Cognitive biases
Cognitive biases are systematic shortcuts and distortions in thinking that influence the evaluation of information, people, and decisions.
Definition
Cognitive biases result from, among others: from limited attention, memory, emotions, the need for coherence and quick conclusions. They help quickly simplify the world, but they can lead to mistakes: overestimating one's right, confirming beliefs, ignoring contradictory data, or judging based on first impressions.
Key ideas
- Mental shortcuts
- Systematic distortions
- Influence on decisions
Practice and life
When making an important decision, ask: What cognitive error might I be missing here? Check especially the confirmation of your own thesis and the effect of the first impression.
Common misconceptions
It is a mistake to think that cognitive biases only affect others. It is also a mistake to try to disable shortcuts completely instead of monitoring them.
> The mind simplifies the world, but every simplification sometimes comes with an error.
> — Guru Element
Questions for self-reflection
- What shortcut might work in this situation?
- What data am I leaving out?
- What would a person with a different assumption say?