Cognitive Biases

Base Rate Cognitive Biases

Base rate biases occur when individuals ignore statistical information (base rates) in favor of specific, vivid information. This cognitive bias can lead to poor decision-making, as people tend to overlook the actual probability of an event and instead rely on anecdotal or emotionally charged examples.

Omniscient Infallibility

Omniscient infallibility is a belief or cognitive distortion where an individual feels they possess complete knowledge and cannot be wrong. This mindset can lead to rigid thinking, difficulty in accepting alternative viewpoints, and problems in relationships or decision-making, as the person may not recognize their own limitations or errors.

Just World Phenomenon

The Just World Phenomenon is a cognitive bias where people believe that the world is inherently fair, leading them to assume that individuals get what they deserve. This belief can result in blaming victims for their misfortunes or assuming that good things happen to good people.

Actor-Observer Bias/Asymmetry

The actor-observer bias is the tendency for people to attribute their own behavior to situational factors (external causes) while attributing others' behavior to dispositional factors (internal traits). For example, if someone else trips, we might think they are clumsy (dispositional), but if we trip, we might blame it on a crack in the sidewalk (situational).

Dispositional Attribution

Dispositional attribution is the process of attributing someone's behavior to their personality, character traits, or internal characteristics, rather than to external circumstances or situational factors. This is a key concept in attribution theory.

Null Attribution

Null attribution occurs when an individual does not make any specific attribution (internal or external) for an event or behavior, either because they are unsure of the cause or because they deem it irrelevant. This can happen when someone considers an event random or insignificant.

Attribution Theory

Attribution theory deals with how individuals explain the causes of behavior and events. It explores how people attribute their own actions and the actions of others to internal dispositions (like personality traits) or external situations (like social pressures). This theory helps to understand how and why people make judgments about their own and others' behaviors.

Halo / Negative Halo Effect

The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person, company, product, or brand is influenced by a single positive characteristic or experience. e.g. appearance.

The negative halo effect is a cognitive bias where a negative impression or judgment about one aspect of a person, product, or entity leads to an overall negative perception of them.

Dunning-Kruger Effect / Illusory Superiority

Definition to be added