Cognitive Biases: What is the meaning of Cognitive Biases?

Have you ever ended up arguing with someone and later realized that you were not rational and there was no solid reason to fight. Or you made a decision that felt right in the moment, but looking back, you wondered, “What was I even thinking?" And here’s the truth - You are being tricked by your brain every single day.  All this happens because your mind is wired to save time and energy, using shortcuts called cognitive biases to make sense of the world faster. It is not because you were careless. These shortcuts often trick your logic, change your perception and make you believe that your decision is correct when in reality you are not. Let's go through the article to know how to catch the cognitive biases before they hijack your judgment.

What is meaning of cognitive biases?

What are Cognitive Biases? 

Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking. They are your brain's mental shortcuts to process information quickly, often leading to inaccurate judgments, distorted perceptions, and flawed decisions. A shortcut which diverts you away from logic and creates shortcuts that changes how you perceive, remember, and decide. They often help you make fast, low-effort decisions but they ruin perception, impair risk assessment and create conflicting interpretations of the same facts.

How Are Cognitive Biases Formed? 

1. Our brains are not designed to handle everything.

• Our brains get millions of tiny bits of information, and it can pay attention to only a few bits.
• Because of this it tends to take shortcuts to make quick choices.

2. We like to feel good about ourselves.

• Naturally we tend to like only those stories that make us feel right, safe, and part of a group.
• That is exactly why we value our friends' opinions or believe things that fit our feelings.

3. The world around us adds to it.

• The environment around us like other people, ads, social media can also make our thinking one-sided.
• Ex- Social media apps with the help of algorithms show things that we already like or would like to see. So that we keep seeing the same ideas again and again.

How Neuroscience explains Cognitive Biases?

1. Cognitive Biases are a systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgement.
2. This happens because the brain has to compress an overwhelming stream of inputs into quick, usable output.
3. To make it work, it depends on the information-processing rules (heuristics) and on what we want to be true (motivational forces). 
4. They are explained as cold biases (noise, limits of attention and memory) mixed with “hot” biases (wishful thinking, ego protection). 

Are biases always “bad”?

• Not all biases are bad. Sometimes shortcuts are an adaptive solution under time pressure, and what looks like bias may be social skill. 
• Example: Imagine you’re meeting a new coworker, and you say,

“You like traveling, right?”

• Your brain here has made a small assumption. It is a tiny bias, but it helps you break the ice and start a friendly conversation. This is an example of how it would work in your favor sometimes.
• You’ve made a small assumption — a tiny bias — but it helps break the ice and build an engaging conversation.

Cognitive Biases: Overview

Common Types of Cognitive Biases:

Cognitive biases appear in decision-making, social interactions, and everyday thinking, below are some of the most common cognitive biases:

1. Confirmation Bias

It is a tendency of your brain to notice and believe information that supports what you already think.  For example: Only reading news articles that agree with your personal beliefs or political ideologies.

2. Availability Heuristic

Based on how easily examples come to mind, judging how likely or common something is. For example: Because plane crashes are frequently shown in the news believing that air travel is unsafe.

3. Anchoring Bias

On the first piece of information you receive, relying too heavily on. For example: Because it’s discounted from a very high original price, thinking a product is cheap.

4. Negativity Bias

Rather than positive ones, giving more importance to negative experiences. For example: Forgetting several compliments while remembering one criticism all day.

5. Loss Aversion

Then the pleasure of gain, feeling the pain of loss more strongly. For example: Avoiding investment opportunities because gaining the same amount feels good and losing money feels worse.

6. Hindsight Bias

Telling yourself that an outcome was obvious after it has already happened. For example: After a result is announced saying “I knew this would happen”.

7. Dunning–Kruger Effect

When you have limited knowledge, overestimating your ability. For example: Beginners assume that they understand a topic better than experts.

8. Social Proof Bias

Rather than forming your own judgment, following the actions or opinions of others. For example: Buying products only because many people are buying them.

9. Framing Effect

Making decisions based on how information is presented rather than the facts themselves. For example: Instead of one labeled “10% failure”, choosing an option labeled as “90% success”, even though both mean the same.

10. Emotional Reasoning

Just because it feels true, believing something is really true. Example: “I feel incompetent” so “I must be incompetent”.

How to Train Your Mind to Avoid Biases?

1. Take your time and slow down before you decide.

• Do not rush to make a decision if that really matters. Take a tiny pause or give yourself time to think it through.
• Write down your thoughts on a paper, your assumptions, guesses, and expectations. This will help you see patterns and know what might actually happen later.

3. Ask yourself a proof, if wrong or right.

• Try asking yourself questions like, “What am I not seeing?” or “What evidence goes against my opinion?”. This might get you to think neutrally.

4. Flip the question.

• Imagine you are planning to buy a new phone. One store says, “You’ll save Rs.5000 if you buy it today!” and another says, “You’ll lose Rs.5000 if you wait until tomorrow.”
• Both deals are the same, but the second one feels more urgent and compelling. 
• This is how, if you flip how, you look at a situation, you can spot when you are guided by your emotions and not by facts.

5. Decide based on numbers and facts.

• Take a decision based on actual data or proof rather than relying on your gut and make small adjustments if needed.

6. Re-think about your thinking.

• If you are unsure, after some time step back and ask, “Why did I decide that?” or “What was I feeling when I made that call?”. These kinds of questions build self-awareness.

7. Focus on that one decision.

• When a decision is important, avoid multitasking. Pay complete attention to that one task at hand and ask others help to double-check your work when needed.

Summary:

Cognitive biases are predictable mistakes in judgement that arise due to limited processing and motivated reasoning. They often happen without awareness or conscious thought and influence what you notice, remember, and decide.  Not all cognitive biases are bad; some are useful in situations of pressure. You can control these biases by slowing down, reframing, base rates, and metacognition.

FAQs About Cognitive Biases

1. What is the meaning of cognitive bias?

Cognitive bias where the brain distorts information due to mental shortcuts, emotions, or prior beliefs and are a systematic error in thinking.

2. Are cognitive biases normal?

Yes.  Regardless of intelligence or education, cognitive biases are a normal part of human thinking and affect everyone.

3. Why does the brain create cognitive biases?

When processing large amounts of information quickly, the brain uses cognitive biases to save time and energy.

4. Are cognitive biases always bad?

No. Cognitive biases can be harmful in complex or important decisions but helpful in fast or dangerous situations but.

5. Can cognitive biases be reduced?

Yes, slowing down decisions, awareness, questioning assumptions, and reflective thinking can reduce their impact.

6. What is an example of cognitive bias in daily life?

Because someone didn’t reply immediately assuming they disliked you is a common example of mind-reading bias.

7. How are cognitive biases related to mental health?

By reinforcing negative thinking patterns, unchecked cognitive biases can contribute to anxiety, depression, stress, and low self-esteem.

Also read more about brain and its creativity - Click Here

1. Cognitive Distortions: How the Brain Tricks Itself?
2. Bruner Theory of Cognitive Development 
3. Cognitive Polarity: The Battle of Extremes Inside the Human Brain
4. Cognitive Behavioral Dissonance: Conflict Between Thoughts and Actions
5. Domains of Cognitive Psychology and the Cognitive Revolution
6. What is Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory? And we must know of
7. Cognitive Arbitrage: Bias, Prediction, and Decision-Making.
   

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