COGNITIVE BIASES
Pessimism Bias
🌧️
Anxiety, fear, despair
The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of negative events and underestimate the likelihood of positive events.
Negative, apprehensive
"It's probably going to fail."
Evolutionary adaptation, negativity bias
Overemphasizing potential problems, avoiding risks
Challenge negative thoughts, focus on possibilities
Anxiety, depression, missed opportunities
Availability Bias
🧠
Fear, anxiety, worry
Tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events that are easily recalled
Fearful, anxious
"I can easily remember a plane crash, so air travel must be dangerous."
Salience of information, ease of retrieval
Relying on personal experience, ignoring statistical information
Seek out a broader range of information, consider the base rate
Increased risk perception, avoidance of activities
Framing Bias
🖼️
Confusion, indecision, regret
Tendency to make different decisions depending on how information is presented
Confused, uncertain
"This option is presented as the default, so it must be the best."
Desire for coherence, need for simplicity
Focusing on one aspect of a decision, ignoring other factors
Consider all aspects of a decision, be aware of the framing bias
Difficulty making decisions, sensitivity to persuasion
Illusion of Control Bias
🕹️
Overconfidence, hubris, recklessness
Tendency to overestimate our ability to control events
Confident, optimistic
"I can control the outcome of this situation."
Desire for predictability, need for certainty
Ignoring factors outside of our control, overestimating our own abilities
Be humble, recognize the limits of our control, focus on what we can control
Difficulty accepting uncertainty, risk-taking behavior
Optimism Bias
☀️
Optimism, excitement, joy
Tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive events and underestimate the likelihood of negative events
Hopeful, confident
"I'm sure everything will work out for the best."
Desire for a better future, need for hope
Ignoring negative information, focusing on positive information
Be realistic, consider all available information, be aware of the optimism bias
Difficulty accepting setbacks, unrealistic expectations
Social Identity Bias
👥
Pride, superiority, contempt
Tendency to favor people who are similar to us and discriminate against people who are different from us
Proud, superior
"My group is the best, and all other groups are inferior."
Need for belonging, desire to maintain a positive self-image
Categorizing people into "us" and "them," stereotyping, prejudice
Be open-minded, challenge stereotypes, get to know people who are different from you
Prejudice, discrimination, intergroup conflict
Ambiguity Bias
🤔
Anxiety, fear, insecurity
The tendency to avoid options that have unknown outcomes or seem ambiguous.
Anxious, apprehensive
"I'd rather stick with what I know."
Need for predictability, discomfort with uncertainty
Choosing options with known outcomes, even if they are less favorable
Gather more information, assess the potential risks and rewards
Risk aversion, missed opportunities
Authority Bias
👑
Respect, admiration, fear
The tendency to attribute greater accuracy to the opinion of an authority figure.
Deferential, obedient
"They must know what they're talking about."
Social hierarchy, need for guidance
Following orders without question, accepting opinions without scrutiny
Think critically, question authority
Blind obedience, abuse of power
Belief Bias
🙏
Agreement, acceptance, credulity
The tendency to judge the strength of arguments based on the plausibility of their conclusion rather than the strength of the evidence.
Persuaded, convinced
"That sounds about right."
Cognitive ease, confirmation bias
Accepting arguments that align with our beliefs, rejecting those that don't
Evaluate the evidence objectively, consider alternative explanations
Gullibility, dogmatism
Conservatism Bias
👴
Inertia, skepticism, fear of change
The tendency to resist change and favor the status quo.
Cautious, resistant
"Things are fine the way they are."
Need for stability, familiarity bias
Maintaining the current situation, rejecting new ideas
Be open to change, evaluate new ideas objectively
Stagnation, missed opportunities
Endowment Effect
💎
Ownership, entitlement, loss aversion
The tendency to overvalue things that we own, simply because we own them.
Attached, possessive
"It's mine, so it's worth more."
Sense of identity, emotional attachment
Overpricing possessions, reluctance to sell
Consider the objective value, detach yourself emotionally
Hoarding, overspending
Fundamental Attribution Error
🫵
Blame, disapproval, self-righteousness
The tendency to overemphasize dispositional or personality-based explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing situational explanations.
Judgmental, critical
"They're just a bad person."
Cognitive ease, actor-observer bias
Attributing others' behavior to their personality, ignoring situational factors
Consider the context, be empathetic
Misunderstanding, prejudice
IKEA Effect
🔨
Satisfaction, ownership, accomplishment
The tendency to place a disproportionately high value on objects that one has partially assembled oneself, such as furniture from IKEA.
Accomplished, proud
"I made it myself, so it's special."
Effort justification, cognitive dissonance
Overvaluing self-made objects, undervaluing professionally made objects
Consider the objective value, be mindful of your biases
Overspending, hoarding
Just-World Hypothesis
⚖️
Belief in karma, victim-blaming, rationalization
The tendency to believe that the world is fair and that people get what they deserve.
Justified, vindicated
"They got what they deserved."
Need for control, cognitive dissonance
Blaming victims, justifying injustice
Recognize that the world is not always fair, be empathetic
Injustice, victim-blaming
Mere Exposure Effect
❤️🔥
Familiarity, liking, preference
The tendency to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.
Comfortable, familiar
"I like it because it's familiar."
Cognitive ease, processing fluency
Preferring familiar things, avoiding unfamiliar things
Be open to new experiences, challenge your preferences
Stagnation, missed opportunities
Placebo Effect
💊
Expectation, belief, positive thinking
A beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment.
Hopeful, optimistic
"This treatment will work."
Mind-body connection, self-fulfilling prophecy
Experiencing improvement due to belief in the treatment
Be aware of the placebo effect, consider other factors
Self-healing, false hope
Stereotyping
🏷️
Prejudice, discrimination
Expecting a member of a group to have certain characteristics without having actual information about that individual.
Judgmental
"They're all like that."
Cognitive shortcut, need for categorization
Making assumptions about people based on their group membership
Get to know people as individuals, challenge stereotypes
Prejudice, discrimination, conflict
The Curse of Knowledge
🗣️
Impatience, condescension
When better-informed people find it extremely difficult to think about problems from the perspective of lesser-informed people.
Frustrated, superior
"They should know this."
Expertise, assumption of shared knowledge
Overestimating others' knowledge, using jargon
Explain things simply, be patient
Miscommunication, conflict
Unit Bias
🔢
Need for completion, aversion to waste
The tendency to want to finish a whole unit of a given item or task, regardless of the size of the unit.
Driven, compelled
"I have to finish the whole thing."
Evolutionary adaptation, desire for closure
Overeating, overspending
Focus on actual needs, not arbitrary units
Overconsumption, waste
Actor-Observer Bias
🎭
Rationalization, blame-shifting
The tendency to attribute one's own actions to external causes while attributing other people's behaviors to internal causes.
Defensive, self-justifying
"I had no choice, but they did."
Self-protection, maintaining positive self-image
Making excuses for oneself, blaming others
Be self-aware, consider both internal and external factors
Misunderstanding, conflict
Ben Franklin Effect
🤝
Kindness, reciprocity, self-justification
A person who has performed a favor for someone is more likely to do another favor for that person than they would be if they had received a favor from that person.
Helpful, benevolent
"I did them a favor, so I must like them."
Cognitive dissonance, need for consistency
Doing favors to justify positive feelings towards someone
Be mindful of motivations for helping, avoid manipulation
Unhealthy relationships, manipulation
Decoy Effect
🦆
Indecision, susceptibility to suggestion
The tendency to change preferences between two options when presented with a third option that is asymmetrically dominated.
Influenced, swayed
"This one seems like a better deal now."
Cognitive ease, need for justification
Choosing the option that seems better in comparison to the decoy
Consider options independently, be aware of the decoy
Manipulation, suboptimal choices
False Uniqueness Effect
🦄
Pride, egotism, self-enhancement
The tendency to underestimate the commonality of one's abilities and desirable or successful behaviors.
Special, superior
"I'm special and different."
Need for uniqueness, self-esteem
Overestimating one's own uniqueness, underestimating others
Be realistic, recognize common abilities
Narcissism, alienation
Information Bias
📚
Need for knowledge, uncertainty aversion
The tendency to seek information even when it cannot affect action.
Curious, inquisitive
"I need more information."
Desire for control, illusion of knowledge
Gathering unnecessary information, delaying decisions
Focus on relevant information, make decisions with available information
Analysis paralysis, delayed decisions
Outcome Bias
🎯
Regret, self-blame, justification
The tendency to judge a decision based on its outcome instead of the quality of the decision at the time it was made.
Results-oriented, hindsight-biased
"It turned out bad, so it was a bad decision."
Need for closure, desire for control
Blaming bad decisions for bad outcomes, justifying good outcomes
Evaluate decisions based on information available at the time
Unfair judgment, risk aversion
Anchoring Bias
⚓
Overconfidence, rigidity
Tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive
Overconfident, biased
"This is the first option I heard, so it must be the best."
Desire for closure, need for cognitive ease
Seeking out confirming evidence, ignoring disconfirming evidence
Consider all available information, be aware of the anchoring bias
Difficulty considering other options, resistance to new information
Confirmation Bias
✅
Overconfidence, smugness, satisfaction
Tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs
Closed-minded, biased
"I'm right, and everyone else is wrong."
Desire for consistency, need for validation
Ignoring disconfirming evidence, seeking out confirming evidence
Be open-minded, consider all available information, test our beliefs
Difficulty considering other perspectives, resistance to change
Hindsight Bias
👓
Regret, shame, embarrassment
Tendency to believe that we could have predicted an event after it has already happened
Regretful, ashamed
"I should have known that this would happen."
Desire for control, need for closure
Reconstructing the past, ignoring information that was not available at the time
Consider the information that was available at the time, be aware of the hindsight bias
Difficulty accepting responsibility, blame-shifting
Negativity Bias
⛈️
Sadness, fear, anger
Tendency to focus on negative information over positive information
Pessimistic, hopeless
"Everything bad always happens to me."
Survival instinct, need for protection
Filtering out positive information, focusing on negative information
Seek out positive information, practice gratitude, challenge negative thoughts
Difficulty seeing the good in life, depression
Self-Serving Bias
🪞
Pride, satisfaction, self-esteem
Tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors
Proud, confident
"I succeeded because I'm smart and talented."
Need for self-enhancement, desire to maintain a positive self-image
Taking credit for success, blaming others for failure
Be humble, recognize the role of external factors, give credit to others
Difficulty accepting responsibility, blame-shifting
Surprise, disappointment, satisfaction
The tendency to perceive stimuli differently based on their comparison to other stimuli.
Comparative, judgmental
"This looks better next to that."
Relative perception, adaptation
Judging things based on their context, not their absolute value
Consider things in isolation, be aware of comparisons
Unfair comparisons, biased judgments
Attentional Bias
🔎
Excitement, curiosity, tunnel vision
The tendency to pay more attention to certain stimuli while ignoring others.
Focused, distracted
"I only see what I want to see."
Limited cognitive resources, selective attention
Filtering out irrelevant information, focusing on what is important
Broaden your focus, be aware of your biases
Inattentional blindness, misinterpretation
Bandwagon Effect
🚌
Conformity, belonging, social pressure
The tendency to do or believe things because many other people do or believe the same.
Accepted, included
"Everyone else is doing it, so I should too."
Need for social acceptance, fear of rejection
Following the crowd, adopting popular opinions
Think independently, question the status quo
Herd mentality, groupthink
Choice-Supportive Bias
👍
Contentment, self-justification, rationalization
The tendency to remember one's choices as better than they actually were.
Satisfied, justified
"I made the right decision."
Need for consistency, cognitive dissonance
Remembering positive aspects of our choices, forgetting negative aspects
Be honest with yourself, evaluate your choices objectively
Overconfidence, self-deception
Dunning-Kruger Effect
🙈
Hubris, arrogance, ignorance
The tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their own ability and for experts to underestimate their own ability.
Overconfident, incompetent
"I'm better than I think I am."
Lack of self-awareness, metacognitive deficit
Overestimating one's own skills, underestimating the skills of others
Seek feedback, be open to learning
Poor performance, unrealistic expectations
False Consensus Effect
👨👩👧👦
Agreement, empathy, shared identity
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and opinions.
Understood, validated
"Everyone agrees with me."
Need for belonging, projection bias
Assuming others think like us, ignoring dissenting opinions
Seek diverse perspectives, challenge your assumptions
Misunderstanding, conflict
Halo Effect
✨
Admiration, trust, positive association
The tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another area.
Impressed, biased
"They're good at one thing, so they must be good at everything."
Cognitive ease, first impressions
Generalizing positive traits, overlooking negative traits
Evaluate each trait independently, be aware of your biases
Favoritism, unfair judgment
In-Group Bias
❤️
Favoritism, solidarity, prejudice
The tendency to favor one's own group over other groups.
Loyal, biased
"My group is better than yours."
Need for belonging, social identity
Favoring in-group members, discriminating against out-group members
Be open-minded, challenge stereotypes
Prejudice, discrimination
Loss Aversion
💸
Fear, anxiety, regret
The tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains.
Cautious, risk-averse
"I'd rather not lose anything."
Survival instinct, negativity bias
Avoiding risks, holding onto losses
Weigh potential gains and losses objectively, be mindful of your biases
Inaction, missed opportunities
Overconfidence Bias
💪
Certainty, arrogance, hubris
The tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.
Confident, assured
"I'm always right."
Need for control, self-enhancement
Overestimating one's abilities, underestimating risks
Seek feedback, be open to learning
Risk-taking, poor decision-making
Sunk Cost Fallacy
🕳️
Justification, persistence, aversion to waste
The tendency to continue a behavior or endeavor as a result of previously invested resources (time, money, or effort).
Committed, invested
"I've already invested so much."
Loss aversion, cognitive dissonance
Continuing a project that is failing, throwing good money after bad
Focus on future costs and benefits, be willing to cut your losses
Wasteful spending, missed opportunities
Status Quo Bias
🛑
Contentment, fear of the unknown
The tendency to prefer the current state of affairs over change, even when the change may be beneficial.
Comfortable, safe
"Things are fine the way they are."
Desire for stability, predictability
Resisting change, maintaining the current situation
Weigh the pros and cons of change, be open to new experiences
Stagnation, missed opportunities
Survivorship Bias
🏅
Excitement, admiration
The tendency to focus on the successful examples while overlooking the failures, leading to an inaccurate assessment of the overall situation.
Overconfident, optimistic
"They made it, so I can too."
Availability heuristic, focus on visible outcomes
Ignoring failures, overestimating success rates
Consider all outcomes, including failures
Unrealistic expectations, risky behavior
Time-Saving Bias
🏃
Frustration, urgency
The tendency to misjudge the time that could be saved (or lost) by changing speeds.
Impatient, rushed
"It'll save me so much time."
Overestimation of small time differences
Speeding, taking risks
Accurately assess time savings, prioritize safety
Reckless behavior, accidents
Zero-Risk Bias
🛡️
Relief, comfort
Preference for reducing a small risk to zero over a greater reduction in a larger risk.
Secure, reassured
"I need to eliminate all risk."
Need for certainty, illusion of control
Focusing on eliminating small risks, neglecting larger ones
Prioritize risks based on severity and likelihood
Inefficient risk management, missed opportunities
Base Rate Neglect
📊
Certainty, neglect of relevant information
The tendency to ignore the base rate (prior probabilities) when making judgments about probabilities.
Overconfident, biased
"This person fits the stereotype, so they must be..."
Reliance on stereotypes, representativeness heuristic
Ignoring statistical information, focusing on specific cases
Consider base rates, use Bayesian reasoning
Stereotyping, inaccurate judgments
Contrast Effect
☯️
Surprise, disappointment, satisfaction
The tendency to perceive stimuli differently based on their comparison to other stimuli.
Comparative, judgmental
"This looks better next to that."
Relative perception, adaptation
Judging things based on their context, not their absolute value
Consider things in isolation, be aware of comparisons
Unfair comparisons, biased judgments
Default Effect
😴
Inertia, conformity, lack of motivation
The tendency to choose the default option, even if it is not the best option.
Passive, compliant
"It's the default, so it must be okay."
Cognitive ease, status quo bias
Accepting the default without considering alternatives
Actively choose, evaluate options
Suboptimal choices, missed opportunities
Hyperbolic Discounting
⏰
Instant gratification, lack of self-control
The tendency to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards.
Impulsive, short-sighted
"I want it now."
Present bias, need for immediate satisfaction
Choosing immediate gratification, neglecting long-term goals
Delay gratification, consider future consequences
Impulsivity, poor financial planning
Omission Bias
🤫
Blame, condemnation, self-righteousness
The tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or less moral than equally harmful inactions (omissions).
Judgmental, moralistic
"They did something wrong, but I didn't do anything."
Action aversion, belief in personal control
Blaming others for actions, excusing inaction
Consider consequences of both actions and inactions
Inaction, moral hypocrisy