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Dangerous Mental Errors (Part I)
Episode 55
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Today at a Glance:
Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking that negatively impact decision-making quality and outcomes.
Combatting them relies first and foremost on establishing a level of awareness of the biases—both academically and practically.
Today’s deep dive covers five common cognitive biases that derail decision-making: Fundamental Attribution Error, Naïve Realism, the Curse of Knowledge, Availability Bias, and Survivorship Bias.
Dangerous Mental Errors
Humans are fascinating creatures.
We possess the capacity to accomplish some complex feat of technology and engineering, and subsequently fall victim to the most obviously flawed base logic. For a hyper-intelligent species, our thinking and decision-making patterns can be pretty fractured.
Many of these fractures fall into the category of cognitive biases—systematic errors in thinking that negatively impact decision-making quality and outcomes.
Importantly, these are typically subconscious, automatic errors. We are wired to take shortcuts in our decision-making—to be more efficient and effective in the wild—but shortcuts are a double-edged sword. Speed and efficiency can be great, but when we systematically misinterpret the data, signal, and information from the world around us, it dramatically impacts the consistency and rationality of our decisions.
Fortunately, we can fight back and regain—at least a modicum of—control over the quality of our decision-making.
In today’s piece, I’ll cover five common cognitive biases that derail decision-making. For each, I’ll provide a definition, example, and perspectives on how to fight back.
This will be Part I of a multi-part series on cognitive biases and logical fallacies—as it’s a topic that deeply impacts all of our careers and lives. Developing an awareness of these errors—and a plan to combat them—will give you a legitimate competitive advantage in all of your pursuits.
Let’s dive in…
Fundamental Attribution Error
Definition
Fundamental Attribution Error is the human tendency to hold others accountable while giving ourselves a break.
It says that humans tend to:
Attribute someone else's actions to their character—and not to their situation or context.
Attribute our actions to our situation and context—and not to our character.
In short: We cut ourselves a break, but hold others accountable.
Why do we do this? Well, as with many of the biases we will cover, it likely developed as a heuristic—a problem-solving or decision-making shortcut—in this case for simplifying the process and judgement around new human relationships.
From an evolutionary perspective, quickly attributing negative actions to character—rather than situation or context—may have kept you alive, as you’d be more likely to avoi
Published on 3 years, 8 months ago