The Problem with How We Think

I listened incredulously as my new acquaintance explained that the reason her four-year-old son left bite marks in my screaming toddler's arm was due to his need to "exercise his teeth." "I just think he doesn't know that when he bites down on some things, it can actually hurt," she explained.

"I know he was convicted of producing and selling child pornography," remarked the lady next to my husband on a Springfield-bound airplane about the mayor of her small town,"but I will say this about him, he always paid his bills on time."

When we hear things like this most of us shake our heads in disbelief--at least I did. It's difficult to comprehend how someone can discount an obvious problem in favor of what appears to be a narrow and naïve perspective. But it happens every day and most of us fall prey to this sort of thinking far more often than we might imagine. It's a trick our brains play on us known as "cognitive bias." I've written about this previously, but I thought it might be helpful to devote a few weeks to the many ways our brain tries to trick us into believing "our own reality" and the problems this can create.
 

 A couple of weeks ago I attended a continuing education event on Craving: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough. Although the focus of the day was on addictions, Dr. Omar Manejwala, helped us to see the role craving plays in our everyday lives. (Ever crave chocolate, Jalapeño potato chips, or hazelnut coffee? Okay, maybe it's just me.)

As hard as it is to combat certain cravings, apparently our brains also trick us into false beliefs that make it even more difficult for us to overcome troublesome behaviors. It's not just those who struggle with alcohol dependence or drug addiction who succumb to such trickery. Apparently, all of us do in one way or another.

At the same time I attended the "Cravings" workshop, I was also reading Contagious, a New York Times bestseller on "why things catch on," i.e., what makes a product or idea gain traction, become a household word, or dramatically increase its market share.

One expert warns about the subtle power of craving and addiction. The other reveals how marketing experts use some of these same tendencies to their advantage. Apparently there are both positive and negative factors associated with the machinery of our brain. The secret is understanding the negative and using the positive to our advantage.

So What is Cognitive Bias?
"Cognitive bias" refers to our inability to process information without a bias of some sort. In many instances, this is a good thing as it helps us be more efficient with our thinking. According to Manejwala, our brains tend to "categorize rather than memorize." If we weren't able to do this kind of shortcut, it would take us much longer to recognize all horses as being similar in appearance, even though they may vary in size, shape and color.

At the same time, cognitive bias can also cause us to overlook important information, give ourselves way too much credit for making a good decision, take too little responsibility for our failures and shortcomings, and consider ourselves much smarter than we really are.

For instance, in Contagious, Berger notes the following:

People often imitate those around them. They dress in the same styles as their friends, pick entrees preferred by other diners, and reuse hotel towels more when they think others are doing the same. People are more likely to vote if their spouse votes, more likely to quit smoking if their friends quit, and more likely to get fat if their friends become obese. Whether making trivial choices like what brand of coffee to buy or important decisions like paying their taxes, people tend to conform to what others are doing (p. 128).

We are all remarkably influenced by the behaviors and actions of others around us--even when we think we are not. Their bias becomes ours. Sometimes this works in our favor; sometimes it does not. Either way, advertisers know this and use it to their advantage. 

So what are the kinds of cognitive errors that cause us the most problem? Here are more we will consider in the upcoming weeks:

• Hindsight Bias
• Asymmetric Insight
• Blind Spot Bias

If you're wondering about your ability to trust your own judgment, we'll consider that as well. While it is impossible for us to be unbiased, there are ways we can gain a more accurate perception and avoid cognitive distortions. In the coming weeks, we'll explore some of those things.

Until then, I remain, undoubtedly biased but willing to learn,

Dr. Jennifer Baker

P.S. My Main Man wants to ban the phrase "my unbiased opinion," but of course he's biased too.