Cognitive Biases

Question 1

Placebo effect

Answer 1

If you believe you are taking medicine it can sometimes work even if it’s fake.

The placebo effect can work for stuff that our mind influences (such as pain) but not so much for things like viruses or broken bones. Keep a healthy body and bank balance by using evidence-based medicine from a qualified doctor.

Question 2

Groupthink

Answer 2

You let the social dynamics of a group situation override (predominar sobre) the best outcome.

Dissent can be uncomfortable and dangerous to one’s social standing, and so often the most confident or first voice will determine group decisions.

Question 3

Pessimism bias

Answer 3

You overestimate the likelihood of negative outcomes.

Pessimism is often a defense mechanism against disappointment. Perhaps the worst aspect of pessimism is that even if something good happens, you’ll probably feel pessimistic about it anyway.

Question 4

Sunk cost fallacy

Answer 4

You irrationally cling to things that have already cost you something.

When we’ve invested our time, money, or emotion into something, it hurts to let it go. Ask yourself: had I not already invested something, would I still do so now?

Question 5

Curse knowledge

Answer 5

Once you understand something you presume it to be obvious.

When teaching someone something new, go slow and explain like they are ten years old (without being patronizing). Repeat key points and facilitate active practice to help embed knowledge.

Question 6

In-group bias

Answer 6

You unfairly favor those who belong to your group.

We presume that we are fair and impartial, but the truth is that we automatically favor those who are most like us, or belong to our groups. Try to compensate by imagining strangers to be family.

Question 7

Confirmation bias

Answer 7

You favor things that confirm my existing beliefs.

We are primed to see and agree with ideas that fit our preconceptions, and to ignore and dismiss information that conflicts with them.

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself-and you are the easiest person to fool” Richard Feynman.

Question 8

Availability heuristic

Answer 8

Your judgements are influenced by what springs most easily to mind.

How recent, emotionally powerful, or unusual your memories are can make them see more relevant. This, in turn, can cause you to apply them too readily. Try to gain different perspectives and source statistical information.

Question 9

Self-serving bias

Answer 9

You believe your failures are due to external factors, yet you are personally responsible for your successes.

Many of us enjoy privileges, luck and advantages that others do not. It’s easy to tell ourselves that we deserve things, whilst blaming circumstances when things don’t go our way.

Question 10

Halo effect

Answer 10

How much you like someone, or how attractive they are, influences your other judgements of them.

If you notice that you are giving consistently high or low marks across the board, it’s worth considering that your judgement may be suffering from the halo effect.

Question 11

Reactance

Answer 11

You would rather do the opposite of what someone is trying to make you do.

When we feel our liberty is being constrained, our inclination is to resist, however in doing so we can over-compensate. Wisdom springs from reflection, folly from reaction.

Question 12

Bystander effect

Answer 12

You presume someone else is going to do something in an emergency situation.

When something terrible is happening in a public setting we can experience a kind of shock and mental paralysis. Presume to be the one who will help.

Question 13

Optimism bias

Answer 13

You overestimate the likelihood of positive outcomes.

There can be benefits to a positive attitude, but it’s unwise to allow this to affect our ability to be realistic. If you make rational judgements you’ll have a lot more to feel positive about.

Question 14

Negativity bias

Answer 14

You allow negative things to disproportionately influence your thinking.

The pain of loss and hurt are felt more keenly and persistently than the gratification of pleasant things. We are primed for survival, and our aversion to pain can distort our judgement for a modern world.

Prime = preparados

Question 15

Just world hypothesis

Answer 15

Your preference for a just world makes you presume that it exists.

A world in which people don’t always get what they deserve is an uncomfortable one that threatens our preferred narrative. Try to remember that we are all fallible and bad things happen to good people.

Question 16

Belief bias

Answer 16

If a conclusion supports your existing beliefs, you will rationalize (cause something to seem reasonable) anything that supports it.

It’s difficult for us to set aside our existing beliefs to consider the true merits of an argument. In practice this means that our ideas become impervious to criticism, and are perpetually reinforced.

Question 17

Spotlight effect

Answer 17

You overestimate how much people notice how you look and act.

Instead of worrying about how you are being judged, consider how you make others feel. They’ll remember this much more, and you’ll make the world a better place.

Question 18

Fundamental attribution error

Answer 18

You judge others on their character, but yourself on the situation.

It’s not only kind to view other’s situations with charity, it’s more objective too. Be mindful to also err on the side of taking personal responsibility rather than justifying and blaming.

Question 19

Dunning-Kruger effect

Answer 19

The more you know the less confident you are likely to be.

Because experts know just how much they don’t know, they tend to underestimate their ability; but it is easy to be over-confident when you have only a simple idea of how things are.

Question 20

Declinism

Answer 20

You remember the past as better than it was, and expect the future to be worse than it will likely be.

Despite living in the most prosperous time and peaceful time in history, many people believe things are getting worse. Use metrics such as life expectancy, levels of crime and violence, and prosperity statistics.

Question 21

Framing effect

Answer 21

You allow yourself to be unduly (excesivamente) influenced by context and delivery.

Only when we have the intellectual humility to accept the fact that we can be manipulated, can we hope to limit how much we are. Try to be mindful of how things are being put to you.

Question 22

Anchoring

Answer 22

The first thing you judge influences your judgement of all that follows.

Human minds are associative in nature, so the order in which we receive information helps determine the course of our judgements and perceptions. Be especially mindful of this bias during negotiations.

Question 23

Backfire effect

Answer 23

When your core beliefs are challenged, it can cause you to believe even more strongly.

We can experience being wrong about some ideas as an attack upon our very selves, or our tribal identity. This can lead to motivated reasoning which causes us to double-down, despite disconfirming evidence.

Question 24

Barnum effect

Answer 24

You see personal specifics in vague statements by filling the gaps.

Psychics, astrologers and others use this bias to make it seem like they are telling you something relevant. Consider how things might be interpreted to apply to anyone, not just you.

Question 25

Hindsight bias

Answer 25

Tendency to imagine that events in the past were kore predictable than they actually were. It’s the thinking that goes along the lines In should have known that…’