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⚡ Brain & Cognition
Which cognitive biases control you?
Can you outsmart your own brain?
Rate how much each describes you: 1 (never) to 5 (constantly).
1I tend to seek out information that confirms what I already believe.
2After something happens, I feel like I "knew it all along."
3I judge a person's character based on first impressions that rarely change.
4I continue investing in something because of how much I've already put in, even when it's failing.
5I believe I am less biased than the average person.
6I overestimate how easy a task will be before I start.
7I remember my successes better than my failures.
8I follow the crowd when I'm unsure, even if I have my own opinion.
9I feel more upset about losing $50 than happy about gaining $50.
10I attribute my successes to skill but my failures to bad luck.
Cognitive biases: your brain's blind spots
Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking that affect decisions and judgments. Over 200 have been identified. Everyone has them — the question is which ones dominate YOUR thinking.
The 10 biases in this quiz
- Confirmation Bias (1): Seeking evidence that confirms existing beliefs
- Hindsight Bias (2): "I knew it all along" after the fact
- Anchoring (3): Over-relying on first information received
- Sunk Cost (4): Continuing because of past investment
- Bias Blind Spot (5): Believing you're less biased than others
- Planning Fallacy (6): Underestimating time and difficulty
- Survivorship Bias (7): Focusing on successes, ignoring failures
- Bandwagon Effect (8): Following the crowd
- Loss Aversion (9): Losses hurt 2x more than gains feel good
- Attribution Bias (10): Skill for wins, luck for losses
Key facts
- The Bias Blind Spot (item 5) is the most universal — virtually everyone thinks they're less biased
- Kahneman & Tversky's work on biases won the Nobel Prize in Economics (2002)
- Knowing about biases doesn't prevent them — structured decision-making does
Sources: Kahneman & Tversky (1979), Pronin et al. (2002, Bias Blind Spot), Thinking Fast and Slow (2011).