At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. The Confirmation Bias The confirmation bias is the tendency to listen more often to information that confirms our existing beliefs.
Examples include: Only paying attention to information that confirms your beliefs about issues such as gun control and global warming Only following people on social media who share your viewpoints Choosing news sources that present stories that support your views Refusing to listen to the opposing side Not considering all of the facts in a logical and rational manner There are a few reasons why this happens.
The Hindsight Bias The hindsight bias is a common cognitive bias that involves the tendency to see events, even random ones, as more predictable than they are. Some examples of the hindsight bias include: Insisting that you knew who was going to win a football game once the event is over Believing that you knew all along that one political candidate was going to win an election Saying that you knew you weren't going to win after losing a coin flip with a friend Looking back on an exam and thinking that you knew the answers to the questions you missed Believing you could have predicted which stocks would become profitable Classic Research In one classic psychology experiment, college students were asked to predict whether they thought then-nominee Clarence Thomas would be confirmed to the U.
The Anchoring Bias The anchoring bias is the tendency to be overly influenced by the first piece of information that we hear. Some examples of how this works: The first number voiced during a price negotiation typically becomes the anchoring point from which all further negotiations are based.
Hearing a random number can influence estimates on completely unrelated topics. Doctors can become susceptible to the anchoring bias when diagnosing patients. The Misinformation Effect The misinformation effect is the tendency for memories to be heavily influenced by things that happened after the actual event itself.
For example: Research has shown that simply asking questions about an event can change someone's memories of what happened. Watching television coverage may change how people remember the event. Hearing other people talk about a memory from their perspective may change your memory of what transpired. The Actor-Observer Bias The actor-observer bias is the tendency to attribute our actions to external influences and other people's actions to internal ones.
For example: You might complain that you botched an important meeting because you had jet lag. You might say you failed an exam because the teacher posed too many trick questions.
A fellow student bombed a test because they lack diligence and intelligence and not because they took the same test as you with all those trick questions. The False Consensus Effect The false consensus effect is the tendency people have to overestimate how much other people agree with their own beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and values.
For example: Thinking that other people share your opinion on controversial topics Overestimating the number of people who are similar to you Believing that the majority of people share your preferences Researchers believe that the false consensus effect happens for a variety of reasons. The Halo Effect The halo effect is the tendency for an initial impression of a person to influence what we think of them overall. For example: Thinking people who are good-looking are also smarter, kinder, and funnier than less attractive people Believing that products marketed by attractive people are also more valuable Thinking that a political candidate who is confident must also be intelligent and competent One factor that may influence the halo effect is our tendency to want to be correct.
The Self-Serving Bias The self-serving bias is a tendency for people tend to give themselves credit for successes but lay the blame for failures on outside causes. Some examples of this: Attributing good grades to being smart or studying hard Believing your athletic performance is due to practice and hard work Thinking you got the job because of your merits The self-serving bias can be influenced by a variety of factors.
The Availability Heuristic The availability heuristic is the tendency to estimate the probability of something happening based on how many examples readily come to mind. Some examples of this: After seeing several news reports of car thefts in your neighborhood, you might start to believe that such crimes are more common than they are. You might believe that plane crashes are more common than they really are because you can easily think of several examples.
The Optimism Bias The optimism bias is a tendency to overestimate the likelihood that good things will happen to us while underestimating the probability that negative events will impact our lives. For example, we may assume that negative events won't affect us such as: Divorce Job loss Illness Death The optimism bias has roots in the availability heuristic. A Word From Verywell The cognitive biases above are common, but this is only a sampling of the many biases that can affect your thinking.
Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Related Articles. What Is the Illusion of Control?
How to Avoid Bias in the Mediation Process. How to Become More Open-Minded. When people who analyse data are biased, this means they want the outcomes of their analysis to go in a certain direction in advance.
Confirmation bias Occurs when the person performing the data analysis wants to prove a predetermined assumption. They then keep looking in the data until this assumption can be proven. This often occurs when data analysts are briefed in advance to support a particular conclusion. It is therefore advisable to not doggedly set out to prove a predefined conclusion, but rather to test presumed hypotheses in a targeted way.
Selection bias This occurs when data is selected subjectively. As a result, the sample used is not a good reflection of the population. This error is often made in surveys. This too can be done deliberately or unwittingly. Just look at opinion polls in elections: Can it really be true that so many voters completely change their mind on the last day, or is it more likely that the sample on which the poll is based is not a good reflection of all the voters?
So you should always ask what sort of sample has been used for research. Avoid false extrapolation and make sure the results are applicable for the entire population. Outliers An outlier is an extreme data value. You can spot outliers by inspecting the data closely, and particularly at the distribution of values. This form of bias in research can be caused not only by the order of questions in a survey but by the order of answer options as well.
Our experience has shown that in online and print surveys, respondents usually prefer some of the first few answer options, while during phone and in-person surveys where the interviewer is reading the answers the respondents are more likely to opt for some of the latter options.
What can you do to minimize the question order research bias? Some of the things you could do are reduce the number of scale-type questions and make your questions as engaging as possible, randomize your questions and answer options, group your questions around a common topic, and so on.
Information bias can refer to any misrepresentation of truthfulness that occurs during the collection, handling, or analysis of data in a research study, survey, or an experiment. Some of the most common forms of information bias include misclassification bias, recall bias, observer bias, and reporting bias. As information bias can often stem from measurement and calculation errors, it is also sometimes referred to as measurement bias.
Reporting bias also known as outcome reporting bias or publication bias originates from academic research and happens when the outcome of a research study affects the decision whether to publish the results or not.
Often, authors and researches have the tendency to publish only the research that has brought upon significant results. This type of bias can be found in marketing as well.
If you are looking to conduct your own bias-free quantitative or qualitative research, check out our survey maker today free templates for all users! Join our team on Kiva. Login Try It Free.
Sampling bias In the world of market research and surveys, sampling bias is an error related to the way the survey respondents are selected. Response bias Having to persuade people to take your survey is hard enough. Affinity bias also known as similarity bias occurs when we treat people more favourably, simply because they are like us or others we like. Similarities can include any shared commonality, including everything, from likes, dislikes or appearance, to schooling or career history.
Avoiding affinity bias is key to creating diverse teams. As a result, it can hurt the growth and function of a business, as well as denying opportunities to otherwise deserving applicants. Attribution bias occurs when we incorrectly evaluate the reasons behind the experiences and accomplishments of others.
Also known as beauty bias, attractiveness bias occurs when we view attractive people as being more competent, and both unattractive and very attractive people as being less competent, at their jobs. This bias has a basis in evolutionary psychology, where more attractive individuals are viewed as more charismatic and persuasive, unattractive individuals seen to be lacking in these qualities, and very attractive individuals viewed negatively due to a perception they have succeeded in life due to their looks as opposed to their accomplishments.
To combat attractiveness bias, make sure that when hiring, promoting or managing your team, skills and accomplishments form the basis of your decision-making, not beauty standards. Conformity bias is the pressure to we feel to act due to the actions of others, not our own independent thinking. Due to these effects, conformity bias can lead to senior members of staff having undue influence over hiring, promotion and other business processes, and poor decision making impacting business performance.
To fight conformity bias, create and promote a workplace culture that allows staff to constructively voice their views and opinions, and that sees superiors actively listening to the concerns of their teams. If we make decisions or draw conclusions about people or situations that are based on our own experiences, beliefs or preconceptions, then we have fallen prey to confirmation bias. When we succumb to it, early interactions and experiences of others can go on to influence our lasting, long-term feelings towards them, regardless of their current actions or performance.
In the workplace, avoiding confirmation bias means giving individuals a second chance, as well as identifying and ignoring your in-built prejudices in order to give individuals a proper evaluation. In the realm of interviews, this also means adopting standardised questions that stop your biases from manifesting themselves as you quiz prospective hires. Name bias is when we treat people with similar names as ourselves preferably. Often taking place along racial and cultural lines, it can seriously hamper the prospects of minority individuals whose names differ from the group.
In the USA, many studies have shown that individuals with African American sounding names Dashawn and Tanisha, for example discriminated against compared to those with Caucasian sounding names Alison and Christopher, for instance. In workplace settings, succumbing to name bias can result in a lack of diversity amongst employees, or see capable, talented individuals with minority names not offered promotions they otherwise deserve.
When we tend towards preferring one gender over another, we are exhibiting gender bias. Generally speaking, gender bias affects women far more than it does men, and can lead to both men and women hiring more male job candidates , and have an influence on the roles men and women are seen to be best at performing.
The workplace effects of gender bias are clear — more men in senior positions, hiring more men than women and for certain roles, resulting in a team marked by a lack of diversity, not the skills and accomplishments of its members. As with name bias, overcoming gender bias requires CVs to be anonymised, on top of the establishment of diversity hiring goals to ensure that the gender mix of your business is more or less equal.
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