Summary of 12 Cognitive Biases Explained - How to Think Better and More Logically Removing Bias

Main Ideas and Concepts:

• Anchoring Bias: The tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions, which can skew judgment.
  • Example: A car's price perceived as a bargain based on an initial higher price.
• Availability Heuristic Bias: Overestimating the importance of information readily available, often influenced by media coverage.
  • Example: Believing terrorism is a major threat due to its frequent portrayal in the news, despite statistical evidence suggesting otherwise.
• Bandwagon Effect: The inclination to adopt beliefs or behaviors because others do, rather than based on personal conviction.
  • Example: Voting for a popular candidate rather than one based on individual beliefs.
• Choice Supportive Bias: The tendency to defend one's choices and ignore their downsides after making a decision.
  • Example: Justifying the purchase of an expensive product while downplaying its faults.
• Confirmation Bias: The habit of seeking out information that confirms pre-existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence.
  • Example: Focusing on negative information about a food while disregarding positive aspects.
• Ostrich Bias: Ignoring negative information or potential problems in favor of a more positive outlook.
  • Example: Procrastinating on tasks, hoping they will resolve themselves.
• Outcome Bias: Evaluating decisions based on their outcomes rather than the quality of the decision-making process.
  • Example: Judging a manager's choice as good or bad solely based on the results.
• Overconfidence: Excessive belief in one's own abilities, often leading to poor decision-making.
  • Example: A successful stock trader becoming overconfident and neglecting data analysis.
• Placebo Bias: The phenomenon where belief in the efficacy of a treatment can lead to real improvements in health.
  • Example: Recovering from illness due to the belief in the effectiveness of a sugar pill.
• Survivorship Bias: Judging the effectiveness of actions based on successful examples while ignoring failures.
  • Example: Assuming that habits of successful individuals will lead to success without considering those who did not succeed.
• Selective Perception: The tendency to perceive information in a way that aligns with one's beliefs, leading to a skewed understanding of reality.
  • Example: A smoker ignoring negative ads about smoking while noticing positive messages about their interests.
• Blind Spot Bias: The belief that one is less biased than others, leading to a lack of self-awareness regarding personal biases.
  • Example: A teacher believing their grading is impartial while acknowledging bias in others.

Methodology/Instructions:

• Recognize and understand these cognitive biases to improve decision-making and critical thinking.
• Reflect on personal beliefs and decisions to identify potential biases influencing them.
• Seek diverse perspectives and information to counteract biases like confirmation and selective perception.

Speakers/Sources:

• Practice Psychology: The primary speaker and creator of the video.
• Iswanoff TV: Mentioned as a source of research and animations related to cognitive biases and self-development.

The video encourages viewers to become more aware of these biases to enhance logical thinking and decision-making.

Notable Quotes

— 01:40 — « Yes, TVs literally kill people fifty-five more times than terrorism. »

— 01:56 — « You're more likely to be killed by a cow than a terrorist. »

— 02:06 — « It's way scarier to die from a terrorist attack than from a falling coconut. »

— 03:08 — « People do not make decisions based on facts and statistics, but usually they make it on news and stories. »

— 08:10 — « It's hard to know what you don't know. »

Category

Educational

Video