13 BIAS COGNITIVI che ci rendono IRRAZIONALI 🧠

Summary

The video script discusses cognitive biases, which are mental shortcuts that influence our decisions, beliefs, and perception of reality. It highlights the confirmation bias, where people tend to favor information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs, and various other biases such as the proximity bias, availability heuristic, gambler's fallacy, and the sunk cost fallacy. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing these biases to avoid making irrational decisions and to improve personal growth and financial literacy.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Confirmation Bias: People tend to favor information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs and discount evidence to the contrary.
• 🔄 Availability Heuristic: We give more importance to events that are more emotionally available or have happened recently.
• 🎯 Gambler's Fallacy: The belief that past outcomes in random events can predict future outcomes.
• 🌐 Anchoring Bias: We rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive (the 'anchor') when making decisions.
• 🚫 Projection Bias: The tendency to assume that others think or feel the same way we do.
• ⏸ Negativity Bias: Negative events have a greater impact on our psychology than neutral or positive ones.
• 🔄 Status Quo Bias: The preference for things to remain the same, even when change could be beneficial.
• 🚫 Omission Bias: The tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or inactions as less morally significant, than the outcomes of those actions.
• 🏃‍♂️ Action Bias: The inclination to take action, even when inaction would be more beneficial.
• 🍫 Present Bias: The tendency to prefer immediate gratification over longer-term benefits.
• 💭 Optimism Bias: The belief that negative events are less likely to happen to us than they actually are.
• 💸 Sunk Cost Fallacy: The tendency to continue a behavior or endeavor because of the cumulative costs that have been invested in it, despite its futility.

Q & A

What is the concept of confirmation bias and how does it manifest in our daily lives?

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. In daily life, this can manifest as paying more attention to news that supports our political views or beliefs, and ignoring or downplaying information that contradicts them.

How do cognitive biases affect decision-making and what is an example of such a bias?

Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts that lead us to make irrational decisions. An example is the anchoring bias, where we rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive (the 'anchor') when making decisions. This can be seen in negotiations or when comparing product prices.

What is the availability heuristic and how does it influence our perception of risks?

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. It influences our perception of risks by causing us to overestimate the likelihood of events that we can easily recall, such as plane crashes, while underestimating the likelihood of less emotionally charged but statistically more common events, like car accidents.

How does the gambler's fallacy relate to the perception of probability in games of chance?

The gambler's fallacy is the belief that if a particular event has not occurred in a sequence of independent events, the chance of that event occurring increases. For example, believing that a coin is 'due' to land on heads after a series of tails, despite each coin toss being an independent event with an equal probability of heads or tails.

What is the sunk cost fallacy and how does it affect our decision-making?

The sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to continue a behavior or endeavor because of the cumulative amount of resources already invested, such as time, money, or effort, despite new information suggesting that continuing may not be the best decision. It can lead to poor decision-making by encouraging individuals to stick with failing projects or investments out of a desire to recoup their initial investment.

How does the negativity bias impact our emotional well-being and decision-making?

The negativity bias is the tendency to have a greater focus on negative events or emotions than on positive ones. It can impact emotional well-being by making us more reactive to negative feedback and less likely to appreciate positive outcomes. In decision-making, it can lead to a distorted view of reality, causing us to avoid risks and opportunities due to an exaggerated fear of negative outcomes.

What is the status quo bias and how does it influence resistance to change?

The status quo bias is the preference for the current state of affairs, even when change might be beneficial. It influences resistance to change by making us irrationally prefer things to remain the same, even when changes could lead to improvements or better outcomes.

How does the projection bias affect our understanding of others?

The projection bias is the assumption that others share the same beliefs, values, or preferences as oneself. It can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications because it causes us to overlook the unique perspectives and experiences of others.

What is the hot-hand fallacy and how does it relate to performance in sports and investments?

The hot-hand fallacy is the belief that a person who has experienced success in a series of independent events will continue to be successful in the future. It can lead to overconfidence in sports and investment decisions, causing individuals to make risky bets or investments based on past performance, rather than objective analysis.

How can cognitive biases be overcome or mitigated?

Cognitive biases can be overcome or mitigated by becoming aware of them, questioning our assumptions, seeking diverse perspectives, and using systematic and objective methods to evaluate information and make decisions.

What is the role of heuristics in decision-making and how can they be beneficial or detrimental?

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that help us make quick decisions when faced with complex or incomplete information. They can be beneficial by simplifying the decision-making process and saving cognitive resources, but they can also be detrimental when they lead to biases and irrational decisions.