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Unfortunately, our cognition is not perfect, and there are
certain judgment errors that we are prone to making, known in the field
of psychology as cognitive biases.
The Gambler’s fallacy is the tendency to think that future
probabilities are altered by past events, when in reality, they are
not. Certain probabilities, such as getting a heads when you flip a
(fair) coin, are always the same. The probability of getting a heads is
50%, it does not matter if you’ve gotten tails the last 10 flips.
Reactivity
Reactivity is the tendency of people to act or appear differently
when they know that they are being observed. when individuals know
they are being watched, they are motivated to change their behavior,
generally to make themselves look better. Reactivity is a serious
problem in research, and has to be controlled in blind experiments (“Blind” is when individuals involved in a research study are purposely withheld information so as not to influence the outcomes).
Pareidolia is when random images or sounds are perceived as
significant. Seeing clouds in the shapes of dinosaurs, Jesus on a hot
pocket, or hearing messages when a record is played backward are common
examples of pareidolia.
self-fulfilling prophecy is engaging in behaviors that obtain
results that confirm existing attitudes. A self-fulfilling prophecy is
a prediction that causes itself to become true. For example, I believe
that I am going to do poorly in school, so I decrease the effort I put
into my assignments and studying, and I end up doing poorly, just as I
thought.
Halo effect
The Halo effect is the tendency for an individual’s positive or
negative trait to “spill over” to other areas of their personality in
others’ perceptions of them.
Interesting Fact: The Physical Attractiveness
Stereotype is when people assume that attractive individuals possess
other socially desirable qualities, such as happiness, success and
intelligence. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when attractive
people are given privileged treatment such as better job opportunities
and higher salaries.
Herd Mentality
Herd mentality is the tendency to adopt the opinions and follow the
behaviors of the majority to feel safer and to avoid conflict. Also
known as “Mob Mentality,” this is, at its most common form, peer
pressure. Herd mentality explains why fads get so popular. Clothes, cars, hobbies, styles, all it takes is a group of people who think something is cool, and it catches on.
Interesting Fact: things that are unattractive, or
that would never seem cool or popular now have had huge followings due
to herd mentality. Examples include parachute pants, pet rocks,
mullets, cone bras, tie-dye, sea monkeys, and the 1980s (by the way,
that is an ’80s guy in the picture above).
Reactance is the urge to do the opposite of what someone wants you
to do out of a need to resist a perceived attempt to constrain your
freedom of choice. This is common with rebellious teenagers, but any
attempt to resist authority due to perceived threats to freedom and/or
choice is reactance.
Hyperbolic Discounting
Hyperbolic discounting is the tendency for people to prefer a
smaller, immediate payoff over a larger, delayed payoff. Much research
has been done on decision-making, and many factors contribute to the
individual decision making process. Interestingly, delay time is a big
factor in choosing an alternative.
Escalation of commitment is the tendency for people to continue to support previously unsuccessful endeavors.
The Placebo effect is when an ineffectual substance that is believed
to have healing properties produces the desired effect. Especially
common with medications, the placebo effect has been observed when
individuals given a sugar pill for a real ailment report improvement.
Placebos are still a scientific mystery.
PART TWO
Confirmation Bias
The confirmation bias is the tendency to look for or interpret
information in a way that confirms beliefs. Individuals reinforce their
ideas and attitudes by selectively collecting evidence or retrieving
biased memories.
The Availability heuristic is gauging what is more likely based on
vivid memories. The problem is individuals tend to remember unusual
events more than everyday, commonplace events. For example, airplane
crashes receive lots of national media coverage. Fatal car crashes do
not. However, more people are afraid of flying than driving a car, even
though statistically airplane travel is safer.
Illusion of Control
Illusion of Control is the tendency for individuals to believe they
can control or at least influence outcomes that they clearly have no
influence on. This bias can influence gambling behavior and belief in
the paranormal.
Planning Fallacy
The Planning fallacy is the tendency to underestimate the time
needed to complete tasks. The planning fallacy actually stems from
another error, The Optimism Bias, which is the tendency for individuals
to be overly positive about the outcome of planned actions.
Restraint Bias
The Restraint Bias is the tendency to overestimate one’s ability to
show restraint in the face of temptation, or the “perceived ability to
have control over an impulse,” generally relating to hunger, drug and
sexual impulses.
Interesting Fact: unfortunately, this bias has
serious consequences. When an individual has an inflated (perceived)
sense of control over their impulses, they tend to overexpose
themselves to temptation, which in turn promotes the impulsive
behavior.
Just-World Phenomenon
The Just-World Phenomenon is when witnesses of an injustice, in
order to rationalize it, will search for things that the victim did to
deserve it. This eases their anxiety and allows them to feel safe; if
they avoid that behavior, injustice will not happen to them. This peace
of mind comes at the expense of blaming the innocent victim.
Interesting Fact: On the other end of the spectrum,
The Mean World Theory is a phenomenon where, due to violent television
and media, viewers perceive the world as more dangerous than it really
is, prompting excessive fear and protective measures.
Endowment Effect
The Endowment Effect is the idea that people will require more to
give up an object than they would pay to acquire it. It is based on the
hypothesis that people place a high value on their property.
Self-Serving Bias
A Self-Serving Bias occurs when an individual attributes positive
outcomes to internal factors and negative outcomes to external factors.
A good example of this is grades, when I get a good grade
on a test; I attribute it to my intelligence, or good study habits.
When I get a bad grade, I attribute it to a bad professor, or poorly
written exam. This is very common as people regularly take credit for successes but refuse to accept responsibility for failures.
Cryptomnesia
Cryptomnesia is a form of misattribution where a memory is mistaken
for imagination. Also known as inadvertent plagiarism, this is actually
a memory bias where a person (inaccurately) recalls producing an idea
or thought.
Bias Blind Spot
The Bias blind spot is the tendency not to acknowledge one’s own
thought biases.
Complete article
Top 10 Common Faults In Human Thought Published January 7, 2010 by Nikki
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