The Seven Cognitive Biases Making You Less Effective—And How to Fix Them

You’re not going to like this, but you, like everyone else on the planet, are operating under flawed assumptions, making overconfident decisions, and ignoring hard evidence to suit your preferred viewpoints. That’s right: at one time or another, you’ve used cognitive bias to your advantage. But that doesn’t mean your approach to problem-solving can’t be improved, and in this article, we’ll show you how.

Selective Attention

There are two types of selective attention: 1) Inattentional blindness, where people fail to perceive obvious things when their attention is focused elsewhere, and 2) Selective attention, which explains why certain news stories stick in our minds. Most people have noticed that media outlets provide biased coverage of events. The same selectivity occurs in individuals; people naturally pay more attention to some pieces of information than others, depending on how they affect them personally. When you’re conducting research or making decisions, try to notice your own biases at work. Are you paying closer attention to facts that support your existing opinions? Or are you actively seeking out new information? If so, what can you do about it? Consider taking a few minutes each day to read an opposing viewpoint or fact-check something you think is true. When we encounter evidence against our beliefs, we need to be willing to change our minds. That’s hard, but it’s also one of the most important things we can do as leaders and decision-makers.

Framing

Your frame can alter how you perceive events. For example, being told that a movie is a comedy or a romance can change your perception of whether it was funny or sappy. If you need someone to be objective in decision-making, make sure they aren’t bringing a particular perspective or context into their analysis. Frame biases: Framing bias occurs when people view things according to how they are presented rather than by their true nature (the framing effect). A good way to address framing bias is to separate emotion from logic and evaluate things based on facts, not feelings. For example, ask yourself if you would still agree with something if it were framed differently. One common form of framing bias is loss aversion, valuing something more because we stand to lose it than we would if we stood to gain it. Another common form of framing bias is status quo bias, which is valuing something more because we currently have it over other options rather than looking at those options objectively. To avoid these biases, separate emotion from logic and evaluate things based on facts instead of feelings. Be aware that every choice has both advantages and disadvantages, so there’s no such thing as a perfect option – even when making an important decision like buying a house or choosing between two job offers.

Hindsight Bias

If you ask someone how confident they are about a decision, and then provide them with new information about that decision after the fact, their confidence in their original choice will generally increase. There’s a name for that: Hindsight bias, or post-decision bias. It’s fairly pervasive and often leads us to think that our past decisions were obviously correct. When we consider how obvious they really were at the time, however, we can see that hindsight bias has skewed our perspective. The next time you make a big decision, take some time before acting on it to reflect on your initial feelings and remind yourself of all of your options. That way, when you do act on it later, your confidence won’t be artificially inflated by hindsight bias.

Overconfidence

We tend to overestimate our abilities, a psychological phenomenon known as overconfidence. This flaw can encourage people to pursue dreams beyond their reach, wasting time and resources in pursuit of goals that are likely unattainable. To fix it: Overcoming overconfidence requires intense self-awareness and often requires help from others. But if you’re lucky enough not to be blinded by your own bravado, you can use several techniques to counteract it: Ask for objective feedback from someone you trust, including an honest appraisal of your weaknesses. And when making decisions, whether at work or home, don’t rely on just one data point but several, seeking out different opinions and varying perspectives along with using real numbers.

Base Rate Neglect?

Because we tend to over-rely on anecdotal evidence, we often miss how much our actions are affected by base rate neglect. For example, if two boys in a classroom are labelled as gifted and one actually is, it’s easy for teachers and students alike to forget that 98% of these labels will be incorrect. But by ignoring base rates and paying too much attention to anecdotal evidence, it becomes much more likely that you’ll fail to notice patterns where they actually exist (and ignore them when they don’t). It also makes you susceptible to a handful of related cognitive biases. To combat base rate neglect, first, figure out what your base rate is. That means asking yourself questions like: What percentage of people do I think have x characteristic? Once you know your base rate, check your intuition against hard data whenever possible. If you can find real numbers, use those instead of relying on gut feelings or anecdotes. If there aren’t any hard numbers available, ask someone who has experience with similar situations or who works in your industry about their experiences with that type of person or situation.

Escalation of Commitment

Overcoming Escalation of Commitment is all about recognizing when you’re making decisions based on how much time, money, or effort you’ve already invested in a project, rather than what’s truly in your best interest. For example, if you want to break up with your partner but have already moved in together and thrown away all their stuff, you might be stuck with them. Once we've made a decision that we're emotionally attached to, and especially once others are involved, it can be hard for us to change our minds. This bias tends to affect entrepreneurs with new projects who have limited resources available, forcing them toward an all-or-nothing strategy that may not necessarily be advantageous overall. In order to combat the escalation of commitment, try to ask yourself these questions: Are you still confident in your decision? Have there been any changes since you started? What are other possible solutions? Could I do something else instead? Asking yourself these questions will help keep you from becoming overly committed to any one course of action.

Overoptimism

If you’re in a leadership position, or even just enjoy a certain amount of autonomy and influence, it’s important to recognize that you might be susceptible to over-optimism bias. This is when we fail to account for all possible outcomes when making decisions—an error that leaves us vulnerable to failure (or worse, avoidable disaster). To guard against over-optimism bias and keep yourself from getting too far ahead of reality, take some time each week (or day) before committing your energy and resources toward one project or another. Ask yourself: Is there any way I could be wrong about my assumptions? If so, how can I make sure I don’t put myself in a bad situation? And then listen carefully.

Conclusions?

In summary, we’ve found seven cognitive biases (so far) that can make you less effective, as well as tactics for overcoming them. Admittedly, it’s a tall order to overcome your own brain; however, there are strategies you can use in order to minimize cognitive bias and think more objectively. Consider these seven cognitive biases to be roadblocks on your path toward success. While they may be unavoidable, they don’t have to be insurmountable. To fix cognitive bias, first, recognize when you’re using one of these faulty thought processes. Once you identify what type of cognitive bias is affecting your decision-making process, take action by finding alternative solutions or changing your approach altogether. If nothing else, understand that even the most brilliant minds among us fall victim to their own brains from time to time. Luckily, with some practice, discipline, and lots of coffee, you can learn how to combat each of these seven cognitive biases.