Using Cognitive Biases In Research

Facts are statements that are indisputably true. Truthful statements are authentic because they are widely accepted to be accurate and fit reality. When answering the question “given access to the same facts , how is it possible that there can be disagreements between experts in a discipline?”, one must consider the definition of an expert. For the sake of this paper I am defining an expert as someone who excels in their field , and constantly evolves their knowledge as their field progresses. I believe that disagreements between experts when presented with the same facts, occur because of bias. Bias is a sway towards one side or view of a situation or statement. Therefore I ask , how does someone’s personal bias affect their interpretation

Substantial burden to individuals and communities are outcomes of the most occurring disorder within the United States, anxiety disorder. Even though effective treatments for anxiety disorders have been developed, there has been extensively less focus on intervention techniques directed at the betterment regarding anxiety-related risks and care factors (Keough & Schmidt, 2012). Advances in prevention programs for anxiety and its disorders are presently in its early stage of development. On July 11, 2014, a study was conducted to test an adaptation of a Cognitive Bias Modification program to minimize anxiousness predisposition. It evaluated the causal relationships between rendering preconception of physiological cues, anxiety sensitivity,

A cognitive bias in which people will have the tendency to believe that a statement, idea, or information is accurate if it is either positive, meaningful, or if it’s personally addressed to them. Many people believe in biorhythms, horoscopes iridology, cold reading, and tarot cards because they appear to have the solution to their problems which is meaningful. In addition, many mediums and palm readers depend on subjective validation because it is easy to convince others that they are linked to unrelated events. (Pages 120, 122-123).

Confirmation bias occurs from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea/concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true. People tend to be motivated by wishful thinking. This error leads the individual to stop gathering information when the evidence gathered so far confirms the views (prejudices) one would like to be true (Heshmat, 2015). Therefore, is very important for people to use their critical thinking skills. Good critical thinking skills required that we evaluate evidence thoroughly and be aware of social and cognitive errors in our thinking to effectively evaluate any given situation. And avoid jumping to a conclusion or acting quickly based on preconceived ideas (Boss,

Living in the world, we face different kinds of people every day, which means we need to communicate with others and make decisions upon others. Naturally, the attitude and method in dealing with diversity becomes a basic skill for people. It is important to know how to communicate and make decisions in a proper way. Facing diverse people and objects, people usually classify them. The advantage people gain from classification is organizing and making things easier to understand. However, when it comes to communication and decision-making, classification may cause some problems. As the name indicates, the topic of the book goes around stereotype, and it provides the readers a better

First, did your team decide to race or not to race? Explain your how your group arrived at that decision.

We live in an imperfect society where people judge each other because we do not live up and meet other people’s expectations. This then leads to erroneous perception towards certain aspects of our life which could results to prejudice. Brown (1995) defined prejudice as negative attitude towards members of ethnic minority groups. This has been a major social issue in ethnically diversed countries like America, Australia and England. Of course, prejudice can take both positive and negative forms. Severson (1943) states that people usually view prejudice as consisting of some bias, stereotyped beliefs and tendency to discriminate against other groups in many forms of behaviours. He also emphasises that to fully understand prejudice, we need to clearly express that standards may change so that some behaviour may be defined as prejudice and at another time as proper and moral behaviour. For example, women smoking in certain groups have no indication of prejudice, but for some group, women smoking is defined as prejudice against women. Also, in our society anti-Semitism is an act of prejudice, but Hitler claimed that he is doing the will of God while opposing to Jews (Severson, 1943). Prejudice are often based on incorrect beliefs about a group

I don't think so at ordinary times but sometimes when I have to decide something, I feel that I have a cognitive bias. I wonder about cognitive bias and I want to know more. So I picked this for my topic. First, I found the definition of cognitive bias. On my way, I found a video about cognitive bias. The content is as follows.

In this “age of misinformation,” it is very hard to know what your read is true. A common misconception stated in the article is " if its on the internet, it must be true.” This cant be the situation, more people need to realize that not everything on the internet is true and they need to be sure what they are seeing is true. One way to find out if what you are reading is true is to look who the author is. There are many reputable authors that tell the truth and don't bend it. If you are unsure who the author is, it might be a good idea to research the topic. It would be best to find different articles with different authors. Some steps to take to protect yourself from “confirmation bias” are only believing things that have evidence or proof.

Decision-making is always critical in people’s day-to-day lives. Individuals have to make choices between the very many options they have at their disposal. In doing so, sound judgement is needed, accompanied by much sobriety (Fay, & Montague, 2014). However, in trying to make sound decisions people always base their opinions on certain reference points. In fact, psychologists have generated much data, which shows that people rely so much on the pieces of information that they get to the extent that their judgement is affected. This usually presents the challenge of not making the best decision (Kansal & Sing, 2015).

Indeed, mindset and biases influence the way we think and the way we view different situations in our day-to-day endeavors. Basically, mindset can be defined as inclination or a disposition that dictates how people respond to and interpret different situations. In perspective, bias can be defined as a behavior of showing prejudice to various situations. These two critical factors are interrelated in that bias influences how mindset is created. This paper will provide a critical analysis of how these mindset and biases are formed and the strategies that can be applied to overcome the same. The paper will also give specific illustrations of biases that have been evident in the context of homeland security.

Cognitive and perceptual biases are inherent in our nature, or as Heuer defines it, “mental errors caused by our simplified information processing strategies” (1999). Subconsciously, our brains create internal shortcuts to aid in processing complex information or making decisions; often times these decisions are based off of our own previous experiences or motivations. This can sometimes lead us to interpret things differently than another person with other experiences and motivations. This can be a major issue when analyzing intelligence as it may lead people to follow a certain path rather than keep an open mind about other potential possibilities. Luckily, there are various techniques in use by intelligence agencies to help overcome these types of biases by testing analyst’s theories and ensuring that the intelligence products they build are structured and logical. Techniques to overcome biases are

When the data is interpreted by others, it should not appear to be biased in any way. The findings are typically more reliable and valid if there is more than one person or group that has researched and represented the work. This helps to rule out the possibility of the results being biased. Valid scientific work should always have reasonable explanations for the observations made. There also should not be any pre-established conclusions in the investigations, even if the experiment had been tested previously. There is always a chance that the results may change in future

Often, many methods of bias threaten the validity of information and research. Empirical information given to us can have long-lasting effects on one’s theoretical perspective.It can even cause changes in organizational behaviors and psychology; so much that it can cause people to have a pre-conceived propensity. Which answers the question, Is being biased an innate? It can be if the person was misinformed from the start. It is inbuilt in some cases. But in my personal research i’ve found that although it is important to assume that some decisions you see being made are biased; It’s important to understand which perspective is accurate or less biased. If you yourself are trying to understand biases and overcome it. You can try mental exercises. One must also understand what is right and wrong (correct or incorrect). To have an unbiased conclusion to these situations. I shall restate, when a situation occurs, do you analyze it and fully understand all options and outcomes of it? Consequently, It takes a certain level of intelligence and self understanding to overcome being biased. Overcoming being biased is just as difficult as self actualization. Self actualization plays a key role in outsmarting your own biases. It will differ from person to person. It is understanding when you or others are wrong and finding the best solutions and not overlooking any component of a situation. In order to overcome bias, one must take the right approach to their particular scenario. One problem is, almost nobody is going to admit to being prejudice. In fact, most if not all of us truly believe we are

There are several ways to minimize the bias or irrationality of judgment. At a personal level, it helps to keep in mind where a decision maker has the potential to show bias. It’s easier to detect bias displayed by others than ourselves. Personal awareness of bias is not likely to eliminate it completely. Build systems and processes to ensure effective decision-making. Evaluate, seek evidence, reflect and review group decisions made by others. A decision maker should initiate a bias, blindness or obedience audit. The decision maker should review performance and talent systems to identify and eliminate bias. Reviewing recruitment and selection processes to reduce selection “in their own image”. Challenging the assumptions about career paths