The choices we make are based on the way we see the world. The problem is that our brains distort and twist what we see and hear, which make us more susceptible to making bad decisions. The good news is that these cognitive bias are predictable, and once discovered, we will be able to spot them before they impair our judgment.
The Availability Heuristic
We tend to make decisions with the most immediate and easily accessible information we receive, instead of information that would give us a better understanding of reality. For example, if your neighbor is robbed, you may overreact and purchase new locks and a security system because you believe your house is next. In reality, the burglaries in your neighborhood may be statistically down and your house is most likely not in any danger of being burglarized.
The Salience Error
We tend to overvalue more shocking and sensationalized information over things that are more likely to occur. For example, you may not want to swim in the ocean because you fear being attacked by a shark. Yet, getting in a car accident on the way to the beach is much more likely to happen than a shark attack.
The Ostrich Effect
We would all like to just ignore negative information we receive. For example, you may not call a repairman when one of your appliances is going out because you naturally fear that he will find something wrong with it and leave you with a big bill to pay. This only delays the inevitable of the appliance breaking and causing more damage than if you would have just taken care of it in the first place.
The Outcome Bias
We all can do really stupid things. The problem is when we think we did the right thing because no one was hurt in the process. This only leads us to continue to do more stupid things, until someone really does end up getting injured.
The Confirmation Bias
We all ignore and discount information that we don’t agree with or that contradicts what we already believe. Still, this doesn’t stop us from getting in heated arguments with our friends and family. These conversations never get anywhere because we stop listening to what the other person is saying.
Even though our brains can make quick decisions, they don’t always make the best decisions because of our cognitive biases. These biases can be predictable, and therefore, can be spotted with some effort on our part. The more we discover and understand these cognitive biases, the more we can improve our decision making every day.
