What Is Cognitive Bias?A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them and affects the decisions and judgments that they make. Show
The human brain is powerful but subject to limitations. Cognitive biases are often a result of your brain's attempt to simplify information processing. Biases often work as rules of thumb that help you make sense of the world and reach decisions with relative speed.
Because of this, subtle biases can creep in and influence the way you see and think about the world. The concept of cognitive bias was first introduced by researchers Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1972. Since then, researchers have described a number of different types of biases that affect decision-making in a wide range of areas including social behavior, cognition, behavioral economics, education, management, healthcare, business, and finance. Cognitive Bias vs. Logical FallacyPeople sometimes confuse cognitive biases with logical fallacies, but the two are not the same. A logical fallacy stems from an error in a logical argument, while a cognitive bias is rooted in thought processing errors often arising from problems with memory, attention, attribution, and other mental mistakes. SignsEveryone exhibits cognitive bias. It might be easier to spot in others, but it is important to know that it is something that also affects your thinking. Some signs that you might be influenced by some type of cognitive bias include:
When you are making judgments and decisions about the world around you, you like to think that you are objective, logical, and capable of taking in and evaluating all the information that is available to you. Unfortunately, these biases sometimes trip us up, leading to poor decisions and bad judgments. TypesLearn more about a few of the most common types of cognitive biases that can distort your thinking.
At times, multiple biases may play a role in influencing your decisions and thinking. For example, you might misremember an event (the misinformation effect) and assume that everyone else shares that same memory of what happened (the false consensus effect). CausesIf you had to think about every possible option when making a decision, it would take a lot of time to make even the simplest choice. Because of the sheer complexity of the world around you and the amount of information in the environment, it is necessary sometimes to rely on some mental shortcuts that allow you to act quickly. Cognitive biases can be caused by a number of different things, but it is these mental shortcuts, known as heuristics, that often play a major contributing role. While they can often be surprisingly accurate, they can also lead to errors in thinking. Other factors that can also contribute to these biases:
Cognitive bias may also increase as people get older due to decreased cognitive flexibility. Impact of Cognitive BiasCognitive biases can lead to distorted thinking. Conspiracy theory beliefs, for example, are often influenced by a variety of biases. But cognitive biases are not necessarily all bad. Psychologists believe that many of these biases serve an adaptive purpose: They allow us to reach decisions quickly. This can be vital if we are facing a dangerous or threatening situation. For example, if you are walking down a dark alley and spot a dark shadow that seems to be following you, a cognitive bias might lead you to assume that it is a mugger and that you need to exit the alley as quickly as possible. The dark shadow may have simply been caused by a flag waving in the breeze, but relying on mental shortcuts can often get you out of the way of danger in situations where decisions need to be made quickly. Tips for Overcoming Cognitive BiasResearch suggests that cognitive training can help minimize cognitive biases in thinking. Some things that you can do to help overcome biases that might influence your thinking and decision-making include:
Reducing cognitive bias may also be beneficial in the treatment of some mental health conditions. Cognitive bias modification therapy (CBMT) is a treatment approach based on processes that are designed to reduce cognitive bias. This form of therapy has been used to help treat addictions, depression, and anxiety. Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Thanks for your feedback! Which part of the perception process is based on the fact that we notice some messages and ignore others?Selective attention is the means by which we focus on certain cues but ignore others, such as not noticing the look of disgust on the face of someone we like. In using any of these, we may bias the perceptual process of selection and end up with distorted views of people or events.
Which step in the perception process describes how we attach meaning to a specific situation person or message?Attribution describes the process of attaching meaning to behavior; several perceptual tendencies may lead to inaccurate attributions.
What is the third step in the perception process?Stage 3: Interpretation. After sensing the stimuli and organizing it into something recognizable, we attach a label; we interpret it. The interpretation stage is where we make sense of what we have experienced; we determine what it means to us.
In which phase of the perception process does the recognition of a figure as standing out from a ground of other stimuli take place?Right?" Give another interpretation. The recognition of a "figure" as standing out from a "ground" of other stimuli takes place during what phase of the perception process? Western culture.
|