170 Cognitive Biases = Decision Panic

You hear a lot about influence, manipulation and Persuasion but did you know that most of these techniques are using the fact that the human brain stop evolving a looooong time ago (between 100.000 and 50.000 years ago)?

This non-evolution created what are called Cognitive Biases, little non-rational behaviours that are killing your superb non-cortex's reputation and making of the most evolved species on earth a primal decision making beast.

Enough talking, here is a list (non-exhaustive) more than 170 cognitive biases (there are more running in your brain) - I hope I didn't duplicate some too often. Why am I listing that many? Just so that you grasp the importance to use Ethical Persuasion:

1. anchoring bias - the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making a decision
2. availability heuristic - the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
3. bandwagon effect - the tendency to do or believe something because many other people do or believe the same
4. belief bias - the tendency to judge the strength of an argument based on whether the conclusion aligns with one's preexisting beliefs
5. confirmation bias - the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs
6. framing effect - the tendency to be influenced by the way information is presented, rather than the content of the information itself
7. fundamental attribution error - the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors in determining others' behavior
8. heuristics - mental shortcuts that people use to quickly arrive at a judgment
9. halo effect - the tendency to allow one positive characteristic to influence one's overall perception of a person
10. hindsight bias - the tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an outcome that has occurred
11. illusion of control - the tendency to overestimate one's ability to control events
12. imagination inflation - the tendency to overestimate the frequency or likelihood of an event based on its vividness in imagination
13. information bias - the tendency to seek out information even when it has no bearing on the decision at hand
14. in-group bias - the tendency to favor one's own group
15. loss aversion - the tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains
16. mere exposure effect - the tendency to prefer things simply because they are familiar
17. multitasking bias - the tendency to overestimate one's ability to multitask effectively
18. omission bias - the tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful omissions (inactions)
19. overconfidence bias - the tendency to be more confident than correct
20. overgeneralization - the tendency to draw broad conclusions from limited evidence
21. optimism bias - the tendency to be overly optimistic about the likelihood of positive events and the likelihood that things will turn out well
22. planning fallacy - the tendency to underestimate the time it will take to complete a task, even when past experience should suggest otherwise
23. sunk cost fallacy - the tendency to continue investing time, money, or effort into something because of the resources that have already been invested, even when it is not rational to do so
24. reactance - the tendency to do the opposite of what someone wants you to do out of a desire to rebel against their influence
25. recency bias - the tendency to give more weight to more recent information
26. self-serving bias - the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to one's own abilities and negative outcomes to external factors
27. status quo bias - the tendency to prefer things to stay the same
28. stereotype threat - the tendency to perform worse on a task because of the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group
29. temporal discounting - the tendency to value rewards as less valuable in the future than they are in the present
30. Third-person effect - the tendency to believe that media has a greater impact on others than on oneself
31. timing bias - the tendency to be more influenced by the timing of information when it is received
32. sunk cost bias - the tendency to continue investing in something because of the resources that have already been invested, even when it is not rational to do so
33. representative bias - the tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype
34. self-fulfilling prophecy - the tendency for a belief or expectation to influence behavior in a way that causes the belief or expectation to come true
35. self-handicapping - the tendency to engage in behaviors that create obstacles to success in order to have an excuse for failure
36. status quo bias - the tendency to prefer things to stay the same
37. stereotype threat - the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, leading to decreased performance
38. survivorship bias - the tendency to focus on examples of people or things that have survived or succeeded, while ignoring those that did not
39. framing effect - the tendency to be influenced by the way information is presented, rather than the content of the information itself
40. fundamental attribution error - the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors in determining others' behavior
41. groupthink - the tendency for a group to make irrational or dysfunctional decisions because of pressure to conform or the desire for agreement within the group
42. herding - the tendency to follow the actions of others, even if it goes against one's own better judgment
43. Anchoring bias - the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making a decision
44. availability heuristic - the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
45. belief bias - the tendency to judge the strength of an argument based on whether the conclusion aligns with one's preexisting beliefs
46. choice-supportive bias - the tendency to remember one's choices as being better than they actually were
47. cognitive dissonance - the discomfort experienced when holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously
48. confirmatory bias - the tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs
49. cognitive ease - the tendency to prefer information that is easy to process over information that is more difficult to process
50. congruence bias - the tendency to search for information that confirms one's preexisting beliefs
51. contrast effect - the tendency to judge a person's characteristics based on how they compare to other people who have recently been encountered
52. curiosity gap - the tendency to want to know more about something when there is a gap in one's knowledge
53. decoy effect - the tendency to change one's preference between two options when a third, similar option is presented
54. denial - the refusal to accept reality or facts
55. depreciation bias - the tendency to underestimate the value of something over time
56. distance bias - the tendency to underestimate the impact of something that is distant in time or space
57. endowment effect - the tendency to overvalue something simply because one owns it
58. escalator effect - the tendency to continue with a behavior or decision even when the evidence suggests that it is not the best choice
59. expectation bias - the tendency to judge a situation based on one's expectations
60. expertise bias - the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's own knowledge or the knowledge of experts in a field
61. false consensus effect - the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others agree with one's beliefs and actions
62. false dilemma - the tendency to see a situation as having only two options, when in fact there may be more
63. false memory - the tendency to remember events differently from how they actually happened or to remember events that never happened at all
64. framing effect - the tendency to be influenced by the way information is presented, rather than the content of the information itself
65. fundamental attribution error - the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors in determining others' behavior
66. group polarization - the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members
67. horn effect - the tendency to remember the negative aspects of a situation and forget the positive ones
68. hot hand fallacy - the belief that a person who has had success with a random event is more likely to have success in the future
69. hyperbolic discounting - the tendency to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards
70. information bias - the tendency to seek out information even when it has no bearing on the decision at hand
71. in-group bias - the tendency to favor one's own group
72. integrative complexity - the tendency to consider multiple viewpoints and generate multiple solutions to a problem
73. intermediate-term effect - the tendency to forget about the long-term consequences of one's actions and consider only the short-term and intermediate-term consequences
74. introspection illusion - the belief that one is able to accurately assess the reasons for one's own actions and beliefs
75. intuitive-experiential system - the mental system that is responsible for gut feelings and impressions
76. laddering - the tendency to link an attribute to a deeper, underlying value
77. loss aversion - the tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains
78. magical thinking - the belief that one's thoughts, words, or actions can influence events in the physical world
79. manifestation bias - the belief that events will turn out in a way that aligns with one's wishes or desires
80. mapping - the tendency to transfer knowledge from one situation to another
81. memory retrieval cues - the triggers that help bring information to mind
82. mere exposure effect - the tendency to prefer things simply because they are familiar
83. misuse of statistics - the misuse or misunderstanding of statistical concepts
84. multitasking bias - the tendency to overestimate one's ability to multitask effectively
85. negativity bias - the tendency to pay more attention to and be more affected by negative information or events
86. negativity effect - the tendency to remember negative events more easily and vividly than positive ones
87. overconfidence bias - the tendency to be more confident than correct
88. overgeneralization - the tendency to draw broad conclusions from limited evidence
89. overoptimism - the tendency to be overly optimistic about the likelihood of positive events and the likelihood that things will turn out well
90. overreliance on authority - the tendency to blindly accept information from authority figures without questioning it
91. overthinking - the tendency to spend too much time thinking about a decision or problem without coming to a conclusion
92. parsimony bias - the tendency to prefer simpler explanations or solutions over more complex ones
93. pattern recognition - the tendency to see patterns or connections where none exist
94. peak-end rule - the tendency to judge an experience based on how it was at its peak (most intense) and how it ended
95. perception bias - the tendency to perceive things in a way that aligns with one's preexisting beliefs or desires
96. pessimism bias - the tendency to be overly pessimistic about the likelihood of positive events and the likelihood that things will turn out well
97. planning fallacy - the tendency to underestimate the time it will take to complete a task, even when past experience should suggest otherwise
98. positive outcome bias - the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive outcomes
99. projection bias - the tendency to attribute one's own thoughts, feelings, or characteristics to other people or external events
100. reactance - the tendency to do the opposite of what someone wants you to do out of a desire to rebel against their influence
101. recency bias - the tendency to give more weight to more recent information
102. reflective system - the mental system that is responsible for logical, conscious thought
103. regret aversion - the tendency to avoid actions that might lead to regret in the futur
104. regression to the mean - the tendency for extreme events or measurements to return to the average over time
105. representative bias - the tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype
106. self-assessment bias - the tendency to overestimate one's own abilities or qualities
107. self-serving bias - the tendency to attribute positive outcomes to one's own abilities and negative outcomes to external factors
108. semantic memory - the memory system that stores meanings, concepts, and general knowledge about the world
109. social comparison bias - the tendency to compare oneself to others in order to evaluate one's own abilities, beliefs, and attitudes
110. social desirability bias - the tendency to present oneself in a positive light to others
111. stereotype threat - the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, leading to decreased performance
112. sunk cost bias - the tendency to continue investing in something because of the resources that have already been invested, even when it is not rational to do so
113. sunk cost fallacy - the tendency to continue investing time, money, or effort into something because of the resources that have already been invested, even when it is not rational to do so
114. survival instinct - the instinct to prioritize one's own survival and well-being over other concerns
115. temporal discounting - the tendency to value rewards as less valuable in the future than they are in the present
116. third-person effect - the tendency to believe that media has a greater impact on others than on oneself
117. trait ascription bias - the tendency to judge someone's character based on their behavior in a specific situation
118. trait transference - the tendency to transfer one's own characteristics onto someone else
119. transparency illusion - the belief that one's own thoughts and feelings are more obvious to others than they actually are
120. unobserved variability - the tendency to ignore the role that randomness and chance events play in shaping outcomes
121. anchoring bias - the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making a decision
122. availability heuristic - the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
123. belief bias - the tendency to judge the strength of an argument based on whether the conclusion aligns with one's preexisting beliefs
124. choice-supportive bias - the tendency to remember one's choices as being better than they actually were
125. cognitive dissonance - the discomfort experienced when holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously
126. confirmatory bias - the tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs
127. contrast effect - the tendency to judge a person's characteristics based on how they compare to other people who have recently been encountered
128. curiosity gap - the tendency to want to know more about something when there is a gap in one's knowledge
129. decoy effect - the tendency to change one's preference between two options when a third, similar option is presented
130. fundamental attribution error - the tendency to overestimate the influence of personal characteristics and underestimate the influence of situational factors in determining others' behavior
131. group polarization - the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members
132. heuristics - mental shortcuts that people use to quickly arrive at a judgment
133. halo effect - the tendency to allow one positive characteristic to influence one's overall perception of a person
134. illusion of control - the tendency to overestimate one's ability to control events
135. imagination inflation - the tendency to overestimate the frequency or likelihood of an event based on its vividness in imagination
136. in-group bias - the tendency to favor one's own group
137. information bias - the tendency to seek out information even when it has no bearing on the decision at hand
138. loss aversion - the tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains
139. mere exposure effect - the tendency to prefer things simply because they are familiar
140. multitasking bias - the tendency to overestimate one's ability to multitask effectively
141. omission bias - the tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful omissions (inactions)
142. optimism bias - the tendency to be overly optimistic about the likelihood of positive events and the likelihood that things will turn out well
143. overconfidence bias - the tendency to be more confident than correct
144. overgeneralization - the tendency to draw broad conclusions from limited evidence
145. planning fallacy - the tendency to underestimate the time it will take to complete a task, even when past experience should suggest otherwise
146. sunk cost bias - the tendency to continue investing in something because of the resources that have already been invested, even when it is not rational to do so
147. sunk cost fallacy - the tendency to continue investing time, money, or effort into something because of the resources that have already been invested, even when it is not rational to do so
148. representative bias - the tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype
149. self-fulfilling prophecy - the tendency for a belief or expectation to influence behavior in a way that causes the belief or expectation to come true
150. self-handicapping - the tendency to engage in behaviors that create obstacles to success in order to have an excuse for failure
151. status quo bias - the tendency to prefer things to stay the same
152. stereotype threat - the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, leading to decreased performance
153. temporal discounting - the tendency to value rewards as less valuable in the future than they are in the present
154. third-person effect - the tendency to believe that media has a greater impact on others than on oneself
155. timing bias - the tendency to be more influenced by the timing of information when it is received
156. trait ascription bias - the tendency to judge someone's character based on their behavior in a specific situation
157. trait transference - the tendency to transfer one's own characteristics onto someone else
158. transparency illusion - the belief that one's own thoughts and feelings are more obvious to others than they actually are
159. unobserved variability - the tendency to ignore the role that randomness and chance events play in shaping outcomes
160. anchoring bias - the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making a decision
161. availability heuristic - the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
162. belief bias - the tendency to judge the strength of an argument based on whether the conclusion aligns with one's preexisting beliefs
163. choice-supportive bias - the tendency to remember one's choices as being better than they actually were
164. cognitive dissonance - the discomfort experienced when holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously
165. confirmatory bias - the tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs
166. contrast effect - the tendency to judge a person's characteristics based on how they compare to other people who have recently been encountered
167. curiosity gap - the tendency to want to know more about something when there is a gap in one's knowledge
168. decoy effect - the tendency to change one's preference between two options when a third, similar option is presented
169. denial - the refusal to accept reality or facts
170. depreciation bias - the tendency to underestimate the value of something over time
171. distance bias - the tendency to underestimate the impact of something that is distant in time or space
172. endowment effect - the tendency to overvalue something simply because one owns it
173. escalator effect - the tendency to continue with a behavior or decision even when the evidence suggests that it is not the best choice
174. expectation bias - the tendency to judge a situation based on one's expectations
175. expertise bias - the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's own knowledge or the knowledge of experts in a field
176. false consensus effect - the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others agree with one's beliefs and actions
177. false dilemma - the tendency to see a situation as having only two options, when in fact there may be more
178. false memory - the tendency to remember events differently from how they actually happened or to remember events that never happened at all
179. framing effect - the tendency to be influenced by the way information is presented, rather than the content of the information itself.

For those of you looking for a bit more insight in some decision making impacting cognitive biases, here is a free book for you : https://www.happy-brains.com/cognitive-biases