What are cognitive biases and how they influence decisions?

Answering a possible question: “What are cognitive biases” is not necessarily to be considered as something of a curiosity for those working in the field of branding, advertising, user experience or sales.

They are “ploys” that unconsciously accompany our decision-making processes and consequently our daily life.

So are they our allies? Let’s find out now.

Exactly what are biases?

What are biases?

They are systematic and recurrent distortions in the processing of information, which lead the individual to deviate from logical, rational or probable criteria when:

•  judging
• deciding
• interpreting events and situations

If we were to embrace Jung’s school of thought, which deals with the concept of “synchronicity”, we would be inclined to think that there is no such thing as coincidence, and would, therefore, be perfectly correct in assuming that these mechanisms are predictable and structural.

They stem from (often unconscious) automatic mental mechanisms, which our brain uses to simplify the complexity of the world and respond quickly to environmental stimuli.

It’s a bit like saying that we “economise” when analysing and processing information.

Can we talk about them as something inherent and innate in our way of thinking and reasoning?

Yes, absolutely.

They are adaptive strategies that the brain uses, in certain situations… such as when we are in a hurry to make a decision, for example. But it doesn’t end there.

Cognitive bias

Meanwhile, a curious fact about the etymological origin of the term “bias”.

While being unanimously considered an English word, it actually has French origins, having also deviated via the Greek “epikársios”, which, when translated, means “inclined”.

Initially, it had little or nothing to do with “science”, as it was pronounced when, in a game of bowls, a ball was rolled slightly off course.

Interesting, isn’t it?

We don’t know why it began, as of 500 A.D., to take on its current meaning, i.e. inclination or leaning towards prejudice.

Beginning in the 1970s, Tversky and Kahneman, psychologists famous for their pioneering work in the field of cognitive psychology, began defining the concept of cognitive bias thanks to their research.

The main reasons potentially behind cognitive bias include the following:

•  Limited capacity to process information: the human brain (even the most agile and capacious) is unable to fully analyse every piece of information it receives. Every day we process thousands of stimuli; in response to this complexity, the cognitive system adopts economic strategies, based on simplifications.
•  Need to respond quickly: in many situations in our everyday lives or of a critical nature (e.g. danger, threat, on-the-spot decisions), there’s no time for complex rational analysis. Bias stems from heuristic strategies (which we will explain shortly), which enable us to respond immediately to stimuli or problems, even to the detriment of accuracy.
•  Need for selection: when we find ourselves faced with a large amount of data to consider, we cognitively tend to filter and select what seems to be most important, recent or consistent with our beliefs. This selective filter, which is useful for the management of information, can, however, exclude significant elements or distort reality.
•  Consistency: we tend to maintain a consistent and stable vision of ourselves, the world and others. Cognitive biases also respond to a psychological need to reduce cognitive dissonance, i.e. the discomfort we feel when we are faced with contradictory information.
•  Evolutionary function: some of them have developed because they helped us survive in ancestral contexts. This can assign increased significance to certain “negative” stimuli.
•  The value of the context: some biases can receive support and reinforcement based on the social and cultural context to which they belong. This means they might not be considered as genotypical but as “phenotypical”.
•  The need for control: with differing levels of intensity, we all need to reduce our feelings of uncertainty; in this sense having the chance to analyse data (of whatever type) and so predict or pre-empt certain results, is something that is hard not to consider.

Heuristics and bias

Heuristic strategy

The relationship between heuristics and bias is close and structural.

The two concepts, while separate, are very closely linked and represent the two sides of the same cognitive process: the simplification of thought.

Aside from this, the heuristic strategy is that mental shortcut that leads to quick and efficient assessments or decision, without analysing all the information available.

To be even clearer, we could say that, if heuristics lead to an adequate decision, they are functional. By contrast, if they lead us to make a mistake, then they generate “bias”.

Exactly how do heuristics work? They work thanks to a process of replacement of the attribute, meaning that a complex and articulate concept is replaced with another that stems from it but is simplified and “streamlined”.

What are cognitive biases?

An example of cognitive bias

If we were to look at just one example of cognitive bias, it would not give us a realistic picture, because biases are all different and all part of our everyday lives.

Let’s take a detailed look at what seem to be among the most common behavioural biases:

•  Confirmation bias: this is a cognitive distortion that leads people to seek, select, interpret and remember information in such a way as to confirm their pre-existing beliefs, ignoring or belittling all evidence to the contrary. We have mentioned cognitive dissonance, and this particular bias is aimed at ensuring that everything aligns with our point of view.
• Anchorage bias: this is a distortion that leads us to make a decision based on an initial piece of information (the “anchor”), considering it to be excessively important, without taking into consideration that it could be irrelevant, arbitrary or unreliable. This first piece of information, which is entirely random, will significantly condition the whole decision-making process. In short, it’s as if the brain clings onto an initial value (the anchor) during the decision-making phase and adjusts the thought around it.
• Negativity bias: this looks like a cognitive distortion that leads us to assign a greater impact to negative information than to neutral or positive information. As we mentioned earlier, it would seem that its origins are related, in terms of evolution, to the instinct for survival and attention towards potential hazards.
• Status quo bias: the tendency to maintain a certain homeostasis or rejection of innovation is part of every system (and by transposition of the term, we also mean the human system). Apart from this, we prefer things to stay the same, even when change brings benefits. In this irrational way, we feel as though we are able to reduce the uncertainty and anxiety we feel in relation to a change, seen more as a risk than an opportunity.
• Peacock bias: we are all a little but egocentric, so, in order to impress others and gain their approval, we tend to overestimate our merits. In other words, we tend to become self-celebratory.

What are prejudices?

What are prejudices and how are they related to biases?

The terms cognitive bias and prejudice are sometimes used interchangeably in everyday language, but in psychological and scientific terms they refer to different, albeit connected, phenomena.

Let’s take a closer look, to observe the similarities and differences.

Biases:

•  are cognitive in nature
• are aimed at all kinds of information and data
• lead to a neutral distortion from a value-based point of view
• are often automatic but, if they are conscious, they can be changed

Prejudices:

• are cognitive in nature but can also be affective and social
• are often strongly negative
• are more resistant to change

Let’s look at some examples of prejudice and see how they can be correlated to biases.

Confirmation bias can reinforce an ethnic prejudice, leading us to seek out only examples that confirm the stereotype, and ingroup bias can generate prejudice towards the outgroup.

In short, prejudice is often a cultural and affective product, but it is rooted in underlying cognitive structures, like bias.

What are cognitive biases?: conclusion

So, what are cognitive biases?

They are mental shortcuts that our brain uses to simplify reality, make quick decisions and reduce uncertainty.

While they are often helpful, they can lead to systematic errors in judgement, or prejudice, influencing they way we perceive things, think and act.

Getting back to the initial question, regarding whether they are more allies or a risk, we feel that it is safe to say that they are both; much depends on the circumstances.

Recognising them, however, is the first step towards developing a more aware, critical and accurate way of thinking.