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
