{"id":34701,"date":"2015-08-14T21:45:36","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T05:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=34701"},"modified":"2015-08-18T20:27:42","modified_gmt":"2015-08-19T04:27:42","slug":"3-cognitive-biases-alter-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/3-cognitive-biases-alter-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Cognitive Biases That Alter Your Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Change your thoughts and you change your world.<\/em>”
\n~Norman Vincent Peale<\/p>\n

There are far too many layers of cognition (thinking, knowing, remembering) to sum up in a short blog post. I only hope to provide some quick information that is easy to read and digest. I\u2019d like to touch on a few useful examples instead of definitions, statistics, or clinical terminology.<\/p>\n

Cognitive Bias<\/strong>\u00a0is defined as a pattern of deviation in judgement, whereby influences about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion.\u00a0Cognitive bias is a general term used to describe many observer effects in the human mind, some of which can lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, or illogical interpretation.<\/p>\n

In layman’s terms:<\/em>\u00a0A gap in between how we should reason and how we do reason. \u00a0Thinking irrationally – judging or favoring a person, group, or thing in an unfair way.<\/p>\n

As much as you may not notice them, biases are ingrained into our decision making from birth. Biases are one of the more interesting phenomena of evolved mental behavior. \u00a0The brain has evolved to make us believe that we’re special, valuable, and capable. \u00a0Biases\u00a0help you to feel unique and overcome the strains, struggles, and challenges of your life. \u00a0Biases help you to avoid second guessing yourself or feeling like a fool. \u00a0We are biased in a variety of areas: from bias to live in certain climates and temperature ranges, to seeking out certain types of foods and tastes.<\/p>\n

You can imagine the potential time pressures that our ancestors faced. \u00a0The ability to make split second decisions is essential for survival. \u00a0The speculation is that biases evolved in part to help us decide quickly and effectively; to quickly sample the information available to us and to focus on the bits relevant to our current task or situation. In short, biases help guide us and keep us safe.<\/p>\n

Research into human judgment and decision making over the past 60 years in cognitive science, social psychology, and behavioral economics has established an ever increasing and evolving list of cognitive bias. \u00a0There is a non exhaustive list of over 100 cognitive biases on Wikipedia. Although cognitive biases help us to feel amazing about our capabilities and self image, they also have their drawbacks. \u00a0They lead to poor choices, bad judgments, and erroneous insights.<\/p>\n

Cognitive Biases Effect:<\/strong><\/p>\n