A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that influences and affects our judgement and decisions making. There are different types of cognitive biases that affect each individual differently, but a common attribute is that they tend to deviate the decision from being rational and objective. Cognitive biases could be thought as shortcuts for thinking stored in our subconscious mind. They help us reach decision faster and hence are not always a bad thing. This is because we do not stop to consider all available information, as our thoughts advance down some channels instead of others. An interesting read about the thinking process and unconscious influences is “The Art of Thinking Clearly”.
“Whether we like it or not, we are puppets of our emotions. We make complex decisions by consulting our feelings, not our thoughts. Against our best intentions, we substitute the question, “What do I think about this?” with “How do I feel about this?” So, smile! Your future depends on it.”
(Dobelli, 2013)
Cognitive biases can be driven by our environment, emotions, feeling or any of the past experiences.
NowAnalyzing our recent decisions will make us realize that there were always some cognitive biases that influenced our decisions.
