Schema psychology

Schema Psychology

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Schema psychology, rooted in cognitive psychology, represents a fundamental concept that plays a crucial role in how humans perceive, process, and organize information. Schemas are mental frameworks or structures that help individuals make sense of the world, interpret new experiences, and guide their behavior.

Understanding Schemas

Definition of Schemas

Schemas are cognitive structures that serve as templates or mental frameworks for organizing and interpreting information. They are like mental blueprints that help individuals categorize, understand, and make predictions about the world around them.

Formation of Schemas

Schemas develop through a combination of individual experiences and social interactions. As people encounter new information and experiences, they create mental categories and frameworks to make sense of them. Schemas can be influenced by culture, upbringing, education, and personal experiences.

Types of Schemas

Schemas can encompass a wide range of topics and domains. Some common types of schemas include:

  • Person schemas: These schemas pertain to our understanding of individuals, including stereotypes and expectations based on factors such as age, gender, and occupation.
  • Event schemas (scripts): These schemas outline the typical sequence of events in specific situations. For example, the schema for going to a restaurant includes entering, ordering, eating, and paying.
  • Object schemas: These schemas represent our knowledge about objects, their properties, and how they are typically used.
  • Self-schemas: These schemas pertain to our beliefs and self-concept. They influence how we perceive ourselves and our roles in different situations.

Components of Schemas

Schemas consist of several key components that influence how information is processed and integrated:

1. Categorization

Schemas involve categorization, where individuals classify new information or experiences into pre-existing mental categories. For example, if someone encounters a four-legged, furry animal with a wagging tail, they may categorize it as a dog based on their schema for dogs.

2. Association

Schemas are associated with various attributes, characteristics, and information related to the category. These associations help individuals make inferences and predictions. For example, the schema for a library may include associations with silence, books, and reading.

3. Expectations

Schemas lead to the formation of expectations about the world. When individuals encounter situations or people that align with their schemas, they have certain expectations about how things will unfold. These expectations can influence behavior and perception.

4. Accessibility

The accessibility of a schema refers to how readily it comes to mind. Schemas that are frequently used or highly relevant in a person’s life are more accessible and tend to be applied more often in interpreting new information.

Role of Schemas in Human Cognition

Schemas play a pivotal role in human cognition and influence various cognitive processes:

1. Perception

Schemas affect how individuals perceive and interpret sensory information. For example, if someone has a schema for a “friendly dog,” they may perceive a dog’s behavior as friendly even if it is behaving cautiously.

2. Memory

Schemas influence what information is encoded and retrieved from memory. Individuals are more likely to remember information that is consistent with their schemas and may forget or distort information that contradicts them.

3. Attention

Schemas guide attention by directing individuals to focus on information that is relevant to their schemas. This selective attention can impact how individuals process and remember information.

4. Problem-Solving

When faced with problems or decisions, individuals often rely on schemas to guide their thinking and decision-making processes. Schemas provide a framework for considering potential solutions or choices.

5. Social Perception

Schemas play a significant role in social perception. They influence how individuals perceive and evaluate others based on factors such as appearance, behavior, and group membership.

Schemas and Stereotypes

Stereotypes are a specific form of schema that involves making generalized assumptions or beliefs about a group of people based on certain characteristics, such as race, gender, or age. Stereotypes can be both explicit and implicit and can influence attitudes, behavior, and perceptions.

Stereotypes can lead to biased judgments, discrimination, and prejudice. They often result from oversimplified and inaccurate schemas that fail to capture the diversity and complexity of individuals within a group.

Counteracting stereotypes and reducing prejudice involves challenging and modifying existing schemas, promoting intergroup contact, and fostering empathy and perspective-taking.

The Impact of Schemas on Behavior

Schemas have a profound impact on human behavior in various contexts:

1. Social Behavior

Schemas influence how individuals perceive and interact with others. For example, if someone has a schema for a “trustworthy person,” they may be more likely to trust and cooperate with individuals who fit that schema.

2. Decision-Making

Schemas play a role in decision-making by shaping preferences and choices. Individuals are more likely to choose options that align with their schemas and avoid those that do not.

3. Communication

Schemas affect how individuals interpret and respond to communication. Misunderstandings can arise when the sender and receiver of a message have different schemas or interpretations of the message.

4. Interpersonal Relationships

Schemas influence the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. People are drawn to others who fit their schemas for desirable qualities in friends, romantic partners, and colleagues.

Schema Change and Adaptation

While schemas provide cognitive shortcuts that aid in processing information efficiently, they can also lead to cognitive biases and inaccuracies. People may hold schemas that are outdated, overly simplified, or biased. However, schemas are not fixed and can be adapted and updated through various mechanisms:

1. Accommodation

Accommodation involves modifying or expanding existing schemas to incorporate new information or experiences. When individuals encounter information that contradicts their schema, they may adapt their schema to accommodate the new information.

2. Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias occurs when individuals selectively attend to and remember information that confirms their existing schemas while ignoring or discounting information that contradicts them. Counteracting confirmation bias requires conscious effort and critical thinking.

3. Social Learning

Social interactions, education, and exposure to diverse perspectives can challenge and reshape existing schemas. Learning from others and engaging in discussions can promote schema adaptation.

4. Self-Reflection

Self-reflection and introspection can lead individuals to recognize and reconsider their own schemas. Engaging in self-awareness and self-examination can facilitate schema change.

Practical Implications of Schema Psychology

Understanding schema psychology has several practical implications:

1. Reducing Bias and Stereotyping

Awareness of the role of schemas in stereotyping can inform efforts to reduce bias and discrimination. Education and interventions can promote awareness of stereotypes and encourage critical thinking.

2. Effective Communication

Recognizing that individuals have different schemas can enhance effective communication. Tailoring messages and explanations to align with the recipient’s schema can improve comprehension and mutual understanding.

3. Learning and Education

In education, teachers can leverage students’ existing schemas to facilitate learning. Building on students’ prior knowledge and experiences can enhance the learning process.

4. Conflict Resolution

In conflict resolution and negotiation, understanding the schemas of all parties involved can lead to more effective communication and resolution strategies.

Conclusion

Schema psychology offers valuable insights into how humans organize and process information. Schemas serve as mental frameworks that help individuals make sense of the world, categorize information, and guide behavior. While schemas provide cognitive efficiency, they can also lead to biases and stereotypes. Recognizing the role of schemas in human cognition and behavior can promote more informed and effective communication, decision-making, and interaction with others. Encouraging individuals to reflect on and adapt their schemas can lead to more accurate and open-minded perceptions of the world.

Key Highlights

  • Understanding Schemas:
    • Mental Frameworks: Schemas act as mental blueprints, guiding individuals in interpreting and organizing incoming information. They serve as cognitive structures that help individuals navigate the complexities of the world around them.
    • Formation: Schemas are not innate but are developed over time through a combination of individual experiences and social interactions. As people encounter new situations, they construct mental categories or frameworks to understand and make sense of these experiences.
  • Types of Schemas:
    • Person Schemas: These schemas involve our understanding of individuals, encompassing stereotypes and expectations based on factors like age, gender, and occupation. They influence how we perceive and interact with others.
    • Event Schemas (Scripts): Event schemas outline the typical sequence of events in specific situations. For instance, the schema for going to a restaurant includes entering, ordering, eating, and paying. These schemas help individuals anticipate and navigate familiar scenarios.
    • Object Schemas: Object schemas represent our knowledge about objects, their properties, and their typical uses. They aid in recognizing and categorizing objects in the environment.
    • Self-Schemas: Self-schemas pertain to our beliefs and self-concept, shaping how we perceive ourselves and our roles in different situations. They influence our self-esteem and behavior in various contexts.
  • Schemas and Stereotypes:
    • Nature of Stereotypes: Stereotypes are a specific type of schema characterized by generalized assumptions or beliefs about a group of people. These assumptions often stem from oversimplified and biased schemas, leading to misconceptions and prejudice.
    • Impact: Stereotypes can influence attitudes, behavior, and perceptions, leading to biased judgments and discrimination. They may result in unfair treatment and perpetuate social inequalities.
    • Counteracting Stereotypes: Challenging and modifying existing schemas is crucial in combating stereotypes. This involves promoting awareness of biases, fostering empathy and perspective-taking, and encouraging exposure to diverse perspectives.
  • Impact of Schemas on Behavior:
    • Social Behavior: Schemas influence how individuals perceive and interact with others. For example, schemas for “trustworthy” or “competent” individuals shape our behavior and decisions in social interactions.
    • Decision-Making: Schemas play a role in decision-making by guiding preferences and choices. Individuals are more likely to choose options aligned with their schemas and avoid those that contradict them.
    • Communication: Schemas affect how individuals interpret and respond to communication. Differences in schemas between communicators can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
    • Interpersonal Relationships: Schemas influence the formation and dynamics of interpersonal relationships. People are drawn to others who fit their schemas for desirable qualities, fostering social bonds and connections.
  • Schema Change and Adaptation:
    • Accommodation: Accommodation involves modifying or expanding existing schemas to incorporate new information or experiences. It allows individuals to update their mental frameworks in response to changing circumstances.
    • Confirmation Bias: Confirmation bias occurs when individuals selectively attend to information that confirms their existing schemas while ignoring contradictory evidence. Overcoming confirmation bias requires critical thinking and openness to alternative perspectives.
    • Social Learning: Exposure to diverse perspectives and experiences can challenge and reshape existing schemas. Learning from others and engaging in discussions promotes schema adaptation and flexibility.
    • Self-Reflection: Introspection and self-awareness play a crucial role in recognizing and reconsidering one’s own schemas. Self-reflection encourages individuals to examine their beliefs and assumptions, leading to personal growth and development.
  • Practical Implications of Schema Psychology:
    • Reducing Bias and Stereotyping: Awareness of schemas and stereotypes informs efforts to reduce bias and discrimination. Education and interventions aimed at challenging stereotypes promote inclusivity and fairness.
    • Effective Communication: Recognizing differences in schemas enhances effective communication. Tailoring messages to align with recipients’ schemas improves comprehension and fosters mutual understanding.
    • Learning and Education: Educators can leverage students’ existing schemas to facilitate learning. Building on prior knowledge and experiences enhances the effectiveness of teaching and promotes deeper understanding.
    • Conflict Resolution: Understanding the schemas of all parties involved in conflict resolution promotes effective communication and resolution strategies. Addressing underlying biases and misconceptions facilitates constructive dialogue and reconciliation.
  • Conclusion:
    • Significance of Schemas: Schemas are fundamental to how individuals perceive, process, and organize information. They provide cognitive shortcuts that aid in navigating the complexities of the world.
    • Awareness and Adaptation: Recognizing the role of schemas promotes informed behavior and communication. Encouraging schema adaptation and flexibility leads to more accurate perceptions and fosters inclusivity and understanding in society.
Related Frameworks, Models, ConceptsDescriptionWhen to Apply
Schema Psychology– A cognitive framework or concept that organizes and interprets information in the brain, allowing individuals to categorize and interpret new information efficiently. Schemas help individuals anticipate what they will encounter in their environment based on past experiences.– Utilized in educational settings to help structure new information in a way that is easier for students to understand and integrate into existing knowledge.
Cognitive Development– A field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child’s development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development.– Applied in developmental psychology to understand how learning and cognition evolve from infancy to adulthood and to tailor educational approaches accordingly.
Assimilation and Accommodation– Key concepts in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Assimilation involves incorporating new experiences into existing schemas, whereas accommodation is adjusting schemas based on new information.– Important concepts in adaptive learning environments to facilitate how students incorporate new knowledge and adjust their understanding of the world.
Constructivist Learning Theory– A perspective positing that learners construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.– Employed in progressive educational approaches to encourage active engagement and personal connection with the learning material.
Social Cognitive Theory– Developed by Albert Bandura, this theory emphasizes that learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the person, environment, and behavior.– Used in understanding behavioral changes and educational practices that involve observational learning and the social environment’s role in learning processes.
Information Processing Theory– A cognitive theory that uses a computer metaphor to explain how the human mind manages information, emphasizing processes such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data.– Applied in cognitive psychology to design educational strategies that enhance memory retention and effective learning.
Heuristic– Mental shortcuts or “rules of thumb” that simplify decision making. Heuristics reduce the cognitive load of making decisions but can lead to biases and errors in judgment.– Relevant in cognitive training and decision-making contexts to improve problem-solving efficiency and to understand potential biases.
Metacognition– Refers to the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes. It involves self-regulation of cognition through planning, monitoring, and evaluating.– Integral in advanced educational settings and personal development strategies to enhance learners’ ability to self-assess and regulate their learning tactics.
Implicit Memory– A type of memory in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences.– Studied in cognitive and clinical psychology to understand habits and skills that can influence behaviors and learning without conscious thought.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development– Jean Piaget’s theory that children move through four different stages of mental development, each stage marked by specific cognitive milestones.– Used as a framework in educational psychology to develop age-appropriate learning activities that match the cognitive capabilities of learners.
Cognitive Load Theory– A theory that suggests that learning happens best under conditions that align with human cognitive architecture, specifically the types and amounts of information that the working memory can hold.– Applied in instructional design to ensure that educational materials do not overwhelm the learner, allowing for optimal information absorption and learning efficiency.

Connected Thinking Frameworks

Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking

convergent-vs-divergent-thinking
Convergent thinking occurs when the solution to a problem can be found by applying established rules and logical reasoning. Whereas divergent thinking is an unstructured problem-solving method where participants are encouraged to develop many innovative ideas or solutions to a given problem. Where convergent thinking might work for larger, mature organizations where divergent thinking is more suited for startups and innovative companies.

Critical Thinking

critical-thinking
Critical thinking involves analyzing observations, facts, evidence, and arguments to form a judgment about what someone reads, hears, says, or writes.

Biases

biases
The concept of cognitive biases was introduced and popularized by the work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1972. Biases are seen as systematic errors and flaws that make humans deviate from the standards of rationality, thus making us inept at making good decisions under uncertainty.

Second-Order Thinking

second-order-thinking
Second-order thinking is a means of assessing the implications of our decisions by considering future consequences. Second-order thinking is a mental model that considers all future possibilities. It encourages individuals to think outside of the box so that they can prepare for every and eventuality. It also discourages the tendency for individuals to default to the most obvious choice.

Lateral Thinking

lateral-thinking
Lateral thinking is a business strategy that involves approaching a problem from a different direction. The strategy attempts to remove traditionally formulaic and routine approaches to problem-solving by advocating creative thinking, therefore finding unconventional ways to solve a known problem. This sort of non-linear approach to problem-solving, can at times, create a big impact.

Bounded Rationality

bounded-rationality
Bounded rationality is a concept attributed to Herbert Simon, an economist and political scientist interested in decision-making and how we make decisions in the real world. In fact, he believed that rather than optimizing (which was the mainstream view in the past decades) humans follow what he called satisficing.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

dunning-kruger-effect
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a task overestimate their ability to perform that task well. Consumers or businesses that do not possess the requisite knowledge make bad decisions. What’s more, knowledge gaps prevent the person or business from seeing their mistakes.

Occam’s Razor

occams-razor
Occam’s Razor states that one should not increase (beyond reason) the number of entities required to explain anything. All things being equal, the simplest solution is often the best one. The principle is attributed to 14th-century English theologian William of Ockham.

Lindy Effect

lindy-effect
The Lindy Effect is a theory about the ageing of non-perishable things, like technology or ideas. Popularized by author Nicholas Nassim Taleb, the Lindy Effect states that non-perishable things like technology age – linearly – in reverse. Therefore, the older an idea or a technology, the same will be its life expectancy.

Antifragility

antifragility
Antifragility was first coined as a term by author, and options trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Antifragility is a characteristic of systems that thrive as a result of stressors, volatility, and randomness. Therefore, Antifragile is the opposite of fragile. Where a fragile thing breaks up to volatility; a robust thing resists volatility. An antifragile thing gets stronger from volatility (provided the level of stressors and randomness doesn’t pass a certain threshold).

Systems Thinking

systems-thinking
Systems thinking is a holistic means of investigating the factors and interactions that could contribute to a potential outcome. It is about thinking non-linearly, and understanding the second-order consequences of actions and input into the system.

Vertical Thinking

vertical-thinking
Vertical thinking, on the other hand, is a problem-solving approach that favors a selective, analytical, structured, and sequential mindset. The focus of vertical thinking is to arrive at a reasoned, defined solution.

Maslow’s Hammer

einstellung-effect
Maslow’s Hammer, otherwise known as the law of the instrument or the Einstellung effect, is a cognitive bias causing an over-reliance on a familiar tool. This can be expressed as the tendency to overuse a known tool (perhaps a hammer) to solve issues that might require a different tool. This problem is persistent in the business world where perhaps known tools or frameworks might be used in the wrong context (like business plans used as planning tools instead of only investors’ pitches).

Peter Principle

peter-principle
The Peter Principle was first described by Canadian sociologist Lawrence J. Peter in his 1969 book The Peter Principle. The Peter Principle states that people are continually promoted within an organization until they reach their level of incompetence.

Straw Man Fallacy

straw-man-fallacy
The straw man fallacy describes an argument that misrepresents an opponent’s stance to make rebuttal more convenient. The straw man fallacy is a type of informal logical fallacy, defined as a flaw in the structure of an argument that renders it invalid.

Streisand Effect

streisand-effect
The Streisand Effect is a paradoxical phenomenon where the act of suppressing information to reduce visibility causes it to become more visible. In 2003, Streisand attempted to suppress aerial photographs of her Californian home by suing photographer Kenneth Adelman for an invasion of privacy. Adelman, who Streisand assumed was paparazzi, was instead taking photographs to document and study coastal erosion. In her quest for more privacy, Streisand’s efforts had the opposite effect.

Heuristic

heuristic
As highlighted by German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer in the paper “Heuristic Decision Making,” the term heuristic is of Greek origin, meaning “serving to find out or discover.” More precisely, a heuristic is a fast and accurate way to make decisions in the real world, which is driven by uncertainty.

Recognition Heuristic

recognition-heuristic
The recognition heuristic is a psychological model of judgment and decision making. It is part of a suite of simple and economical heuristics proposed by psychologists Daniel Goldstein and Gerd Gigerenzer. The recognition heuristic argues that inferences are made about an object based on whether it is recognized or not.

Representativeness Heuristic

representativeness-heuristic
The representativeness heuristic was first described by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. The representativeness heuristic judges the probability of an event according to the degree to which that event resembles a broader class. When queried, most will choose the first option because the description of John matches the stereotype we may hold for an archaeologist.

Take-The-Best Heuristic

take-the-best-heuristic
The take-the-best heuristic is a decision-making shortcut that helps an individual choose between several alternatives. The take-the-best (TTB) heuristic decides between two or more alternatives based on a single good attribute, otherwise known as a cue. In the process, less desirable attributes are ignored.

Bundling Bias

bundling-bias
The bundling bias is a cognitive bias in e-commerce where a consumer tends not to use all of the products bought as a group, or bundle. Bundling occurs when individual products or services are sold together as a bundle. Common examples are tickets and experiences. The bundling bias dictates that consumers are less likely to use each item in the bundle. This means that the value of the bundle and indeed the value of each item in the bundle is decreased.

Barnum Effect

barnum-effect
The Barnum Effect is a cognitive bias where individuals believe that generic information – which applies to most people – is specifically tailored for themselves.

First-Principles Thinking

first-principles-thinking
First-principles thinking – sometimes called reasoning from first principles – is used to reverse-engineer complex problems and encourage creativity. It involves breaking down problems into basic elements and reassembling them from the ground up. Elon Musk is among the strongest proponents of this way of thinking.

Ladder Of Inference

ladder-of-inference
The ladder of inference is a conscious or subconscious thinking process where an individual moves from a fact to a decision or action. The ladder of inference was created by academic Chris Argyris to illustrate how people form and then use mental models to make decisions.

Goodhart’s Law

goodharts-law
Goodhart’s Law is named after British monetary policy theorist and economist Charles Goodhart. Speaking at a conference in Sydney in 1975, Goodhart said that “any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes.” Goodhart’s Law states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Six Thinking Hats Model

six-thinking-hats-model
The Six Thinking Hats model was created by psychologist Edward de Bono in 1986, who noted that personality type was a key driver of how people approached problem-solving. For example, optimists view situations differently from pessimists. Analytical individuals may generate ideas that a more emotional person would not, and vice versa.

Mandela Effect

mandela-effect
The Mandela effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people remembers an event differently from how it occurred. The Mandela effect was first described in relation to Fiona Broome, who believed that former South African President Nelson Mandela died in prison during the 1980s. While Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and died 23 years later, Broome remembered news coverage of his death in prison and even a speech from his widow. Of course, neither event occurred in reality. But Broome was later to discover that she was not the only one with the same recollection of events.

Crowding-Out Effect

crowding-out-effect
The crowding-out effect occurs when public sector spending reduces spending in the private sector.

Bandwagon Effect

bandwagon-effect
The bandwagon effect tells us that the more a belief or idea has been adopted by more people within a group, the more the individual adoption of that idea might increase within the same group. This is the psychological effect that leads to herd mentality. What in marketing can be associated with social proof.

Moore’s Law

moores-law
Moore’s law states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years. This observation was made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965 and it become a guiding principle for the semiconductor industry and has had far-reaching implications for technology as a whole.

Disruptive Innovation

disruptive-innovation
Disruptive innovation as a term was first described by Clayton M. Christensen, an American academic and business consultant whom The Economist called “the most influential management thinker of his time.” Disruptive innovation describes the process by which a product or service takes hold at the bottom of a market and eventually displaces established competitors, products, firms, or alliances.

Value Migration

value-migration
Value migration was first described by author Adrian Slywotzky in his 1996 book Value Migration – How to Think Several Moves Ahead of the Competition. Value migration is the transferal of value-creating forces from outdated business models to something better able to satisfy consumer demands.

Bye-Now Effect

bye-now-effect
The bye-now effect describes the tendency for consumers to think of the word “buy” when they read the word “bye”. In a study that tracked diners at a name-your-own-price restaurant, each diner was asked to read one of two phrases before ordering their meal. The first phrase, “so long”, resulted in diners paying an average of $32 per meal. But when diners recited the phrase “bye bye” before ordering, the average price per meal rose to $45.

Groupthink

groupthink
Groupthink occurs when well-intentioned individuals make non-optimal or irrational decisions based on a belief that dissent is impossible or on a motivation to conform. Groupthink occurs when members of a group reach a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the alternatives and their consequences.

Stereotyping

stereotyping
A stereotype is a fixed and over-generalized belief about a particular group or class of people. These beliefs are based on the false assumption that certain characteristics are common to every individual residing in that group. Many stereotypes have a long and sometimes controversial history and are a direct consequence of various political, social, or economic events. Stereotyping is the process of making assumptions about a person or group of people based on various attributes, including gender, race, religion, or physical traits.

Murphy’s Law

murphys-law
Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Murphy’s Law was named after aerospace engineer Edward A. Murphy. During his time working at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949, Murphy cursed a technician who had improperly wired an electrical component and said, “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.”

Law of Unintended Consequences

law-of-unintended-consequences
The law of unintended consequences was first mentioned by British philosopher John Locke when writing to parliament about the unintended effects of interest rate rises. However, it was popularized in 1936 by American sociologist Robert K. Merton who looked at unexpected, unanticipated, and unintended consequences and their impact on society.

Fundamental Attribution Error

fundamental-attribution-error
Fundamental attribution error is a bias people display when judging the behavior of others. The tendency is to over-emphasize personal characteristics and under-emphasize environmental and situational factors.

Outcome Bias

outcome-bias
Outcome bias describes a tendency to evaluate a decision based on its outcome and not on the process by which the decision was reached. In other words, the quality of a decision is only determined once the outcome is known. Outcome bias occurs when a decision is based on the outcome of previous events without regard for how those events developed.

Hindsight Bias

hindsight-bias
Hindsight bias is the tendency for people to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were. The result of a presidential election, for example, seems more obvious when the winner is announced. The same can also be said for the avid sports fan who predicted the correct outcome of a match regardless of whether their team won or lost. Hindsight bias, therefore, is the tendency for an individual to convince themselves that they accurately predicted an event before it happened.

Read Next: Biases, Bounded Rationality, Mandela Effect, Dunning-Kruger Effect, Lindy Effect, Crowding Out Effect, Bandwagon Effect.

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