Cognitive Bias... Can you really trust your mind?

It's one hot afternoon, the leaves on the trees as still as a statue... Why does the lecture have to be at 2pm?, you think to yourself. The class is an important class and you wouldn't want to miss it for anything, then a suggestion is voiced out. "Guys, I don't think I'll be going to class", one friend says. It becomes almost like a choir and that statement becomes the song being sung. One by one, all your friends second the motion raised... Then the most interesting happens. You also decide to skip class.

Yes, it's peer pressure but there's more to it. It's a phenomenon called the Bandwagon effect which is an example of cognitive bias. When I say cognitive bias, what am I communicating? What does it mean? Cognitive bias is the deviation or errors made when processing information or rationally making judgement. There are many kinds or types of cognitive bias.

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There most common ones are confirmation bias, self-serving bias, framing, hindsight bias, and belief bias. Confirmation bias is when a person interprets information to conform to certain standards. A classic example is when in a crowded and noisy environment, someone says something you didn't quite hear. Another person tells you what he or she thinks he or she heard, the next time the person repeats what he said, that's what you hear. It turns out wrong most at times.

Self- serving bias is when one tends to accept or claim more credit for success than failure. Not to step on anyone's toes, perfect examples are given by politians and strong (and in some cases, blind) political party members. Framing is also a cognitive bias which is quite peculiar but extremely common. It is when an extremely narrow and or description of a topic is used. An example would be a debater ignoring certain sections of a topic only extensively using a small or minute positive effect.

Belief bias is when someone or a group of people evaluate information discerning it's logical strength or relevance of an argument based on his or her set of beliefs or their set of beliefs as a group. Hindsight bias also known as the 'I knew it all along' bias is when one can call certain past experiences predictable. A practical example would be waiting for a huge cinematic reveal and everyone being completely shocked at the revelation and you hear one person shout, "I knew it".

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Like almost everything dealing with psychology and the mind, one thing never happens alone. You will barely have a person falling victim to just one type of bias. Then a problem is realized and a quest begins to solve this problem. How does one not fall victim to cognitive bias. The answer is a tricky one. Cognitive bias can be reduced but not eradicated. By debiasing, the reduction of biases through incentives, nudges and training, cognitive bias can be reduced.

Cognitive bias is unintentional and unconscious. It is basically your mind taking a short cut to process the huge amount of data flooding in. Now, my question to you is, do you trust your mind not to deceive you?😈😊
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