Cognitive Bias

Cognitive Bias

We all make decisions based on cognitive bias.  My example will be one I borrowed but expanded on to show how far we can take cognitive bias before we allow our mind to rest on an even larger truth than the truth we see in the moment.

I’m driving a long and winding road up into the mountains.  I’m doing the speed limit and enjoying the scenery.  The trees, the birds, and what… a moose!  OMG!  What a lovely drive.  I slow down as I approach a hairpin curve.  Thank goodness I did because as I come out of the curve, I am behind a car doing about 10 miles under the speed limit.  I’m okay with this until I realize the car isn’t going to go faster even when it appears (to me) to be safe to go faster. 

I begin my cognitive bias thought process as I decide the car has a good reason to drive through the curves slowly.  This is my perception because it is my experience too.  As I see that the car could safely speed up but doesn’t, my perception changes to one of irritation. This is because I can only see this from my perspective with the limited line of sight.  Three minutes later a car approaches me from behind.  I can see her coming faster than I am going and I hope she slows down so she won’t rear-end me on the next blind corner. 

As the car behind me gets closer and closer, the driver realizes that I am going about 10 miles under the speed limit.  Her impatience becomes obvious as she honks at me, flips me off, and a myriad of other things angry drivers do. 

Because I enjoy my trip to the mountains I choose to pull over when it is safe to do so and allow the angry driver to pass me.   Shortly after I pull back onto the road, I approach the car who was honking from behind me.  I’m still irritated by going so slowly but I know that I am not the cause of the slow down and the driver in front of me now knows that too.

Another car approaches from behind me showing the same impatience as the car in front of me.  I pull over again.  I am now aware (cognitive bias) that there are three slow cars in front of me.   I pull back out onto the road.  I can choose to be as irritated as the two drivers in front of me and make myself miserable or I can relax into a slower perusal of all the beauty that is around me.

I pull over four more times for impatient travelers.  That means I now know there are 7 slow cars in front of me.  My cognition is able to determine that fact.  My bias is my opinion of that fact.  About ten minutes after the fourth time I pull over, I hear a siren.  I see the ambulance in my rearview mirror before I am able to find a safe place to pull over. 

My cognitive bias (from my point of view) now knows that something has happened that requires an ambulance.  As I begin to understand that the car in front of me that first irritated me was probably facing the same thing I was, I slowly lose my irritation toward them who I believe to be the cause of this slow trek over the mountains.  My understanding is broadening as I perceive a larger crisis than people driving under the speed limit.

The next vehicle behind me is a fire truck.  I pull over as soon as I can but this time since it is a very wide pull-over with a Honey Bucket and a lovely view, I decide to wait there and eat my lunch.  In the time that I wait, two more emergency vehicles zip by.  Two law enforcement vehicles trail them.  By the time I get back on the road the trail of cars has to make an opening to allow me in.

By the time I pass the scene of the accident I have gone through a myriad of thoughts and feelings but when I see a sobbing woman being held in the arms of another person, I see a resemblance to my sister.  I quickly ascertain that it is not my sister, but my entire way of thinking changed in that moment.  I am no longer irritated by a slow driver.   I take in as much of the scene as possible.  I see a sheet that hides all but the fact that a body bag is being zipped up.  I allow myself to feel some of the grief the sobbing woman must feel and I am grateful she is not my sister. 

I was able to shift from being irritated straight through to being relieved from the time I encountered the first slow car until I passed the accident scene.  What if I took the time, every time I was irritated, to examine my cognitive bias? 

It still hasn’t happened every time I was irritated, but 93 % of the time, I have been able to acknowledge cognitive bias and look for a bigger picture before I allow my emotions to be in charge.  My EQ has increased significantly from this one simple action. 

My emotions are important but they should not run my life.  They don’t act on my behalf.  They are clues that something is up, not a driving force that rules me.  As I allow my emotions to speak to me, I can learn more about myself.  I don’t let myself act out a childish tantrum because I am not getting my way.  I recognize cognitive bias.  I also recognize cognitive distortion. 

I understand that people are in real fear.  I understand that a lot of it is caused by cognitive bias.  Cognitive bias brings out a lot of questions that start “What if?” and end in “The world is going to hell..” Going to hell is an expression I felt forced to use because I can’t spell waaa (baby cry). 

Cognitive distortion takes a real thing and blows it out of proportion, like me saying, “I’m starving!”  I ate four hours ago and cannot literally be starving.

Understanding cognitive bias and cognitive distortion has opened my mind, allowing other possibilities to enter, therefore filling a space that I could have used to complain.  Complaining is a habit- forming application of blaming one’s discomfort on someone or something else. 

I am not saying we don’t need to speak out.  I am however saying that speaking out to no purpose is a waste of time.  I became aware of how uncomfortable it is to be in the “passenger seat” when the “driver” is angry a long time ago.  As I became aware of my victim status, yet again, I too, complained to someone else.  Attention to my victim status enhanced it and brought more problems.  It has never solved anything.  However, attention to what I want in my life, attention to solutions, attention to accomplishments, attention to the ever-increasing flow of love and prosperity, has brought me more peace and joy than I could have imagined.

Every time you read an inflammatory article or post, consider cognitive bias.  Consider that the authors of such articles clearly understand cognitive bias.  Consider that every political advertisement that points at another candidate and tells you what they did wrong is using cognitive bias to sway you.  Why is this type of inflammatory and immature method still used in advertising and campaigning? Because the polls show that the average American continues to be emotionally driven rather fact driven, they act more quickly when threatened by fear, and it is easy to distract the opposition from doing real work by luring them into an emotional debate! 

I don’t mind apologizing when I see I’ve made a mistake but it has been a lot easier to simply not jump to a conclusion in the first place.  Understanding that I grew up in an environment where the majority of people jumped to conclusions, where the majority of the people probably were about 12 years old in the emotional intelligence, and where I sat through many manipulative sermons gives me a lot to think on. 

My upbringing was intended to assure that I was a good housewife and had the fear of God in me.  I am not a good housewife and I choose to love God rather than be terrified of such a presence.  I am very pleased to experience the changes that have occurred in my life due to my basic understanding of cognitive bias. 

The photo attached to this post is misleading.  It appears as if a tree has fallen on my sister's car.  It is an example of cognitive bias.  The truth is that I dropped the tree first and my sister drove her car there so we could take a picture.  

It is very easy to see how we are often misled by a photo, a headline, or sentence structure in a conversation or speech.

Sincerely, Carmen Davis