What is cognitive bias? What are the different types of biases? What can we do to recognize and respond to our own biases and those of others?
I will write about different kinds of biases and the way to find them out and overcome them.
Every one of us is entitled to our worldview. Unfortunately, when it comes to interpreting information and trying to make objective sense of reality, human brains are hard-wired to make all kinds of mental mistakes that can impact our ability to make rational judgments.
• There is no simple way to get around these basic human instincts, but one thing that we can do is understand the specific mistakes we make and why.
• A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Individuals create their own "subjective reality" from their perception of the input. An individual's construction of reality, not the objective input, may dictate their behavior in the world.
• It is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them and affects the decisions and judgments that they make.
• The human brain is powerful but subject to limitations.
Cognitive biases affect us all. Even though we can fact-check information using phones and computers, we still fall for fake news and cling to outdated opinions. Why? When our cognitive biases take control, our ability to make logical judgments is limited, and facts take a back seat to deeply held beliefs.
• Scientists theorize that some cognitive biases have evolutionary roots, helping us maintain social connections.
• 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.
INGROUP BIAS is the tendency to favor individuals who are in the same group as ourselves. A group can be formed on a wide range of attributes, including gender, race, ethnicity, age, neighborhood, geographic region, nationality, etc. We are fair and impartial but the truth is that we automatically favor those who are most like us or belong to our groups
Solution:
- Take an outside view
- Put your shoes in those outside your immediate viewpoint.
- Use prospective hindsight.
- Ask for advice.
CHANGE AVOID BIAS is when a person tries to run away from changes, innovations, or challenges, it is a person who does not take risks or any responsibility for himself.
Solution:
- Accept that we all have unconscious biases
- Make considered decisions
- Monitor your behavior.
SELF-SERVING BIAS is the common habit of a person taking credit for positive events or outcomes, but blaming outside factors for negative events. This can be affected by age, culture, clinical diagnosis, and more. It tends to occur widely across populations.
Solution:
- Consider all contributing factors.
- See the opportunity in mistakes
- Practice self-compassion
- Don’t make any quick judgment
Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.
We are primed to see and agree with the 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.
Belief bias is the tendency to rely on prior beliefs rather than fully obey logical principles.
If a conclusion supports your existing beliefs, you will rationalize anything that supports it.
It is difficult for us to set aside 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.
A useful thing to ask is “When and how did I get this belief?” We tend to automatically defend our ideas without ever really questioning them
You overestimate the likelihood of negative outcomes.
Negative Bias is the tendency to pay more attention to negative information than to positive one.
Pessimism is often a defense mechanism against disappointment or it
can be the result of depression and anxiety disorders.
Perhaps the worst aspect of
pessimism is that even if something good happens you will probably feel pessimistic anyway.
Solution:
Think in our hearts, why do we choose the negative and not the positive?
Optimism bias is a cognitive bias that causes someone to believe that they are less likely to experience a negative event. It is also known as unrealistic optimism or comparative optimism.
Solution:
OSTRICH BIAS: The decision to ignore dangerous or negative information by ‘’burying’’ one’s head in the sand, like an ostrich. They avoid uncomfortable situations by choosing to ignore them.
Solution:
- Take small steps
- Ask powerful questions to yourself
- Reject discomfort
- Recommended reading(Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and Super Thinking by Gabriel Weinberg)
Word power bias: People often change their mood, motivation, and point of view even with a single word. They are affected and in many cases, they can not control it.
SOLUTION:
- I am trying to receive and give only positive energy and color each other’s moods with positive words.
- In our own opinion on everything and not let others influence us.
- Believe in ourselves and not let negative attitudes into our minds and hearts.
For teachers and not only for them it is crucial to know how to recognize biases and solve them.
My name is Natalia Berkatsashvili, Ph.D. in Linguistics and a lead English teacher from Georgia. I teach at LEPlVajha-Phavela Public School N9 and have over 13 years of experience. Teaching has become a significant part of my life. Along my career path, I realized the importance of nonformal education for my students. To sharpen their transferable skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, I created a club named EDU Hub, where we, my students and I, work on various topics including the following- biases, that are so actual and relevant nowadays.