Bias Time (5 of 9)

[Hundertwasser questioning your presumptions]

Yes, it’s bias time again. The fifth of the series of biases that you, yes you, have. (Previous one, here) Even if you are aware of these, and even if you consciously try to correct for them to be, heh, ‘objective’, as in what e.g. auditors pursue, you will fail.

Common theoretical causes of some cognitive biases

• Bounded rationality – limits on optimization and rationality
• Attribute substitution – making a complex, difficult judgement by unconsciously substituting an easier judgement
• Attribution theory, especially:
• Salience
• Cognitive dissonance, and related:
• Impression management
• Self-perception theory
• Heuristics, including:
• Availability heuristic – estimating what is more likely by what is more available in memory, which is biased toward vivid, unusual, or emotionally charged examples
• Representativeness heuristic – judging probabilities on the basis of resemblance
• Affect heuristic – basing a decision on an emotional reaction rather than a calculation of risks and benefits
• Adaptive bias
• Misinterpretations or misuse of statistics.