6.7 Cognitive Bias Flashcards
What is cognitive bias?
a mistaken way of thinking that leads to systematic errors of judgment and faulty decision-making
Why is cognitive bias considered a systematic error?
-flawed thinking attributable to the person who thinks in a bias way
-occurs without conscious awareness
-occurs constantly and predictably under certain circumstances
What is anchoring bias?
The tendency to rely heavily on the very first piece of information received (called the anchor) when making a decision and to not modify this anchor sufficiently in light of later information
Example: If you see the hoodie you like for $450 which is above your urdget, you’re prone to think that anything cheaper is good value
What is attentional bias?
The tendency to prioritise attention to certain information (or other stimuli) over other information
Example: If you are hungry and on a long road trip, you may pay more attention to the delicious food on the billboard than the directions or other important signals
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to seek, recall or interpret information in a way that confirms existing beliefs or expectations, while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory
evidence
Example: A climate change non-believer will seek infi that supports their belief and ignore opposing info
What is false-consensus bias?
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people are like them in terms of sharing beliefs, personal characteristics or behaviours
Example: If someone who liked orange juice believed that their whole family liked orange juice but in reality their relatives would gift them orange juice as they knew they were the only one that liked it
What is hindsight bias?
The tendency, only after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen (predicted)
Example: Students may predict whay the questions will be on the exam which can effect the amount of studying they should be doing
What is misinformation effect
The tendency for information acquired after an event to influence the accuracy of the memory of the original event
Example: Someone gives their POV of an accident which can interfere with the accuracy of your eyewitness memory as it may become a part of your memory even though it didn’t happen
What is optimism bias?
The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events and underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events in the future
Example: You’ve been cooking since you were little but your mum wants you to put an apron but you think that you are skilled enough to not make a mess. You are underestimating the likelihood of making a mess in the future
What is the dunning-kruger effect?
Overestimating their knowledge or ability, particularly in areas with which they have little to no knowledge or experience
Example:
