Bias Blind Spot
We see the impact of biases in others' decisions but fail to see the same biases in ourselves.
The bias blind spot is the cognitive bias of recognizing the impact of biases on the judgment of others, while failing to see the impact of biases on one's own judgment. The term was created by Emily Pronin, a social psychologist from Princeton University's Department of Psychology, with colleagues Daniel Lin and Lee Ross. People who were made aware of their cognitive biases were no better at avoiding them, and most claimed to be less biased than the average person.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Self-Serving Rationalization People who say 'I'm not racist, but...' genuinely believe their subsequent statement is neutral while an outsider immediately recognizes the bias.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
Diana believes her sister's reluctance to change jobs is purely due to fear of the unknown, but she sees her own long tenure at the same company as a sign of loyalty and stability.
At a potluck, Mia criticizes someone for bringing a dish they always make, calling it a classic status quo bias. Later, when asked to choose a restaurant, Mia always picks the same familiar Italian place.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
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