Cognitive Bias
A systematic tendency in thinking or judgment that can affect how people interpret information and make decisions.
Context
A cognitive bias can influence which evidence someone notices, how they remember it, or how they weigh it. Confirmation bias, for example, favors information that supports an existing belief.
Specific biases have different causes and effects. Recognizing a named pattern gives people a way to examine a particular judgment more closely.
Examples
- Someone researching a product reads only reviews that support the purchase they already want to make.