“The Google Effect” And Other Modern Cognitive Biases That Are AffectingThe Way We Think.

While the human brain is capable of miraculous things, it is also far from perfect. We are a lot less rational than we’d like to believe, resulting from ourcognitive biases.

Cognitive bias is defined as “a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality in judgment.” It is when people create their subjective reality and reasoning based on their perception rather than fact. And this influences their behavior and the decisions they make.

What causes these cognitive biases?

• Decisions are made because we are emotionally or morally motivated.
• Shortcuts to Information processing.
• The brain’s limited processing ability.
• Distortions in storing and retrieving memories
• Social influence

With the digital age, new forms of biases have emerged.

The Google Effect

The Google Effect describes a tendency to forget information because we subconsciously know it can be easily accessed online. This is also known as “digital amnesia.”

Automation Bias

While employing algorithms is not a new concept in marketing, there has been an explosive use of AI to personalize what we read and view. And offering us what it believes we will continue to like based on our viewing history — we see this with Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify.

We get lazy to look outside the box since it’s all been done for us.

Confirmation Bias

The automation bias feeds into our confirmation bias which states we tend to find and remember information that confirms our perception. This reminds me of the adage, “preaching to the choir.” This, unfortunately, can result in us failing to question our subconscious beliefs and biases.

Victims No More

We all fall victim to the limitations of our brains. It’s part of what makes us human. But we don’t have to remain passive bystanders living on autopilot dictated by algorithms.

We need to question what we do and read more than ever. And with the digital age, this has never been easier to do so.