What is Belief Bias? Belief Bias is what happens when the things we believe make it hard for us to think logically. If we have a belief, we might ignore facts that don’t support that belief. Imagine you have a puzzle, and you’re convinced that one piece should fit in a certain spot because it looks like it should. That’s like Belief Bias, but with ideas instead of puzzle pieces. ... »
What is Base Rate Fallacy? The Base Rate Fallacy occurs when we make judgments about the probability of an event without considering how often that event has happened in the past. Imagine you have a bag of 100 marbles, and 95 are red while only 5 are blue. If you reach in to grab one without looking, you should expect to get a red marble, right? That’s because the ‘base rate’ of ... »
What is the Barnum Effect? The Barnum Effect, or Forer Effect, is when someone believes that very general or vague statements about personality are actually very accurate for them. It’s like reading a horoscope that says “You will encounter obstacles today” and feeling like it totally speaks to you, even though most people face challenges daily. It’s called the Barnum Effec... »
What is Bandwagon Effect? Have you ever found yourself liking a song more because everyone else seems to be listening to it? Or have you ever voted for someone in a school election because they were the popular choice, even though you weren’t sure about their ideas? That’s the bandwagon effect. It’s when we do things just because we see a lot of other people doing them. A simple way to... »
What is Backfire Effect? The backfire effect is when a person is given proof that goes against what they believe, but instead of changing their mind, they stick to their original thoughts even more fiercely. This is a mistake in how we think, known as a cognitive bias, because our brains try hard to process information quickly, sometimes the wrong way. Imagine believing in a childhood story very s... »
Understanding Availability Heuristic Imagine you’re trying to decide which snack is healthier. You might choose the one you remember your friend saying was good for you, even though there might be another, better option you’re not recalling at the moment. This tendency to rely on immediate, easy-to-recall memories when making a decision, rather than all the possible information, is kno... »
What is Availability Cascade? Simple Definition 1: Imagine that a piece of gossip about a celebrity spreads through your school. At first, only a few people are talking about it, but as the day goes on, it seems like everyone is discussing it. By the end of the day, it feels like this gossip is the only thing that matters. This is an Availability Cascade: an idea spreads and grows because it’... »
What is Automation Bias? Think of automation bias like a shortcut in our thinking. It’s when we tend to assume that computers and machines are always right. Imagine you’re playing a video game, and there’s a computer telling you which moves to make. If you follow the computer’s suggestions every time without thinking for yourself, that’s automation bias. It’s li... »
What is Authority Bias? Imagine you are playing basketball and someone you know as a professional coach tells you to change your shooting technique. Because they are a coach, you trust their advice without much question. That’s authority bias. It’s when we believe or do something mainly because a person who seems to be an expert or leader says it. Even if other people say something dif... »
What is Attentional Bias? Attentional Bias is like a filter in our minds that makes us notice some things more than others. It’s kind of like when you’re listening to music and despite all the different instruments, you might only pick up on the guitar because it’s your favorite. With Attentional Bias, our brains do this automatically. Sometimes it’s like we have a set of i... »