26 Thinking Mistakes We Don't Understand

Why you need to know about cognitive biases

Errors need to be corrected. And to do this, you need to find them. Cognitive distortions are cleverly disguised as normal thought processes - it would never occur to anyone that something went wrong in the reasoning.

There are many cognitive biases. Wikipedia lists 175 methods of self-deception - a huge number. Some are somewhat similar, some duplicate each other. It is impossible to learn and constantly know everything, but from time to time it is useful to look through the list of mistakes, find your favorites and get rid of them.

Why the brain likes to be wrong

Every distortion is needed for some reason. They appeared in the process of brain development to help a person adapt to the world, not to go crazy, to save energy and time., a trainer and blogger, spent a month to study and sort them: made a table, cleaned out the duplicates, grouped the main mistakes. He got 20 template scenarios according to which the brain works.

These scripts solve four main problems:

How to deal with information overload.
How to act when you do not understand anything.
How to act quickly.
How to remember the important and not remember the unnecessary.

Today we will look at the cognitive biases that solve the first problem.

Brain Problem One: Too Much Information

Every day, the brain digests a lot of data, from how brightly the sun shines, to the thoughts that come to mind before bed. In order not to be overwhelmed with information, you have to choose what to think about and what not to pay attention to. The brain uses several techniques to pull out important information.

We notice information we already know

Repetition helps to remember - this rule works even if we don't memorize information on purpose. It is convenient for the brain to notice what it already knows. Several distortions support this feature.

Availability heuristic … We stick labels on any new information, relying on memories and associations that arise in memory by themselves. There is logic in this: if something can be remembered, then it is important. Well, or at least more important than what is difficult to remember. And what arises in memory by itself? What hooked you. What happened to you or loved ones. What you can see, touch, smell. In general, poor personal experience. We use it to understand all the new information.

For example, a specialist friend went to the capital and got a job there. And it seems to us that all residents of the capital hold a cool position and receive a huge salary.

Base percentage error. We ignore statistics, but pay attention to special cases and draw conclusions based on incomplete data. For example, after a flu shot you catch a cold, then you will consider it harmful. The vaccine statistically saves millions of lives, but you don't care: cognitive biases don't care about the truth.

Deviation of attention. We notice what we think about. We pay attention to what worries, and if something is not interesting to us, we will not see it. Those who think a lot about clothes and are interested in brands will immediately notice a new bag from a colleague, will pay attention to the clothes of others. Those who do not celebrate the holidays forgets to congratulate friends and family - this is simply not part of the circle of his interests.

Frequency illusion. We begin to notice the subjects that we are studying and that have recently interested us. For example, you read an article about a healthy lifestyle and decided to go in for sports, consider BJU. And suddenly it turned out that there is a fitness center or a sports nutrition store on every corner. Didn't you have them before? There were, but you did not pay attention to shops and gyms.

The effect of imaginary truth. The tendency to believe information that is repeated many times. It has long been known that if you tell a person a hundred times that he is a pig, for the hundred and first time he will grunt.

The imaginary truth is actively used for propaganda, because it is so convenient to make people believe in something, repeating it many times.

The effect of familiarity with the object. From several objects, we choose the one that we are already familiar with or have heard of. And the better we know something, the more we like it. Advertising works on this distortion: we heard about washing powder, came to the store and bought it simply because it seems better, because we at least know something about it. And over and over again we buy this powder without trying others: why, we have been using it for a long time. This distortion saves you from rash actions, but remember that the best is the enemy of the good.

Context effect. The environment influences the perception of stimuli. Even mental abilities depend on the environment: it is more convenient to read and memorize text in a bright room and in silence, rather than in a stuffy subway. This effect is also used in marketing. If you come to a store and choose products in a pleasant environment, then you agree to a higher price. A friend of mine was selling an apartment and baked cinnamon and vanilla buns before buyers came. The apartment was filled with a pleasant aroma and warmth. As a result, they managed to sell the housing one and a half times more expensive than the market price, and this is only thanks to the buns.

Forgetting without context. The brain does not know how to search for information using keywords. Sometimes you need to remember something important, but it doesn't work out. It takes an association to pull the information you want out of memory. For example, on an exam, a definition does not come to mind, but the rustle of the pages of a notebook or the smell of paper reminds of how you wrote a synopsis, how you learned the terms - and here it is, the definition.

The stimulus that helps to remember everything is various stimuli - from sounds and smells to your mood.

Empathy gap. We underestimate the influence of internal factors on behavior. Even as commonplace as hunger and thirst. The well-fed does not understand the hungry - in the literal sense. When you feel like yelling at someone, you might want to eat or take a nap instead of swearing. Therefore, we do not understand other people's actions. We do not know in what state the person committed them.

Underestimating inaction. We condemn harmful actions. And no less harmful inaction - no. "But I didn't do anything!" - What is there to blame a person for? Therefore, when it is necessary to act, we stand on the sidelines and do nothing. It's safer this way.

We only notice unusual things

Bizarre, funny, bright, shooting information is more noticeable than boring and routine. The brain exaggerates the importance of all that is amazing and misses out on everything that is ordinary.

Isolation effect. Detached and non-standard objects are remembered better than similar ones. It's like a number in a row of letters, a joke in a boring lecture, a noticeable package on a shelf with the same goods. And if all the packages are bright, then minimalistic will stand out. This also includes the effect of image priority: pictures are remembered better than text. And the picture in the text - even more so.

The self-reliance effect. The stronger the new information is associated with us, the easier it is to remember it. If the hero of the book is like us, his adventures remain in our memory for a long time.

Involvement effect. We believe that the business or thing that we have created is more important than the things that others have created. This is our child the best in the world, our project is the most useful, our department works the most for the good of the company.

Tendency towards negativity. We overestimate the importance of negative things. Therefore, criminal chronicles are so popular, therefore, it is tempting to watch talk shows in which the characters are doing very badly. Moreover, one minor flaw can cross out many positive features. This is the fly in the ointment that spoils everyone and everything. In everything, a wonderful person picks his nose, and we consider this an indicator by which even his work should be judged.

We only notice changes

We evaluate things and events not by what they are, but because of what happened to them. If something good happens, we consider the whole event positive, and vice versa. And when we compare two things, we look not at their essence, but at their differences. Hard? Let's see some examples.

Anchor effect. Distortion in evaluating numeric values. If we are introduced to the object and indicate a number next to it, then we will make a decision based on this number. For example: a charitable foundation sends letters with a request to donate money, any amount, there is no minimum limit. But in one letter the fund writes: "Give at least 100 rubles", and in another: "At least 200 rubles." The person who received the second letter will pay more.

This distortion is used in advertising and in stores when they indicate a discount on a product.

Contrast effect. Everything is relative. And our assessment of the event depends on this comparison. For example, a person rejoices that he has bought some thing in a store, but stops rejoicing after he finds out that in a nearby store the same thing costs half the price.

Framing. We react to an event depending on how it is described, and we are able to change our attitude to the situation. Classic example: glass is half full or glass is half empty. After losing money, you can say: "We have lost half of the capital", or you can: "We managed to save half of the funds." In the first case we lost, in the second we won, although there is only one event.

Conservatism. When we receive new data that contradicts the existing picture of the world, we process it very slowly. And even more slowly we change our views. We learn information that does not encroach on old beliefs faster. And all because of laziness: it's much easier not to notice the data than to rearrange your views.

Money illusion … We value the amount of money at face value. A million is a lot. Although, if you look closely, this is not so much, especially if it is a million in a weak currency. We estimate a number, not the real value of money. And their real value is made up of how many goods can be bought for this amount.

Biased assessment of differences. When we look at things individually, we notice fewer differences between them than if we compare them at the same time. Sometimes it is impossible to distinguish the twins, but when they are nearby, you will not mix them up. Or sometimes dinner doesn't seem so greasy. Just think, it's just durum wheat pasta and a cutlet. But if you compare such a plate with salad and chicken breast, the difference is immediately visible.

We love our beliefs

We love tips that suggest a decision that has already been made. We spit on details that are contrary to our beliefs.

Confirmation bias and selective perception. We are looking for information that confirms knowledge and position. This is the cause of eternal disputes and irreconcilable enmity. Let's say a man decided that the conspiracy was to blame for all his troubles. He will find evidence that this is exactly the case. Any arguments of opponents will be ignored or will say that opponents are the main conspirators.

Distortion in perception of choice … First we make a choice, then we justify it. First we buy a thing, then we figure out why we need it.

The worse the choice, the more the fantasy is played out in search of reasons that will justify our actions.

The ostrich effect. And this is the reason why we do not notice negative information that speaks about our choice. As in childhood: since I can't see you, then you can't see me either, I hid.

Observer expectation effect. Our expectations determine our behavior. If we believe that regular jogging will help you lose weight, we exercise more often than if we do not believe in success. In the opposite direction, it also works: if we do not expect that we will be able to complete the task, then we do it somehow.

We notice other people's mistakes

But we don't want to recognize our own. So before you think that you are surrounded by idiots, look at yourself. Maybe you missed some distortion?

Blind spot. We don't see cognitive biases in our own thinking. So they are insidious, that they are difficult to find.

Naive realism and naive cynicism … Whom do we consider a normal person, a reference point by which we evaluate everyone and everything? Of course, myself. And those who disagree with us are wrong.

What to do with this information

Read and re-read. Here are listed only those errors that interfere with the perception of information, and they can be conditionally divided into four groups:

We don't like new information.
We only pay attention to the unusual, but we do not think about the routine.
We do not know how to objectively compare objects.
We do not notice our mistakes.

You cannot draw the right conclusions from false data, no matter how hard you try. Therefore, these cognitive distortions are so dangerous: we build a picture of the world that cannot work.

If the next time you make a decision, you remember a few distortions and can correct them, then you will make the right choice. And we will tell you what other distortions there are in the world.