Omission Bias
We judge harmful actions as worse than equally harmful inactions.
Omission bias is the tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful omissions (inactions). People feel more responsible for harms they cause through action than through inaction, even when outcomes are identical. This bias can lead to paralysis in medical decision-making, where withholding treatment is seen as more acceptable than administering a risky but beneficial one.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Vaccine Hesitancy A parent who declines a vaccine and their child contracts the disease feels less guilty than if they had administered a drug that caused a side effect, even if the statistical risk of harm was identical.
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.
A person avoids giving feedback to a colleague. They feel less guilty about a missed opportunity than if they had given feedback that damaged the colleague's confidence.
A person is prescribed medication for a chronic condition. They stop taking it because they're more concerned about potential side effects than the guaranteed worsening of their condition.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
Get Debias on Google Play