Critical thinking

Hindsight Bias
(reading time – 30 sec.)

Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted or expected the outcome.

For example, after a sports team wins a championship, fans and analysts may claim they knew the team would win all along, even if they didn't actually have that level of confidence before the event took place. Another example is a stock market investor who claims they knew a particular stock would rise in value after it has already gone up, even though they may not have made that investment before the rise occurred.

Hindsight bias can lead to overconfidence in one's ability to predict future events and a distorted view of past events.

Topic: #CognitiveBiases
Source: www.wikipedia.org

Curse of Knowledge
(reading time – 40 sec.)

The curse of knowledge bias occurs when individuals assume that others have the same level of understanding or knowledge as they do.

For instance, a teacher may assume that all of their students understand a concept that was just taught, when in reality some students are still struggling to grasp the idea. Another example is a technical expert who is unable to explain a complex concept in simple terms to a layman because they are too familiar with the subject and cannot imagine not knowing the information.

The curse of knowledge bias can lead to ineffective communication and poor decision-making as people overestimate others' understanding and may neglect to provide necessary clarification or details.

Topic: #CognitiveBiases
Source: wikipedia.org

Default Effect
(reading time – 30 sec.)

One example of the default effect cognitive bias is when individuals are more likely to choose the option that is set as the default in a decision-making scenario. For instance, when signing up for a new service, if opting-in to a certain feature is set as the default, people are more likely to go along with it and not change the setting, even if they might have preferred a different option if they had actively made a choice.

This highlights how people have a tendency to stick with the default option due to convenience, lack of effort, or simply not being fully aware of the implications of their choice.

Topic: #CognitiveBiases
Source: www.wikipedia.org

Halo Effect
(reading time – 30 sec.)

The halo effect is a type of cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character. Essentially, your overall impression of a person ("He is nice!") impacts your evaluations of that person's specific traits ("He is also smart!"). Perceptions of a single trait can carry over to how people perceive other aspects of that person.

One great example of the halo effect in action is our overall impression of celebrities. People perceive them as attractive, successful, and often likable, so people also tend to see them as intelligent, kind, and funny.

Topic: #CognitiveBiases
Source: verywellmind.com