Cognitive Biases
Predictable thinking errors that quietly distort reasoning and outcomes.
50 entries
Action Bias
Doing something feels better than waiting, even when waiting is wiser.
Affect Heuristic
Current emotions silently steer risk and benefit judgments.
Ambiguity Aversion
Known risks are preferred over unknown risks, even when unknown may be better.
Anchoring Bias
First numbers or narratives pull later judgment toward them.
Authority Bias
Expertise in one domain is over-trusted in another.
Availability Heuristic
What is vivid or recent feels more common than it is.
Bandwagon Effect
Popularity is mistaken for proof.
Base Rate Neglect
Specific stories can drown out general probabilities.
Choice Overload
Too many options paralyze rather than empower.
Clustering Illusion
Random data can look like meaningful patterns.
Confirmation Bias
We seek evidence that supports what we already believe.
Curse of Knowledge
Once you know something, you forget what not knowing felt like.
Decoy Effect
An inferior option can make another option look better.
Distinction Bias
Side-by-side comparison exaggerates differences that barely matter.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
Low skill breeds overconfidence; high skill breeds doubt.
Empathy Gap
We misjudge how emotions change our own and others' decisions.
Endowment Effect
We overvalue what we already own.
Framing Effect
How information is presented changes how it is received.
Fundamental Attribution Error
We blame character when we should examine circumstances.
Gambler's Fallacy
Past randomness does not change future odds.
Groupthink
Consensus-seeking silences critical thinking.
Halo Effect
One strong impression colors everything else.
Hindsight Bias
Past outcomes feel more predictable than they were.
Hyperbolic Discounting
Immediate rewards feel disproportionately more valuable than future ones.
IKEA Effect
We overvalue things we helped build.
Illusion of Control
We overestimate our influence on outcomes driven by chance.
In-Group Bias
We favor people who are like us or on our team.
Information Bias
More data feels productive even when it changes nothing.
Loss Aversion
Losses sting roughly twice as much as equivalent gains satisfy.
Mere Exposure Effect
Familiarity breeds preference, not necessarily quality.
Moral Licensing
Past good behavior makes us feel entitled to future bad behavior.
Narrative Fallacy
Stories impose false order on random events.
Negativity Bias
Bad experiences carry more psychological weight than good ones.
Normalcy Bias
We assume things will keep working because they always have.
Omission Bias
Failing to act feels less blameworthy than acting and causing harm.
Optimism Bias
We overestimate the odds of good outcomes for ourselves.
Outcome Bias
Good results do not prove good reasoning.
Peak-End Rule
Experiences are remembered by their peak moment and ending.
Planning Fallacy
We underestimate time, cost, and complexity.
Projection Bias
We assume our future selves will feel the way we do now.
Reactance
People push back when they feel their freedom is threatened.
Recency Bias
The latest data point drowns out the full picture.
Representativeness Heuristic
We judge probability by similarity, not by statistics.
Scope Insensitivity
Our emotional response does not scale with magnitude.
Self-Serving Bias
We take credit for wins and blame the world for losses.
Spotlight Effect
You overestimate how much others notice about you.
Status Quo Bias
The current state feels safer simply because it is familiar.
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Past investment should not justify future waste.
Survivorship Bias
Visible winners hide the graveyard of failures.
Zero-Risk Bias
Eliminating a small risk feels better than reducing a large one.