*Cognitive Biases*

💁🏻‍♀️ *Master Them Before They Master You!* 🫵🏻

*Confirmation Bias:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We seek information that confirms existing beliefs, and ignore contrary evidence.

*Example:* Only following news sources you agree with.

*Fix:* Actively seek opposing viewpoints; before decisions, assign a "devil's advocate"

*Sunk Cost Fallacy:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We keep investing because we already have, even when it's not rational.

*Example:* A company pours money into a failing product because they've already invested.

*Fix:* Ask, "If I were starting today, would I still invest?"

*Halo Effect:*

💁🏻‍♀️ Our impression of one trait impacts how we see unrelated ones.

*Example:* A well-dressed candidate is assumed to be more competent.

*Fix:* Seek evidence, not reputation, appearance, or confidence.

*Recency Bias:*

💁🏻‍♀️ Recent events have a stronger influence on decisions.

*Example:* A manager rates an employee based on their last two weeks, ignoring consistent performance all year.

*Fix:* Pull back and look long-term.

*Optimism Bias:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We believe we're less likely to experience negative outcomes.

*Example:* Founders assume their business won't fail, even though most do.

*Fix:* Consider worst-case scenarios before making big decisions.

*Anchoring Bias:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive.

*Example:* A job candidate struggles to negotiate upward from a lowball offer.

*Fix:* Don't accept an initial value as your reference point - find independent sources.

*Self-Serving Bias:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We take credit for successes but blame external factors for failures.

*Example:* A manager takes credit for a project's success but blames the team if it fails.

*Fix:* Force yourself to own mistakes, not just successes.

*Negativity Bias:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We give more weight to negative experiences than positive ones.

*Example:* An employee gets 10 positive comments and I negative, but only remembers the latter

*Fix:* Keep a list of past successes to balance your perception.

*Availability Heuristic:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We judge the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind

*Example:* Avoiding flying after seeing a plane crash in the news

*Fix:* If you're using anecdotes, ask: "Is this actually common, or just memorable?""

*Dunning-Kruger Effect:*

💁🏻‍♀️ Incompetent people overestimate abilities, experts underestimate

*Example:* Attempting to rewire your house after watching one YouTube video house

*Fix:* If you're a confident novice, assume you're overestimating and get feedback

*Framing Effect:*

💁🏻‍♀️ The way information is presented influences our decisions

*Example:* "90% fat-free" sounds healthier than "10% fat"

*Fix:* Ask, "Would I feel different if this was worded another way?"

*Bandwagon Effect:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We adopt beliefs or behaviors just because others do.

*Example:* Consumers rush to buy a trendy item without considering if they actually like it.

*Fix:* Ask, "Would I still believe this if no one else did?"

*Endowment Effect:*

💁🏻‍♀️ We overvalue things just because we own them.

*Example:* A person believes their car is worth more than market value just because it's theirs

*Fix:* Ask, "Would I pay this much for it if I didn't already own it?"

🙆🏻‍♀️ *Thanks for reading .

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