Cognitive Biases Flashcards
just-world hypothesis
the assumption that the world is fair and that therefore people get what they deserve and deserve what they get
sunk cost fallacy
we are reluctant to waste something we have paid for
pessimism bias
the tendency for some people, especially those suffering from depression, to overestimate the likelihood of negative things happening to them.
spotlight effect
the belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are
bystander effect
the finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders
framing effect
the tendency for people’s choices to be affected by how a choice is presented, or framed, such as whether it is worded in terms of potential losses or gains
belief bias
the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid
in-group bias
tendency to favor individuals within our group over those from outside our group
reactance
a motive to protect or restore one’s sense of freedom; arises when someone threatens our freedom of action
current moment bias
more likely to choose something good for the “right now” than sacrifice something good right now for something good later on.
post-purchase rationalization
persuading oneself that a purchase made was a good value (especially if it wasn’t).
curse of knowledge
when better-informed people find it extremely difficult to think about problems from the perspective of lesser-informed people.
declinism
remember the past as better than it was, and expect the future to be worse than it will likely be.
Barnum effect
the tendency to accept certain information as true, such as character assessments or horoscopes, even when the information is so vague as to be worthless.
optimism bias
a bias whereby people believe that, compared with other people, they are more likely to experience positive events and less likely to experience negative events in the future
status quo bias
the preference to keep things the way they are rather than change
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
bandwagon effect
adopt certain behaviors or attitudes simply because everyone else is doing it.
Dunning-Kruger effect
the tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their own ability and the tendency for experts to underestimate their own ability.
backfire effect
when faced with evidence against our beliefs, we reject the evidence and believe even more strongly.
negativity bias
the tendency to focus or remember the negative aspects of experiences
anchoring bias
a tendency to fixate on initial information, from which one then fails to adequately adjust for subsequent information
observational selection bias
tendency to notice something we did not notice previously and incorrectly assume the frequency has increased
fundamental attribution error
the tendency for observers, when analyzing others’ behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition
self-serving bias
the tendency for people to take personal credit for success but blame failure on external factors
placebo effect
report real improvement after taking a fake or nonexistent treatment
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
projection bias
predict how much our future selves will share the same as our current selves, leading to short-sighted decisions
groupthink
the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives
halo effect
overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character.
