Cognitive Biases In A Nutshell

How to spot and correct the biases quietly running your decisions — even if you're sure you don't have a biased bone in your body.

Are you aware of how your internal biases may be shaping your outer reality? We're all biased — yes, even you, and everyone around you. Have you ever spent hours after a decision agonizing over it, wondering how you got it so wrong?

Professor Stephen Neuberg, head of Arizona State University's Department of Psychology, published research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2005 showing that humans evolved to quickly assess danger from outsiders as a survival mechanism. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman explored this extensively in his widely reviewed book, "Thinking, Fast and Slow." As our world grew more complex, that same fast-processing system became faulty — leaving all of us with cognitive biases we still carry today.

In this book, you will discover:

• The 5 ways your ego tricks you — into thinking you know more than you do.
• 4 mental shortcuts that lead to poor decisions — and the best ways to identify them in the moment.
• Where your bias falls on the scale — because everyone has one, and knowing yours changes everything.
• Why being more knowledgeable can be a "curse" — and the 3 types of bias it makes you more prone to.
• The art of blending intuitive and logical thinking — so you're not relying on just one mode.
• The Halo and Horn effects — and how to reduce their pull on your decisions.
• Why you misremember facts — even when you're "sure" about the details.

Even if you've never studied psychology. Even if you think your judgment is already sound. Even if bias feels like something other people have — this book was built to show you otherwise.

Recognizing your tendencies makes you a better contributor to the people around you — quicker to understand, slower to judge.