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Common Cognitive Biases

Here’s a list of common cognitive biases: 

  1. Apophenia: Perceiving false connections [1]. 
  1. Availability heuristic: Biased by memory accessibility [1]. 
  1. Cognitive dissonance: Perception of contradictory information [1]. 
  1. Confirmation bias: Seeking evidence for own beliefs [1]. 
  1. Egocentric bias: Overestimating own perspective [1]. 
  1. Framing effect: Influenced by presentation of information [1]. 
  1. Hindsight bias: Seeing past events as predictable [1]. 
  1. Illusory superiority: Overestimating own qualities [1]. 
  1. Loss aversion: Preferring to avoid losses [1]. 
  1. Negativity bias: Focusing on negative information [1]. 
  1. Omission bias: Judging harmful actions worse [1]. 
  1. Optimism bias: Expecting positive outcomes [1]. 
  1. Self-serving bias: Claiming credit for successes [1]. 
  1. Anchoring bias: Over-reliance on first information [1]. 
  1. Memory bias: Distortion of memory recall [1]. 
  1. Recency effect: Remembering last items better [1]. 

These biases can influence our beliefs and actions daily. They can affect how we think, how we feel, and how we behave [3]. It’s important to be aware of these biases as they can distort our thinking and decision-making processes [2] [3]. 

For more on biases, please visit our other articles on Biases and Psychology.

Sources: 

  1. Examples of cognitive biases 
  1. Cognitive Bias List: 13 Common Types of Bias – Verywell Mind 
  1. 12 Common Biases That Affect How We Make Everyday Decisions 
  1. List of Cognitive Biases and Heuristics – The Decision Lab 
  1. Cognitive Bias 101: What It Is and How To Overcome It 
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The IKEA Effect

The IKEA Effect is a cognitive bias where consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they have partially created or assembled [2]. This effect is named after the Swedish furniture company IKEA, which sells many items of furniture that require assembly [2]. 

The IKEA Effect suggests that when people invest their own time and effort into creating or assembling something, they tend to value it more highly, even if the result is not perfect [2]. This is because the act of creation or assembly gives people a sense of accomplishment and ownership, which in turn increases their appreciation of the product [2]. 

For example, a person might value a piece of IKEA furniture that they assembled themselves more highly than a similar piece of furniture that was pre-assembled, even if the self-assembled furniture has minor flaws or imperfections [2]. 

This effect has been leveraged by various businesses and marketers to involve consumers in the creation or customization process, thereby enhancing their attachment and perceived value of the products [4]. However, it is important to note that this effect can also lead to irrational decision-making, as people might overvalue their own creations and undervalue others’ [2]. 

The IKEA Effect illustrates how our perceptions of value can be influenced by our own involvement in the creation process [2]. It is a fascinating aspect of consumer psychology that has significant implications for product design, marketing, and consumer behavior [2]. 

For more on biases, please visit our other articles on Biases and Psychology.

Sources: 

  1. IKEA effect – Wikipedia 
  2. What is the IKEA Effect? — updated 2024 | IxDF 
  3. https://bing.com/search?q=IKEA+effect 
  4. The “IKEA Effect”: When Labor Leads to Love – Harvard Business School 
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        The Illusory Truth Effect

        The Illusory Truth Effect plays a significant role in the spread of misinformation. Here is how: The Illusory Truth Effect is a cognitive bias that makes people more likely to believe something is true if they hear it repeatedly. This effect can influence how people process and evaluate information, especially in situations where they are uncertain or lack knowledge. The Illusory Truth Effect can have various consequences, such as: 

        1. Repetition: Misinformation often spreads when false statements are repeated frequently. This repetition can make the information seem more familiar, and therefore more believable, even if it is not true. 
        2. Social media: On platforms like Facebook and Twitter, false information can be shared and reshared, reaching a large audience quickly. Each time a user sees the same false information, it may seem truer due to the Illusory Truth Effect. 
        3. Confirmation Bias: People are more likely to believe information that confirms their existing beliefs, even if it is false. When this information is repeated, it reinforces these beliefs, making it harder to correct the misinformation. 
        4. Fake News: Fake news articles often contain false information that is repeated to make it seem true. The Illusory Truth Effect can make readers more likely to believe these false statements. 
        5. Propaganda: The Illusory Truth Effect is often used in propaganda. By repeating certain messages, propagandists can make their audience believe certain ideas, even if they are not based on truth. 
        6. Misinterpretation: Sometimes, a piece of information starts as true, but gets twisted or misinterpreted as it is shared and reshared. Repeated exposure to misinformation can make people believe the false version. 

                  To combat the Illusory Truth Effect and the spread of misinformation, it is important to fact-check information, consider the source, and be aware of our own biases. It is also helpful to promote media literacy and critical thinking skills. 

                  For more on biases, please visit our other articles on Biases and Psychology.

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                  How Biases Skew a Person’s Thoughts

                  A brief overview of cognitive biases and their effects 

                  What are cognitive biases? 

                  Cognitive dissonance: the state of mental uneasiness or strain that happens when a person has two or more conflicting or incompatible beliefs, values, or behaviors at the same time. For example, a person who is concerned about the environment but drives a fuel-consuming car may feel cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is often caused by heuristics or simple rules of thumb or mental shortcuts that people use to make fast and instinctive judgments or decisions, often based on experience or common sense. For example, a person who wants to buy a product may use the heuristic of choosing the most popular or costly option, assuming it is the best quality or value. Heuristics can be helpful and effective when there is not enough time or information to perform a more careful analysis or evaluation of the situation.  

                  To reduce cognitive dissonance, people may try to change their beliefs, attitudes, or actions to make them more coherent or rationalize or justify their behavior by downplaying its negative effects or highlighting its positive aspects. Alternatively, they may avoid information or situations that question or contradict their existing views and create dissonance. Cognitive dissonance can influence decision-making, motivation, and self-esteem. It can also lead to confirmation bias, as people look for evidence that confirms their preferred choices or beliefs and disregard or devalue evidence that opposes them. 

                  Cognitive biases can skew a person’s thoughts in several ways 

                  • Distorting the perception of reality and the evaluation of evidence. 
                  • Impairing the ability to reason logically and objectively. 
                  • Reducing the willingness to consider alternative perspectives or update one’s beliefs. 
                  • Influencing the formation of stereotypes and prejudices. 
                  • Affecting the quality of decision-making and problem-solving. 
                  • Increasing the likelihood of errors and mistakes. 

                  Common examples of cognitive biases 

                  • Confirmation bias: the tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. 
                  • Availability heuristic: the tendency to judge the frequency or probability of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. 
                  • Anchoring effect: the tendency to rely too much on the first piece of information that is given when making decisions or estimates. 
                  • Hindsight bias: the tendency to overestimate one’s ability to predict an outcome after it has occurred. 
                  • Frequency bias: known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon or the frequency illusion, the tendency to perceive the frequency of something based on how recently or vividly it was encountered, rather than on objective data. For example, a person might think that shark attacks are quite common after watching a movie or hearing a news report about them, even though they are statistically rare. This bias can affect how people assess risks, make decisions, or form opinions based on availability rather than accuracy. 
                  • Survivorship bias: the tendency to focus on the successful cases or outcomes, while ignoring the failures or non-survivors, thus creating a distorted view of reality. For example, a person might think that entrepreneurship is easy and profitable after reading stories of successful founders while neglecting the fact that most startups fail. This bias can affect how people evaluate their chances of success, learn from the past, or make decisions based on incomplete information. 
                  • Fundamental attribution error: the tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to their personality or disposition, while ignoring the situational factors that may have influenced them. 

                  For more on biases, please visit our other articles on Biases and Psychology.