[ThinkBetter](https://thinkbetter.app/) → Cognitive Biases

# Cognitive Biases

Cognitive biases are predictable patterns where judgment goes awry — the mental shortcuts that trip us up. Each page below has a short explanation and real-world examples. All 40 cognitive biases in the ThinkBetter app.

- [Loss Aversion Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/loss-aversion-bias.md): We often feel the pain of losing something more intensely than the pleasure of gaining something of equal value.
- [The Ben Franklin Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/ben-franklin-effect.md): Someone who does a favor for another is more likely to do another favor for that person, even if they didn't particularly like them initially.
- [The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.md): When something you've recently learned or paid attention to suddenly seems to appear everywhere.
- [The False Consensus Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/false-consensus-effect.md): We tend to think more people share our beliefs and behaviors than they actually do.
- [Anchoring Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/anchoring-bias.md): Anchoring Bias is the tendency to overly rely on the first piece of information seen when making decisions.
- [Dunning-Kruger Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/dunning-kruger-effect.md): Individuals with low ability or knowledge/experience overestimate their competence, while experts may underestimate their capabilities.
- [Negativity Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/negativity-bias.md): Predisposition to prioritize and remember negative events or emotions over neutral or positive ones.
- [Survivorship Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/survivorship-bias.md): The focus on successful outcomes while overlooking failures due to their lack of visibility.
- [Scarcity Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/scarcity-bias.md): The tendency to value and desire something more when it is perceived as rare or in limited supply.
- [Sunk Cost Fallacy](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/sunk-cost-fallacy.md): The tendency to continue something once an investment has been made into it, even when it's clear that is not working or being beneficial.
- [Hindsight Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/hindsight-bias.md): The tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted or expected the outcome.
- [Ostrich Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/ostrich-effect.md): The tendency to avoid or ignore negative or unpleasant information.
- [Fundamental Attribution Error](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/fundamental-attribution-error.md): People often attribute someone's behavior to their character rather than to external factors.
- [Default Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/default-effect.md): People tend to stick with the pre-defined options or default choices when presented with a decision.
- [Ambiguity Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/ambiguity-effect.md): People tend to avoid options with unknown probabilities in favor of those with known risks.
- [Base Rate Fallacy](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/base-rate-fallacy.md): Ignoring general (usually statistical) information (base rates) in favor of specific anecdotes or recent examples when making decisions.
- [Zero-sum Thinking](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/zero-sum-thinking.md): Assuming that one person's gain is directly balanced by another's loss, treating situations as if there's a fixed amount of value to distribute.
- [Rosy Retrospection](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/rosy-retrospection.md): People tend to remember past events more positively than they experienced them, overlooking negative aspects.
- [In-Group Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/in-group-bias.md): People tend to favor members of their own group over those from different groups.
- [Cognitive Dissonance](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/cognitive-dissonance.md): The mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time.
- [Availability Heuristic](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/availability-heuristic.md): People tend to rely on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating something.
- [Confirmation Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/confirmation-bias.md): People tend to favor information that confirms their preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.
- [Gambler’s Fallacy](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/gamblers-fallacy.md): The mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal during a given period, it will happen less frequently in the future, or vice versa.
- [Empathy Gap](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/empathy-gap.md): Underestimating the influence of emotional states on one's own and others' behavior and decision-making.
- [Endowment Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/endowment-effect.md): We value things more just because we own them. 
- [Zeigarnik Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/zeigarnik-effect.md): We remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.
- [Hyperbolic Discounting](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/hyperbolic-discounting.md): We prefer immediate rewards over future benefits, even when the future rewards are larger.
- [Framing Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/framing-effect.md): How information is presented shapes our decisions and judgments, even when the underlying facts are the same.
- [Curse of Knowledge](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/curse-of-knowledge.md): We find it hard to imagine not knowing something once we've learned it.
- [Barnum Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/barnum-effect.md): We tend to accept vague, general personality descriptions as uniquely applicable to ourselves.
- [Halo Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/halo-effect.md): We tend to judge a person's overall character based on one notable trait or first impression.
- [Impact Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/impact-bias.md): We tend to overestimate the intensity and duration of our emotional reactions to future events.
- [Salience Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/salience-bias.md): We tend to focus on the most noticeable or striking features of a situation, often overlooking other important aspects.
- [Groupthink](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/groupthink.md): We tend to conform to group opinions, often suppressing our own views or critical thinking to maintain harmony.
- [Mere Exposure Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/mere-exposure-effect.md): We tend to develop a preference for things simply because we're familiar with them.
- [Bystander Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/bystander-effect.md): We are less likely to help someone in need when other people are present.
- [Availability Cascade](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/availability-cascade.md): We tend to believe something is more true or important the more it's repeated in public discourse.
- [Hawthorne Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/hawthorne-effect.md): People tend to change their behavior when they know they're being observed.
- [Illusion of Control](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/illusion-of-control.md): We tend to overestimate our ability to control events, even when we have little or no influence over them.
- [Narrative Fallacy](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/narrative-fallacy.md): We have a tendency to create stories to explain events, even when the events are random or unconnected.

## Go deeper in ThinkBetter

The ThinkBetter app has the full Cognitive Biases deep-dive: more examples, a quiz to test yourself, audio narration, and a weekly path that builds these ideas into a habit.

- iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6459831884
- Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.ventureship.braintricks