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Explore 10 common cognitive biases that quietly shape our decisions—from optimism and survivorship bias to anchoring and plan continuation. This quick guide links to detailed posts, helping leaders and professionals recognize and counter these mental shortcuts for smarter, more objective choices.
Who isn’t answering your survey might matter more than who is—non-response bias silently distorts our data.
Looking beyond what survived to understand the complete picture Introduction When we study history, we naturally focus on what remains: the buildings still standing, the books preserved through centuries, the businesses that thrived, the medical treatments that worked. This tendency creates what statisticians call “survival bias” – a logical error where we concentrate on people […]
You know that moment in a business review where someone says, “We’ll definitely hit the target. It’s only September.” That’s optimism bias. It’s not just a mindset—it’s a recurring guest star in strategy decks, project timelines, and sales forecasts. What Is Optimism Bias? Optimism bias is the human tendency to believe that we’re less likely […]
Have you ever wondered why a team keeps hiring people who look remarkably similar? Or why certain clients receive faster responses than others, despite no official prioritization policy? These situations often stem from implicit bias—the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions without our awareness. What is Implicit Bias? Implicit bias […]
Have you ever found yourself endlessly researching before making a decision, only to feel more confused than when you started? Or spent hours gathering metrics that ultimately didn’t change your course of action? If so, you’ve experienced information bias—our tendency to seek additional information even when it won’t improve our decisions. What is Information Bias? […]
# Anchor Bias: How First Impressions Stick
When shopping, the first price tag you see sets a powerful reference point. Notice how a â‚ą50,000 TV display at the store entrance makes the â‚ą35,000 model seem like a “great deal” later, despite being expensive in absolute terms. Similarly, managers who first hear “our competitor charges â‚ą2,000” struggle to consider pricing their own service at â‚ą3,500—even when their offering delivers twice the value.
Have you ever stubbornly held onto your initial judgment despite mounting evidence to the contrary? That’s conservatism bias at work—our tendency to insufficiently update our beliefs when presented with new information. We pride ourselves on being rational thinkers, weighing evidence objectively before forming conclusions. Yet cognitive science reveals a systematic flaw in how we process […]
You know, have you ever purchased something new—a bright red car—and then immediately begun to notice it everywhere you go? This isn’t coincidence; it’s the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, a cognitive bias when everything becomes personally significant and our perception sharpens. This image depicts that moment of intrigued awareness—a newcomer to car ownership, big-eyed, with identical red cars in an otherwise unremarkable urban environment. It’s a playful demonstration of how we filter reality according to what we recently became attuned to.
The availability bias affects business decisions too. A 2023 survey of Indian manufacturing executives found that 72% allocated disproportionate resources to preventing problems that had recently occurred in their facilities, even when historical data suggested other risks deserved greater attention.