Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Do You Know If You Have a Cognitive Bias?TypesCausesWhy Is Cognitive Bias Bad?How Do You Break Cognitive Bias?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How Do You Know If You Have a Cognitive Bias?
Types
Causes
Why Is Cognitive Bias Bad?
How Do You Break Cognitive Bias?
Close
A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people process and interpret information in their surroundings, influencing their decisions and judgments.
The human brain is powerful but subject to limitations. Cognitive biases are often a result of your brain’s attempt to simplify information processing. Biases often work as rules of thumb that help you make sense of the world and reach decisions with relative speed.
Because of this, subtle biases can creep in and influence the way you see and think about the world.
Cognitive Bias vs. Logical FallacyPeople sometimes confuse cognitive biases with logical fallacies, but the two are not the same. Alogical fallacystems from an error in a logical argument, while acognitive biasis rooted in thought processing errors often arising from problems with memory, attention, attribution, and other mental mistakes.
Cognitive Bias vs. Logical Fallacy
People sometimes confuse cognitive biases with logical fallacies, but the two are not the same. Alogical fallacystems from an error in a logical argument, while acognitive biasis rooted in thought processing errors often arising from problems with memory, attention, attribution, and other mental mistakes.
When you are making judgments and decisions about the world around you, you like to think that you are objective, logical, and capable of taking in and evaluating all the information that is available to you. Unfortunately, these biases sometimes trip us up, leading to poor decisions and bad judgments.
“One of the biggest challenges regarding cognitive biases is that it’s often hard to recognize our own biases or those of others around us,” says licensed psychologist David Susman, PhD. “Also, while we may be able to eventually identify some of our own most common cognitive biases, it’s a much more difficult task to help others spot and change their biases.”
One of the biggest challenges regarding cognitive biases is that it’s often hard to recognize our own biases or those of others around us.—DAVID SUSMAN, PHD
One of the biggest challenges regarding cognitive biases is that it’s often hard to recognize our own biases or those of others around us.
—DAVID SUSMAN, PHD
Types of Cognitive Bias
Learn more about a few of the most common types of cognitive biases that can distort your thinking.
At times, multiple biases may play a role in influencing your decisions and thinking. For example, you might misremember an event (the misinformation effect) and assume that everyone else shares that same memory of what happened (the false consensus effect).
Cognitive Biases That Distort Your Thinking
What Causes Cognitive Bias?
If you had to think about every possible option when making a decision, it would take a lot of time to make even the simplest choice. Because of the sheer complexity of the world around you and the amount of information in the environment, it is necessary sometimes to rely on some mental shortcuts that allow you to act quickly.
Other factors that can also contribute to these biases:
Cognitive bias may also increase as people get older due to decreased cognitive flexibility.
Research suggests that cognitive training can help minimize cognitive biases in thinking.Some things that you can do to help overcome biases that might influence your thinking and decision-making include:
Reducing cognitive bias may also be beneficial in the treatment of some mental health conditions. Cognitive bias modification therapy (CBMT) is a treatment approach based on processes that are designed to reduce cognitive bias. This form of therapy has been used to help treat addictions, depression, and anxiety.
5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kahneman D., Slovic P., Tversky A. (eds.). (1982).Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. New York, NY:Cambridge University Press.Wilson CG, Nusbaum AT, Whitney P, Hinson JM.Age-differences in cognitive flexibility when overcoming a preexisting bias through feedback.J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2018;40(6):586-594. doi:10.1080/13803395.2017.1398311Žeželj I, Lazarević LB.Irrational beliefs.Eur J Psychol. 2019;15(1):1‐7. doi:10.5964/ejop.v15i1.1903Sellier AL, Scopelliti I, Morewedge CK.Debiasing training improves decision making in the field.Psychol Sci. 2019;30(9):1371-1379. doi:10.1177/0956797619861429Yang R, Cui L, Li F, Xiao J, Zhang Q, Oei TPS.Effects of cognitive bias modification training via smartphones.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1370. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01370
5 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kahneman D., Slovic P., Tversky A. (eds.). (1982).Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. New York, NY:Cambridge University Press.Wilson CG, Nusbaum AT, Whitney P, Hinson JM.Age-differences in cognitive flexibility when overcoming a preexisting bias through feedback.J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2018;40(6):586-594. doi:10.1080/13803395.2017.1398311Žeželj I, Lazarević LB.Irrational beliefs.Eur J Psychol. 2019;15(1):1‐7. doi:10.5964/ejop.v15i1.1903Sellier AL, Scopelliti I, Morewedge CK.Debiasing training improves decision making in the field.Psychol Sci. 2019;30(9):1371-1379. doi:10.1177/0956797619861429Yang R, Cui L, Li F, Xiao J, Zhang Q, Oei TPS.Effects of cognitive bias modification training via smartphones.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1370. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01370
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kahneman D., Slovic P., Tversky A. (eds.). (1982).Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. New York, NY:Cambridge University Press.Wilson CG, Nusbaum AT, Whitney P, Hinson JM.Age-differences in cognitive flexibility when overcoming a preexisting bias through feedback.J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2018;40(6):586-594. doi:10.1080/13803395.2017.1398311Žeželj I, Lazarević LB.Irrational beliefs.Eur J Psychol. 2019;15(1):1‐7. doi:10.5964/ejop.v15i1.1903Sellier AL, Scopelliti I, Morewedge CK.Debiasing training improves decision making in the field.Psychol Sci. 2019;30(9):1371-1379. doi:10.1177/0956797619861429Yang R, Cui L, Li F, Xiao J, Zhang Q, Oei TPS.Effects of cognitive bias modification training via smartphones.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1370. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01370
Kahneman D., Slovic P., Tversky A. (eds.). (1982).Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. New York, NY:Cambridge University Press.
Wilson CG, Nusbaum AT, Whitney P, Hinson JM.Age-differences in cognitive flexibility when overcoming a preexisting bias through feedback.J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2018;40(6):586-594. doi:10.1080/13803395.2017.1398311
Žeželj I, Lazarević LB.Irrational beliefs.Eur J Psychol. 2019;15(1):1‐7. doi:10.5964/ejop.v15i1.1903
Sellier AL, Scopelliti I, Morewedge CK.Debiasing training improves decision making in the field.Psychol Sci. 2019;30(9):1371-1379. doi:10.1177/0956797619861429
Yang R, Cui L, Li F, Xiao J, Zhang Q, Oei TPS.Effects of cognitive bias modification training via smartphones.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1370. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01370
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