Bias and InformationEarl Bailey

March 2013

VideodeLaplante, Kevin. Cognitive Biases: What they are and why they are important. Critical Thinker Academy. Found online 2013 at http://www.criticalthinkeracademy.com/012-cognitive-biases.html

Are We Biased?Asking another way – do we use simplifications and shortcuts to make decisions?

How do our brains work?

Short answer – We don’t know.

But: Neuropsychology indicates that different parts of the

brain handle different tasks. Cognitive Science asserts that brains build structures to

help process information.

The Firehose of PerceptionOverload!

Influences on Perception of Information

Limited Capacity

Group Dynamics

Attention

Heuristics/Cognitive Structures

FOR MORE INFO...

Solomon, “Distortions in Information Transfer”

Bounded Rationality

Limits information choices

Impacts system evaluation

Examples of Bias

Self-Serving

Selective Perception

Halo Effect

Contrast Effects

Projection

Stereotyping

Overconfidence

More Examples of Bias

Anchoring

Confirmation

Availability

Escalation of Commitment

Randomness Error

Hindsight

Reducing Bias

Focus on goals

Look for contradictory information

Accept coincidence

Increase options