Tips

Basic Biases

Be vigilant: our own thinking is constantly shaped by biases, and failing to notice them can lead to serious errors.

A study mentioned by Steve Stewart-Williams indicate that a small set of core beliefs drive most cognitive biases:

“… a fascinating recent paper by Aileen Oeberst and Roland Imhoff argues that all our cognitive biases boil down to one of a handful of fundamental beliefs, coupled with just one ‘ultimate’ bias. The fundamental beliefs include such ideas as ‘I make correct assessments’ and ‘I am good’.” And the ultimate bias is confirmation bias: the tendency to seek and favor information consistent with one’s preexisting views.

Table 1: Biases and the Fundamental Beliefs on Which They Might be Based

Table 1: Biases and the Fundamental Beliefs on Which They Might be Based

From https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/17456916221148147