Your brain lies to you every day without you realizing it.
Even when participating in seemingly innocent activities, like scrolling through social media. You may find yourself pausing on posts that align with your current belief on a topic, while immediately scrolling past anything that contradicts that opinion. That’s confirmation bias in action.
We like to believe we’re rational humans, capable of forming decisions made by logic, reason, and facts. But science has humbled us and shown us something very different – that our brains are hardwired to use shortcuts and distortions to keep us feeling safe and satisfied. This faulty wiring is known as cognitive biases.
Today, we’ll be diving into 5 of the most common cognitive biases and how you can overcome them.
As Mark Twain once said,
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
Sometimes, the one being fooled…is us.
1. Confirmation Bias
Let’s dive further into the example we mentioned: confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias is when you intentionally, or unintentionally, seek out information that validates the opinion you already have. In the process of doing this, you then end up ignoring any information that challenges your view.
Taking a look at how this bias is often intertwined with social media use, if you continuously scroll through posts that only mirror your beliefs, soon your ‘for you’ page will only consist of those posts. Most algorithms work in a way that shows you more of what you like, view, and engage with. By not giving time and thought to posts that contradict your views, you limit yourself to other perspectives and insights.
One way to combat this is by checking in with yourself as you take in new information. Ask yourself, “Could there be another side to this?” And search out the answer.
2. Negativity Bias
The second trap to watch out for is negativity bias. This is when we have a tendency to focus on the bad rather than the good.
Imagine receiving ten compliments at work…you’d feel amazing, confident, and excited! Now imagine that there was one small critique mixed in with those compliments. What do you think you’d be replaying over and over in your head? For most of us, it’s the critique.
This bias undermines confidence, fuels anxiety, and makes us wary of taking risks. Taking risks isn’t a bad thing – it can be what leads us to extraordinary opportunities. But those opportunities slip away as we get caught in the negativity bias. Over time, you may train your brain to only see the negative things in life, so it’s important to be aware when your brain is trying to trick you with this bias.
Luckily, there’s a remedy. Practice gratitude and reflect often on the positive things in your life. Each evening, write down three things that went right that day. Train your brain to see the good.
French novelist, Alphonse Karr, put it well by saying,
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”
How you view the world around you matters.
3. The Bandwagon Effect
Perhaps the most dangerous bias in today’s world is the bandwagon effect. This is our instinct to follow the crowd and jump on the bandwagon.
Think about the last trend you saw. It probably didn’t take you long to think of one. In our fast-paced, online world, we’re being fed ads and content that make us feel like we need to include ourselves in every trend we see. Everyone wants to feel included and cool – it’s in our nature to want to be popular and relevant.
The problem with this herd mentality is that it can lead to financial ruin, failed health, or simply lead us to make choices that do not align with who we really are at our core. The truth is, what works for others may not work for you.
To resist the bandwagon effect, you’ll need to pause whenever you come across something you feel like you have to participate in. Ask yourself: “Do I want this because it makes sense for me, or because everyone else is doing it?”
Many of us grew up with the saying, “If all of your friends jumped off the bridge, would you do it too?” This phrase was often used by parents to make their children stop and reflect on the choices they made and encouraged them to make their own choices rather than following the crowd. But, as adults, we need to be checking in with ourselves to make sure we aren’t jumping after something that isn’t in our best interest.
4. Overconfidence Bias
Next, let’s talk about overcoming overconfidence bias. While it’s a positive thing to feel confident in ourselves, it’s a negative thing to be overconfident. And this overconfidence bias can get us into sticky situations.
Overconfidence bias is the belief that we know more, or can do more, than we actually can.
For example, let’s say someone goes to take a test at school. They didn’t study, although they’ve attended every lecture, and they feel overconfident that they will ace the test as a result of their attendance in class. But when the results come back from the test, they’re shocked to see they failed. As it turns out, they did need to study, and relying on their confidence did not get them the results they were expecting.
Overconfidence can make us underprepare, ignore advice, and walk blindly into failure. The solution is humility. Prepare as though you know less than you do and seek feedback when you feel that you are prepared.
As Socrates famously said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
5. Anchoring Bias
The last cognitive bias we’ll go over is one you may have never heard of – the anchoring bias. Anchoring bias is when we fixate on the first piece of information we receive, using it as a mental “anchor” even if it’s misleading or incorrect.
This can happen when we’re shopping for something. Perhaps you see a t-shirt that’s been marked down from $100 to $50. Your initial reaction may be to think that the half off price tag makes this a great deal. This is because your brain latched onto the $100 anchor, tricking you into thinking that $50 is a fair price for a t-shirt. But is that really a good deal?
While this bias often appears in shopping and negotiations, it can also show up in other areas of our life and you need to be aware of how it works and how to fight it. One way to do this is by committing to researching multiple sources before making a decision. Remind yourself that the first number is not always the best one; or that the first bit of information you get may not always be correct. First, find the truth or the best deal. Then make your decision.
“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” W. Edwards Deming once said.
If we don’t challenge ourselves to do our research and find data to support our opinion, we’re doing ourselves a disservice.
Final Thoughts
These five biases—confirmation, negativity, bandwagon, overconfidence, and anchoring—are not signs of weakness. They are part of being human. We all succumb to these from time-to-time. But if you remain blind to them, they will shape your life in a negative way.
The important thing to remember is that we’re always growing and evolving as people. Recognizing when these biases show up in our lives and knowing how to move through them gracefully is all a part of the growth process we endure during the human experience.
Improving the mind may be one of the most important areas of growth. A healthy mind is the foundation we need to grow in other areas of our life.
So, will you let your brain trick you with these biases, or will you conquer the cognitive bias at hand and grow into the best version of yourself?
