One of the essential insights from social-psychological research is that human information processing is often biased and characterized by thinking errors and cognitive distortions. This concept of “cognitive bias” was introduced by Tversky and Kahneman.
Cognitive Biases and Heuristics
Tversky and Kahneman explained cognitive errors in terms of heuristics, mental shortcuts that provide quick judgments. Cognitive biases can help people handle common situations in life quickly. A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Individuals create their own “subjective reality” based on their perception of the world. Cognitive biases can sometimes lead to inaccurate judgments, illogical interpretations, or what is generally referred to as critical irrationality or, in a more favorable sense, intuition.
Evolutionary Origins and Impact
Many cognitive biases have evolutionary origins and helped humans survive. Cognitive errors can lead to more effective actions. Moreover, allowing cognitive biases enables quicker decisions, often prioritizing speed over accuracy. Cognitive biases are a result of human mental limitations, reflecting a limited capacity for information processing.
Common Cognitive Biases
Researchers have identified and described hundreds of cognitive errors. Recently, researchers Oeberst and Imhoff proposed a simplified summary of many common thinking errors. While not all thinking errors fit into their proposed simplified model (e.g., the negativity bias), many thinking errors can be reduced to a simple model.
Fundamental Beliefs and cognitive distortions
Adapted from Oeberst & Imhoff (2023)
We all share a naive set of fundamental beliefs unless we have learned to take time to think in a broader, inclusive, and long-term system-2 perspective. Here are some fundamental beliefs:
- My experience is a reasonable reference.
- I make correct assessments of the world.
- I am good.
- My group is a reasonable reference.
- My group (members) is (are) good.
- People’s attributes (not context) shape outcomes.
These fundamental beliefs often underlie our cognitive biases and influence our perceptions and judgments.
References
Oeberst, A., & Imhoff, R. (2023). Toward Parsimony in Bias Research: A Proposed Common Framework of Belief-Consistent Information Processing for a Set of Biases. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17456916221148147.