectiveness in problem-solving.
Interpersonal Relationships: Biases like confirmation bias and stereotyping can influence how individuals perceive and interact with others, potentially leading to misunderstandings, prejudice, and strained relationships.
Professional Environments: Cognitive biases can impact workplace dynamics by affecting hiring decisions, performance evaluations, and team interactions. They introduce elements of unfairness and hinder organizations' overall productivity and success.
Tips to avoid cognitive biases
Avoiding cognitive biases completely can be difficult, but here are some strategies to help minimize their impact:
Be aware of your own biases. Familiarising yourself with common cognitive biases can make it easier to find out what cognitive biases affect your decision-thinking. Hence, it will be easier for you to counteract them.
Regularly question your own beliefs, opinions, and assumptions. In today’s media landscape, social media’s echo chamber effect enables exposure to only one viewpoint that validates their beliefs. Hence, expose yourself to a range of opinions by subscribing to various news outlets with various political alignments.
Slow down your thinking. Give yourself time to analyze situations more thoroughly before making decisions so you do not significantly rely on mental heuristics.
Use critical thinking. Learn to distinguish facts from interpretations and beware of emotional influences that can affect your judgment when evaluating information objectively.
Reference List
Bernstein, C. (2017). What is cognitive bias? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] SearchEnterpriseAI. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/cognitive-bias [Accessed 27 Feb. 2024].
Cherry, K. (2020). What Is Cognitive Bias? [online] Verywell Mind. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cognitive-bias-2794963 [Accessed 27 Feb. 2024].
Explains, R. (2021). Swimmer’s Body Illusion. [online] Medium. Available at: https://rajatexplains.medium.com/swimmers-body-illusion-c3d50b8d4c6a [Accessed 27 Feb. 2024].
Heick, T. (2022). The Difference Between Logical Fallacies And Cognitive Biases. [online]
TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/the-difference-between-logical-fallacies-and-cognitive-biases/#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20logical%20fallacies%20and [Accessed 27 Feb. 2024].
The Decision Lab (2023). The Sunk Cost Fallacy. [online] The Decision Lab. Available at: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy.
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