The term homo economicus (‘economic man’) refers to people as they’re portrayed in certain economic theories, where they’re seen as ideal decision-making machines, with flawless rationality, unlimited cognitive capacity, perfect access to information, and a narrow-range of consistent, self-interested goals. Roughly speaking, this means that the homo economicus can be seen as someone who …
The rhyme-as-reason effect is a cognitive bias that makes people more likely to remember, repeat, and believe statements that contain a rhyme, compared to those that do not. For example, people generally perceive the aphorism “woes unite foes” as more accurate than the aphorisms “woes unite enemies” or “misfortunes unite foes”, despite the fact that they …
A placebo is something, such as a substance or procedure, that has no inherent ability to directly produce an effect of interest, but which can nevertheless produce this effect indirectly, generally through a psychological response. Most commonly, the term “placebo” is used in the medical context, to refer to an inert substance (e.g., a …
The value-action gap is a phenomenon where people act in a way that’s inconsistent with their values. Accordingly, the value-action gap occurs when people act in a way that contradicts or fails to support their values. For example, many people display a value-action gap when it comes to environmental issues, because even though they …
The confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that causes people to search for, favor, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms their preexisting beliefs. For example, if someone is presented with a lot of information on a certain topic, the confirmation bias can cause them to only remember the bits of information …
Many people like to listen to music or background noise while they perform various activities, such as working, studying, or exercising. Research shows that this can be beneficial, since music and background noise offer a range of benefits when it comes to factors such as productivity, creativity, concentration, and mood. While it’s possible to …
The gambler’s fallacy is the mistaken belief that if an event occurred more frequently than expected in the past then it’s less likely to occur in the future (and vice versa), in a situation where these occurrences are independent of one another. For example, the gambler’s fallacy can cause someone to mistakenly assume that if …
Debiasing is a process through which the influence of cognitive biases is reduced, generally with the goal of helping people think in a more rational and optimal manner. Debiasing is usually accomplished through the use of various debiasing techniques, that can work on any number and type of cognitive biases. For example, when it comes to …
A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality, which occurs due to the way our cognitive system works. Accordingly, cognitive biases cause us to be irrational in the way we search for, evaluate, interpret, judge, use, and remember information, as well as in the way we make decisions. For example, one …
The humor effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember information better when they perceive it as humorous. For example, when students are taught a new concept in a humorous way, such as through a funny story, they’re generally more likely to remember that concept, compared to if it was taught in …