3. Too Much Info

Too Much Information biases may be broken down into categories:

We notice flaws in others more easily than we notice flaws in ourselves, such as:

  • Bias Blind SpotThe tendency to see oneself as less biased than other people, or to be able to identify more cognitive biases in others than in oneself.
  • Naive CynicismExpecting more egocentric bias in others than in oneself.
  • Naive RealismThe belief that we see reality as it really is – objectively and without bias; that the facts are plain for all to see; that rational people will agree with us; and that those who don’t are either uninformed, lazy, irrational, or biased.

We are drawn to details that confirm our own existing beliefs, such as:

  • Confirmation BiasThe tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions.
  • Congruence BiasThe tendency to test hypotheses exclusively through direct testing, instead of testing possible alternative hypotheses.
  • Post-purchase RationalizationThe tendency to persuade oneself through rational argument that a purchase was good value.
  • Choice-supportive BiasThe tendency to remember one’s choices as better than they actually were.
  • Selective PerceptionThe tendency for expectations to affect perception.
  • Observer-expectancy EffectWhen a researcher expects a given result and therefore unconsciously manipulates an experiment or misinterprets data in order to find it (see also subject-expectancy effect).
  • Experimenter’s BiasThe tendency for experimenters to believe, certify, and publish data that agree with their expectations for the outcome of an experiment, and to disbelieve, discard, or downgrade the corresponding weightings for data that appear to conflict with those expectations.
  • Observer EffectSystematic difference between a true value and the value actually observed due to observer variation.
  • Expectation BiasOccurs when an individual’s expectations about an outcome influence perceptions of one’s own or others’ behavior.
  • Ostrich EffectIgnoring an obvious (negative) situation.
  • Subjective ValidationPerception that something is true if a subject’s belief demands it to be true. Also assigns perceived connections between coincidences.
  • Continued Influence EffectThe tendency to believe previously learned misinformation even after it has been corrected. Misinformation can still influence inferences one generates after a correction has occurred.
  • Semmelweis ReflexThe tendency to reject new evidence that contradicts a paradigm.

*Many examples found in Data Science and Executive Decision-making

We notice when something has changed, such as:

  • AnchoringThe tendency to rely too heavily, or “anchor”, on one trait or piece of information when making decisions (usually the first piece of information acquired on that subject).
  • ConservationismWhere people tend to favor prior evidence over new evidence or information that has emerged.
  • Contrast EffectThe enhancement or reduction of a certain stimulus’ perception when compared with a recently observed, contrasting object.
  • Distinction BiasThe tendency to view two options as more dissimilar when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately.
  • Focusing EffectThe tendency to place too much importance on one aspect of an event.
  • Framing EffectDrawing different conclusions from the same information, depending on how that information is presented.
  • Money IllusionThe tendency to concentrate on the nominal value (face value) of money rather than its value in terms of purchasing power.
  • Weber-Fechner LawDifficulty in comparing small differences in large quantities.

*Many Examples commonly found in Marketing

Bizarre, funny, visually-striking, or anthropomorphic things stick out more than non-bizarre/unfunny things, such as:

  • Bizarreness EffectBizarre material is better remembered than common material.
  • Humor EffectThat humorous items are more easily remembered than non-humorous ones, which might be explained by the distinctiveness of humor, the increased cognitive processing time to understand the humor, or the emotional arousal caused by the humor.
  • Von Restorff EffectThat an item that sticks out is more likely to be remembered than other items.
  • Picture Supremacy EffectThe notion that concepts that are learned by viewing pictures are more easily and frequently recalled than are concepts that are learned by viewing their written word form counterparts.
  • Self-relevance EffectThat memories relating to the self are better recalled than similar information relating to others.
  • Negativity BiasPsychological phenomenon by which humans have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories.

*Many examples commonly found in Social Media

We notice things already primed in memory or repeated often, such as:

  • Availability HeuristicThe tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events with greater “availability” in memory, which can be influenced by how recent the memories are or how unusual or emotionally charged they may be.
  • Attention BiasThe tendency of perception to be affected by recurring thoughts.
  • Illusory Truth EffectA tendency to believe that a statement is true if it is easier to process, or if it has been stated multiple times, regardless of its actual veracity. These are specific cases of truthiness.
  • Mere Exposure EffectThe tendency to express undue liking for things merely because of familiarity with them.
  • Context EffectThat cognition and memory are dependent on context, such that out-of-context memories are more difficult to retrieve than in-context memories (e.g., recall time and accuracy for a work-related memory will be lower at home, and vice versa).
  • Cue-dependent ForgettingThe failure to recall information without memory cues. The term either pertains to semantic cues, state-dependent cues or context-dependent cues.
  • Mood-congruent Memory BiasThe improved recall of information congruent with one’s current mood.
  • Frequency Illusion – The illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one’s attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards (not to be confused with the recency illusion or selection bias).
  • Baader–Meinhof PhenomenonThe illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one’s attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards (not to be confused with the recency illusion or selection bias).
  • Empathy GapThe tendency to underestimate the influence or strength of feelings, in either oneself or others.
  • Omission BiasThe tendency to judge harmful actions (commissions) as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful inactions (omissions).
  • Base-rate FallacyThe tendency to ignore base rate information (generic, general information) and focus on specific information (information only pertaining to a certain case).

*Many Examples found in Marketing/Branding