Cognitive Biases

Misattribution of memory Misattribution is divided into three components: cryptomnesia, false memories, and source confusion. Example – Attribute the memory to the wrong source. Thinking you invented the idea. Or just a false memory. Source confusion  Confusing episodic memories with other information, creating distorted memories. Example – Source confusion is… Read More »[2020] Ultimate List of Cognitive Biases with examples (Part 4 of 4)

Overconfidence effect Excessive confidence in one’s own answers to questions. For example, for certain types of questions, answers that people rate as “99% certain” turn out to be wrong 40% of the time. Example – Over 90% of US drivers rate themselves above average. 68% of professors consider themselves in… Read More »[2020] Ultimate List of Cognitive Biases with examples (Part 3 of 4)

Confabulation  In psychology, confabulation is a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world. People who confabulate present incorrect memories ranging from “subtle alterations to bizarre fabrications”, and are generally very confident about their recollections, despite contradictory evidence. Example – Brian… Read More »[2020] Ultimate List of Cognitive Biases with examples (Part 2 of 4)

Availability heuristic The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events with greater “availability” in memory, which can be influenced by how recent the memories are or how unusual or emotionally charged they may be. For a more in-depth understanding of the availability heuristic check out this article by kent hendricks.… Read More »[2020] Ultimate List of Cognitive Biases with examples (Part 1 of 4)