How to Reduce Your Cognitive Bias

And become a better decision maker

A cognitive Bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality in judgment or the norm. Individuals create their own “subjective reality” from their perception of the world. An individual’s construction of reality, not the objective input, may dictate their behavior.

Because they cause systematic errors, cognitive biases cannot be compensated for using a wisdom of the crowd technique of averaging answers from several people.

Debiasing is the reduction of biases in judgment and decision-making through incentives, nudges, and training. Cognitive bias mitigation and cognitive bias modification are forms of debiasing specifically applicable to cognitive biases and their effects. Reference class forecasting is a method for systematically debiasing estimates and decisions, based on what Daniel Kahneman has dubbed the outside view.

The content and direction of cognitive biases are not arbitrary, and can be controlled where there is intention and attention. One debiasing technique aims to decrease biases by encouraging individuals to use controlled processing compared to automatic processing. In relation to reducing the FAE, monetary incentives and informing participants they will be held accountable for their attributions have been linked to the increase of accurate attributions.

Training has also shown to reduce cognitive bias. Carey K. Morewedge and colleagues found that research participants exposed to one-shot training interventions, such as educational videos and debiasing games that taught mitigating strategies, exhibited significant reductions in their commission of six cognitive biases immediately and up to 3 months later.

Cognitive bias modification refers to the process of modifying cognitive biases in healthy people and also refers to a growing area of psychological (non-pharmaceutical) therapies for anxiety, depression and addiction called cognitive bias modification therapy (CBMT). CBMT is a subgroup of therapies within a growing area of psychological therapies based on modifying cognitive processes with or without accompanying medication and talk therapy, sometimes referred to as applied cognitive processing therapies (ACPT).

Although cognitive bias modification can refer to modifying cognitive processes in healthy individuals, CBMT is a growing area of evidence-based psychological therapy, in which cognitive processes are modified to relieve suffering from;

• serious depression,

• anxiety,

• …And addiction.

CBMT techniques are technology-assisted therapies that are delivered via a computer with or without clinician support. CBM combines evidence and theory from the cognitive model of anxiety, cognitive neuroscience, and attentional models.

Cognitive bias modification has also been used to help those with obsessive-compulsive beliefs and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This therapy has shown that it decreases the obsessive-compulsive beliefs and behaviors.

Cognitive Limitations in Groups

Let’s explore group decision-making and pitfalls that arise in group discussion and forecasting through collaboration.

In groups, people generate decisions through active and complex processes.

One method consists of three steps:

1. initial preferences are expressed by members;
2. the members of the group then gather and share information concerning those preferences;
3. the members combine their views and make a single choice about how to face the problem.

Although these steps are relatively ordinary, judgements are often distorted by cognitive and motivational biases, include “sins of commission”, “sins of omission”, and “sins of imprecision”.

Cognitive biases are often because of evolution. Some behaviors were good for primitive humans and animals that seem foolish today.

Criticisms Concerning Cognitive Bias Theory

Criticisms against theories of cognitive biases are usually founded in the fact that both sides of a debate often claim the other’s thoughts to be subject to human nature and the result of cognitive bias, while claiming their own viewpoint to be above the cognitive bias and the correct way to “overcome” the issue. This rift ties to a more fundamental issue that stems from a lack of consensus in the field, thereby creating arguments that can be non-falsifiably used to validate any contradicting viewpoint.

Gerd Gigerenzer, is a German psychologist who has studied the use of bounded rationality and heuristics in decision making. He is one of the main opponents concerning most categories of cognitive biases. Gigerenzer believes that cognitive biases are not biases, but rules of thumb, or as he would put it “gut feelings” that can actually help us make accurate decisions in our lives. His view shines a much more positive light on cognitive biases than many other researchers. Many view cognitive biases and heuristics as irrational ways of making decisions and judgements. Gigerenzer argues that using heuristics and cognitive biases are rational and helpful for making decisions in our everyday life.

Some researchers believe that if decision makers do not discard their misguided intuition, it is not because their reasoning attempts to solve the problem and fails. Rather, it is because their reasoning seeks to identify reasons that support their intuition. This tendency of reasoning to provide reasons that support the reasoner’s prior beliefs or decisions is typically referred to as a confirmation bias.

Criticism against theories of cognitive biases is usually founded on the fact that both sides of a debate often claim the other’s thoughts to be subject to human nature and the result of cognitive bias, while claiming their own point of view to be above the cognitive bias and the correct way to “overcome” the issue. This rift ties to a more fundamental issue that stems from a lack of consensus in the field, thereby creating arguments that can be non-falsifiably used to validate any contradicting viewpoint.

Gerd Gigerenzer is one of the main opponents to cognitive biases and heuristics. Some experts believe that cognitive biases are not biases at all but simply rules of thumb, intuitions, or “gut feelings” that can guide to make better decisions in our lives. This view shines a more positive light on cognitive biases than many other perspectives. While many view cognitive biases and heuristics as irrational ways of making decisions and judgements it could be argued that using heuristics and cognitive biases are rational and helpful for making decisions in our everyday life.

Psychologists that address the issue of cognitive bias usually focus on a handful of biases, but there are actually many more than these. A skilled professional helper (psychologist, advisor, coach, or mentor) can understand this and can identify these biases. Cognitive behavioral therapy, rational-emotional therapy, and family therapy can be extremely effective in changing a person’s dysfunctional assumptions and ways of thinking.

The fact that a point of view is strongly biased doesn’t mean that it is necessarily wrong. Rather, it means that if it is wrong, the biased decision-maker will have greater difficulty, shifting gears and moving in a new direction, and with a different strategy because of this bias.

The Takeaway

In my development of my slife coaching models through my method method — HAGT (Harrison’s Applied Game Thinking), it became clear that the more rational an individual is, the more effective any strategy they create is likely to be.

Ultimately the problem of irrational (yet seemingly rational) biases ruling an individual’s decision-making process, can create real obstacles.

Here is a Medium story you might enjoy @bluereindeer

Here is one from my archives @LewisCoaches

Author: Lewis Harrison is the director of Ask Lewis, a Human Potential Think Tank. AskLewis.com includes a network of writers, experts and thought leaders interest in self-improvement. Lewis is also a public speaker, and seminar leader.

Lewis is the creator of the Ask Lewis Mentoring Method as well as HAGT — Harrison’s Applied Game Theory. He is the Executive Director of the International Association of Healing Professionals an educational organization that offers programs around the world in Intentional Living. He is also Independent Scholar, with a passion for knowledge, personal development, self-improvement, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.

For a decade, Lewis was the host of a humor-based Q & A talk show on NPR (National Public Radio) affiliated WIOX FM in NY.

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