A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality in judgment — a mental shortcut that can lead to perceptual distortion or illogical interpretation.
Biases that affect how we make choices and evaluate options, often leading to suboptimal decisions.
Action BiasPreferring to do something over nothing, even when acting doesn't help.
Affect HeuristicLetting your current mood drive a judgment or decision.
Ambiguity EffectAvoiding options whose odds or outcomes feel unknown.
Anchoring BiasLeaning too heavily on the first number or detail you hear.
Automation BiasTrusting an automated system even when it is wrong.
Endowment EffectValuing something more simply because you own it.
Framing EffectReacting differently to the same facts based on how they're worded.
Loss AversionFeeling losses more sharply than equivalent gains.
Overconfidence BiasOverestimating how accurate your own judgments are.
Status Quo BiasPreferring things to stay exactly as they are.
Survivorship BiasFocusing on the winners while ignoring what didn't survive.
Biases that affect how we remember past events, often distorting our recollection of what actually happened.
Availability HeuristicJudging likelihood by whatever examples come to mind first.
Hindsight BiasSeeing a past event as more predictable than it really was.
Misinformation EffectLetting later information distort your memory of an event.
Rosy RetrospectionRemembering the past as better than it actually was.
Biases that influence how we perceive and interact with others, affecting our social judgments and relationships.
Actor-Observer BiasBlaming others' character but your own circumstances.
Authority BiasGiving an authority's opinion more weight than it deserves.
Halo EffectLetting one good trait colour your whole impression of someone.
Ingroup BiasFavouring people who belong to your own group.
Intentionality BiasAssuming others' actions are deliberate rather than accidental.
Stereotypical BiasJudging someone by assumptions about their group.
Biases that affect what we notice and focus on, often causing us to overlook important information.
Biases that affect how we form, maintain, and change our beliefs, often reinforcing existing views.
Backfire EffectDoubling down on a belief when faced with contrary evidence.
Belief BiasJudging an argument by whether you like its conclusion.
Confirmation BiasSeeking out evidence that confirms what you already believe.
Dunning-Kruger EffectThe least skilled overestimating their own competence.
Emotional ReasoningTreating what you feel as proof of what is true.
Illusion of ValidityOvertrusting a judgment because the data feels coherent.
Illusory CausationSeeing a cause-and-effect link that isn't really there.
Narrative FallacyForcing a tidy story onto random or complex events.
Optimism BiasOverestimating good outcomes and underestimating the risks.
Pessimism BiasOverestimating how likely bad outcomes are.
Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking that occur when people process and interpret information. They are often a result of the brain's attempt to simplify information processing, acting as mental shortcuts (heuristics) that help us make quick decisions.
While these shortcuts can be useful in many situations, they can also lead to poor judgments and decision-making. Cognitive biases affect everyone, regardless of intelligence or education level.
Understanding cognitive biases is crucial for critical thinking, better decision-making, and recognizing when our judgment might be compromised. By becoming aware of these biases, we can take steps to mitigate their effects.
Cognitive biases differ from logical fallacies in that biases are unconscious patterns of thinking, while fallacies are errors in the structure of arguments.
