LEARNING ABOUT COGNITIVE BIASES

Hey there! It is always good to reflect about my learning processes and... nowadays I'm in 7th semester, almost at the end of my career, and it is still important to write about what we've studied and learned. Today's reflection is about my first class of developing critical thinking and problem solving with teacher James. 

Firstly we read a short statement about the COVID-19 and the use of mask. I worked collaboratively with my asigned group doing some research about the accurancy of that statement. We read some informtions and plante a commoun conclusion that then we exposed with class. Finishing the class we were asigned to this commitment...

WATCH THE VIDEO...

WHAT ARE COGNITIVE BIASES?....

Cognitive biases are flaws in logical thinking that clear the path to bad decisions, so learning about these ideas can reduce errors in our thought process, leading to a more successful life. Here a brief definition of each biases according to the video...

1. Anchoring Bias: it means when the 1st information disproportionately influence later jugements. It is  related to contrast effect.

2. Availability Bias: is when you focusing on what you know / what is shown and you have a lack of perspective.

3. Bandwagon Effect: when we follow some ideas just because other do too. Equivalent to social pressure.

4. Choice Supportive Bias: when a choice unknowingly becomes cue of superiority and feed filtering effects. For ex: Fanboys, religion, partisanism.

5. Confirmation Bias: Only searching for proofs aligned with point of view. Misinterpret contradictory evidences to support current world view.

6. Ostrich Bias: when we ignore or rationalize negative information.

7. Outcome Bias: it's base the effectiveness of a decision on its outcome, neglecting other factors. Basis for superstition. See fooled by randomness or the drunkard's walk.

8. Overconfidence: stop making decision based on facts after a series of successes-

9. Placebo Effect: it is the belief of an outcome improves its likeness.

10. Survivorship Bias: when you only taking into account the positive outcomes, which gives irrelevant correlations.

11. Selective Perception: I think is Ostrich + Confirmation combined?

12. Blindspot Bias: thinking that we are less biased than the next folk

DID I COMMIT ANY OF THE COGNITIVE BIASES IN THE VIDEO?

After watching the video I realized that (as human default) we are always falling in biases constantly. I didn't know or have any idea about this concept of "biases" (theoretically and psicologically). But now that I have knowledge of them I can say that in the activity I commited the "anchoring bias". Because I am aware that the first information we found was an influence to make sudden or inmediate judgements, I and my team didn't realize o analyse the statement from another perspective. Also, I think another bias I commited was the "availability bias", which I think I couldn't avoid due to the information I already know or have clear about the coronavirus and use of mask (from my perspective). Finally I consider that I falled in the "confirmation bias" because the information we looked for were very according to what we were thinking, not giving the chance to the opposite thinking of the statement. That means our point of view predominated and the impartiallity was not present in the excersise. 

So... I think these were my cognitive (and unconciouslly)  biases through this class and process.

Thanks for reading me!