COGNITIVE BIASES by WILMA SOFIA DURAN VAZQUEZ

WHAT ARE COGNITIVE BIASES?

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 01:06:24 UTC

Psychological Biases are those errors or mistakes we make when interpreting reality. These biases, in turn, influence how we act or the decisions we make.

When we see or experience a certain event, what we usually do is to think and judge what is happening. Many times the judgments we make about these events are influenced by these biases or thinking errors.

SURVIVAL BIAS:

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 01:20:40 UTC

Is the logical fallacy of Focusing on success stories and ignoring those that failed, leading to a distorted understanding of reality.

EXAMPLE: People may praise successful entrepreneurs in Colombia without acknowledging failed start-ups, falsely believing that success comes easily.

NEGATIVE BIAS

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 01:30:48 UTC

Is the tendency for people to pay more attention and give more weight to negative experiences, events or information compared to positive or neutral ones. This phenomenon occurs because, from an evolutionary point of view, focusing on the negative may have helped our ancestors to avoid dangers and threats.

EXAMPLE: After watching the news about crime in Brazil, a person may believe that violence is widespread, even if crime rates have been declining.

THE DUNNING-KRUGER BIAS

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 01:53:08 UTC

Is a cognitive phenomenon in which people with low skills or knowledge in a certain area tend to overestimate their competence, while more competent people tend to underestimate their abilities.

EXAMPLE: A person who has just taken an online course to learn the basics of trading might think they fully understand the stock market, making overconfident and risky investments without understanding the intricacies.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 02:05:54 UTC

Is the tendency to seek, interpret and remember information in a way that confirms our previous beliefs or hypotheses, ignoring or minimizing information that contradicts them. This bias leads us to favor information that reinforces our ideas, which can make it difficult to change our opinion or objectively analyze a situation.

EXAMPLE: A person who supports a Colombian political party may only follow media and social networks that promote positive stories about that party. Even when presented with evidence of corruption or poor governance within the party, he or she may dismiss it as biased or unreliable, reinforcing his or her original belief that his or her party is the best choice.

GROUPTHINK

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 02:28:39 UTC

A phenomenon in which group members tend to seek consensus and harmony at all costs, which can lead to irrational or unrealistic decisions. To avoid conflict or disagreement within the group, individuals suppress their own opinions or criticisms, even if they have reasonable doubts, which can result in ill-founded or flawed decisions.

EXAMPLE: During elections, a political group in Paraguay may adopt extreme policies without considering alternatives, simply to maintain unity within the party.

EGOCENTRISM BIAS

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 02:40:17 UTC

is the predisposition of people to overestimate their own influence or role in events and to view situations from a self-centered perspective. This bias leads people to take greater credit for successes and minimize their responsibility for failures.

EXAMPLE: A soccer player in Argentina may attribute a victory to his skill, but blame the referee for a defeat rather than his own performance.

IMPORTANTE

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 02:49:27 UTC

Sabemos que a veces es difícil comprender un tema nuevo, especialmente si está traducido al inglés. Por eso, en cada definición incluimos un video que explica detalladamente lo que queremos transmitir.

“Los estudiantes visuales aprenden más fácilmente y recuerdan mejor la información cuando se les presentan diagramas, gráficos, esquemas y demostraciones visuales”

- (Fólder, 1996, p.34)

STATUS QUO BIAS

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 03:00:12 UTC

The preference for things to remain the same or for the status quo to be maintained.

EXAMPLE: In Colombia, some people may resist new government reforms, preferring to maintain outdated policies even when change is beneficial.

PELTZMAN EFFECT

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 03:05:58 UTC

The tendency of people to take greater risks when they feel more protected or sheltered.

EXAMPLE: An accountant in a company decides to take the risk of stealing money because other accountants had done it before and they were backing him up in his actions.

HALO EFFECT

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 03:10:24 UTC

Tendency for the general impression of someone to influence the perception of their specific traits.

EXAMPLE: In Colombia, a charismatic and popular politician may be perceived as competent in all areas, even if he lacks experience in certain fields.

SUNK COST FALLACY

wduran246 — 2024-10-23 03:13:31 UTC

Tendency to continue with a project once an investment of time, effort or money has been made, despite new evidence suggesting that it should be abandoned.

EXAMPLE: A president in Colombia may continue financing a project given that at the beginning of his electoral campaign he promised the sustainability of such project; to avoid the consequences of going back on his promise in front of the whole country, he decides to continue investing.