Filtered dossier

Cognitive Bias

Errors of judgement that arrive feeling exactly like judgement.

  • 5 / 5
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    Cognitive Bias Entry #0110

    The reason a long queue makes food taste better

    Cost already paid has to be justified, and the only currency available for justifying it is the perceived quality of what the cost bought.

    Master
    The hidden part #0110

    A price already paid cannot be refunded, so it is recovered by revaluing what it bought. Effort is charged to the flavour.

    Open file
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    Cognitive Bias Entry #1108

    Why you take credit for the team’s win and forget your part

    Egocentric contribution bias makes every team member recall their own share as larger than it was, so the claimed contributions add up past one hundred per cent.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1108

    Everyone remembers their own part in detail and everyone else's in summary; the totals never add up.

    Open file
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    Cognitive Bias Entry #1107

    Why a cheap wine tastes better when you are told the price

    Expectation assimilation means a stated price changes the pleasure you actually taste, not just the words you use to describe the wine afterwards.

    Novice
    The hidden part #1107

    You do not taste the wine and then the price; the price is already in the glass.

    Open file
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    Cognitive Bias Entry #1106

    Why you read a stranger’s mind better than your own

    The illusion of transparency makes you overestimate how easily others read your nerves, while you correctly assume you cannot read theirs.

    Novice
    The hidden part #1106

    You are the only person in the room who can feel your pulse; everyone else is guessing.

    Open file
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    Cognitive Bias Entry #1105

    Why a big note is harder to break than five small ones

    The denomination effect explains why a single large note survives a shopping trip that five small ones would not: breaking it feels like a loss.

    Novice
    The hidden part #1105

    A note is not a sum; it is an object, and spending it feels like breaking it.

    Open file