Biases

Cognitive bias

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias

Cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Individuals create their own “subjective reality” from their perception of the input. An individual’s construction of reality, not the objective input, may dictate their behavior in the world. Thus, cognitive biases may sometimes lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, and irrationality.

https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/cognitive-bias/

Cognitive bias is the tendency to act in an irrational way due to our limited ability to process information objectively. It is not always negative, but it can cloud our judgment and affect how clearly we perceive situations, people, or potential risks.

Example: One common manifestation of cognitive bias is the stereotype that women are less competent or less committed to their jobs. These stereotypes may linger in managers’ subconscious, influencing their hiring and promoting decisions. This, in turn, can lead to workplace discrimination.

What are different types of cognitive bias?

Although there is no exhaustive list of all types of cognitive bias, below are some common ones that often distort our thinking.

1. Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely on the first piece of information offered. It applies particularly to numbers. Negotiators use anchoring bias by starting with a number that is too low or too high. They know that this number will set the bar for subsequent offers.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/anchoring-bias/
2. The framing effect occurs when people make a choice based on whether the options presented to them are phrased in a positive or a negative way, for example in terms of loss or gain, reward or punishment.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/framing-effect/
3. Actor–observer bias is the tendency to attribute our actions to external factors and other people’s actions to internal ones. For example, if you and a classmate both fail an exam, you may think that your failure was due to the difficulty of the questions, while your classmate’s was due to poor preparation.
4. The availability heuristic (or availability bias) applies when we place greater value on information that is available to us or comes to mind quickly. Because of this, we tend to overestimate the probability of similar things happening again.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/availability-heuristic/
5. Confirmation bias refers to our tendency to look for evidence confirming what we already believe, viewing facts and ideas we encounter as further confirmation. Confirmation bias also leads us to ignore any evidence that seems to support an opposing view.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/confirmation-bias/
6. The halo effect refers to how our perception of a single trait can influence how we perceive other aspects, particularly in regards to someone’s personality. For example, when we consider someone to be physically attractive, it often determines how we rate their other qualities.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/halo-effect/
7. The Baader–Meinhof phenomenon (or frequency illusion) is the tendency to see new information, names, or patterns “everywhere” soon after they’re first brought to our attention.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/baader-meinhof-phenomenon/
8. The belief bias describes the tendency to judge an argument based on how plausible we find the conclusion to be, rather than how much evidence is provided to support this conclusions over the course of the argument.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/belief-bias/
9. The affect heuristic occurs when our current emotional state or mood influences our decisions. Instead of evaluating the situation objectively, we rely on our “gut feelings” and respond according to how we feel.
   1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/affect-heuristic/
10. The representativeness heuristic occurs when we estimate the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a known situation. In other words, we compare it to a situation, prototype, or stereotype we already have in mind.
    1. https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/representativeness-heuristic/

Confirmation bias

AKA confirmatory information bias

AKA Cognitive dissonance

Confirmation bias is people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is largely unintentional, and it results in a person ignoring information that is inconsistent with their beliefs. These beliefs can include a person’s expectations in a given situation and their predictions about a particular outcome. People are especially likely to process information to support their own beliefs when an issue is highly important or self-relevant.

“Confirmation bias — probably the most pervasive and damaging bias of them all - leads us to look for evidence that confirms what we already think.”

https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias

Optimism bias

When it comes to predicting what will happen to us tomorrow, next week, or fifty years from now, we overestimate the likelihood of positive events, and underestimate the likelihood of negative events. For example, we underrate our chances of getting divorced, being in a car accident, or suffering from cancer. We also expect to live longer than objective measures would warrant, overestimate our success in the job market, and believe that our children will be especially talented. This phenomenon is known as the optimism bias, and it is one of the most consistent, prevalent, and robust biases documented in psychology and behavioral economics.

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211011912
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimism_bias

Implicit Bias

It is also known as implicit social cognition.

Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.

Origins of Implicit Bias

Implicit biases are the result of mental associations that have formed by the direct and indirect messaging we receive, often about different groups of people. When we are constantly exposed to certain identity groups being paired with certain characteristics, we can begin to automatically and unconsciously associate the identity with the characteristics, whether or not the association aligns with reality.

Key Characteristics of Implicit Bias

1. Unconscious or automatic
2. Pervasive
3. Don’t always align with explicit beliefs
4. Have real-world effects on behavior
5. Malleable

See Until I Was a Man, I Had No Idea How Good Men Had It at Work

Information bias

Information bias is a type of error that occurs when key study variables are incorrectly measured or classified. Information bias can affect the findings of observational or experimental studies due to systematic differences in how data is obtained from various study groups.

Selection bias

Selection bias refers to situations where research bias is introduced due to factors related to the study’s participants. Selection bias can be introduced via the methods used to select the population of interest, the sampling methods, or the recruitment of participants. It is also known as the selection effect.

Types of Selection bias

1. Sampling bias
2. Survivorship bias
3. Attrition bias
4. Non-response bias
5. Volunteer bias
6. Under-coverage bias

Sampling bias

Sampling bias occurs when a sample does not accurately represent the population being studied. This can happen when there are systematic errors in the sampling process, leading to over-representation or under-representation of certain groups within the sample.

1. https://www.simplypsychology.org/sampling-bias-types-examples-how-to-avoid-it.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_bias

Survivorship bias

Tags

1. Status Quo Bias and Disrupting the Status Quo