Analysis of Personal Cognitive Errors and Biases in Thinking

This assignment is a personal reflection on cognitive errors and biases. The author discusses their experiences with probability bias, the "one of us/one of them" error, and emotional reasoning. The paper analyzes how these cognitive biases influenced the author's judgments and decisions throughout their life, from academic performance to social interactions and political choices. The assignment highlights the importance of recognizing and understanding these errors to improve critical thinking and decision-making. The author provides specific examples of how these biases manifested and how they evolved over time, demonstrating a growing awareness of their impact. The paper references relevant psychological concepts and theories to support the analysis.

Running head: COGNITIVE ERRORS AND BIASES 1
Cognitive Errors and Biases
Name
Institution

COGNITIVE ERRORS AND BIASES 2
Part I
Growing up, I have experienced several cognitive errors that I have become aware of
through my intellectual development. One of the biases that I experienced and became aware of
is the probability bias. When I began getting higher grades in mathematics, I would not even
study for my mathematics exams because I knew that I would automatically get higher grades in
the subsequent exams (Ackerman, 2019; Hartney, 2013). However, this was not the case as my
grades would fluctuate depending on whether I had prepared well for the mathematics exam or
not. Growing up, I realized that my mathematics grade did not depend on my previous grades,
rather on how well I had prepared for an exam.
Part II
At an earlier point in my life, my judgments and decisions solely relied on some
cognitive errors. The “one of us/one of them” error affected how I interacted with other people.
Our society has people from different communities. However, I would only identify myself with
white Americans because I am a white American. Whenever I met with the African Americans,
Asians or other individuals from a different ethnic background, either at school or the mall, I
would imagine “this is not one of us”. This notion affected my feelings towards people from
other races and ethnic backgrounds and would not even feel compassion for them when they got
into a problem as I would feel for the white Americans (Cherry, 2014). As I was growing up, I
got to understand that all human beings are the same regardless of the race, color of skin and
ethnic backgrounds. This has helped me to appreciate and embrace diversity, and change my
judgment and decisions towards people from other ethnic backgrounds.
Part III

COGNITIVE ERRORS AND BIASES 3
Our institution was holding a rally for electing student representatives. Several students
were vying for different representative seats and as students; we were supposed to elect the
‘president’ who is the overall student representative of the institution. One of the students who
were vying for the position of the president had all the qualities of a good leader but did not have
money to buy other students some snacks. His opponent, on the other hand, would buy students
snacks and drinks every time there was a rally. As other students were voting in the rich
candidate, I chose to vote in the candidate with good leadership skills because I had learned that
leadership is not about money or looks, but rather, the good leadership attributes that an
individual possesses. Even though he did not win the election, I knew that I had done what is
right. Earlier in my life, I would have chosen the rich candidate because of emotional reasoning
which influences how individuals make decisions based on what feels (Curran, 2015; Howard &
Sutorius, 2019). For example, I would have voted in the rich guy because I would have formed
negative emotional impressions with the guy cannot buy us snacks.
References

COGNITIVE ERRORS AND BIASES 4
Ackerman, C. (2019). Cognitive Distortions: When Your Brain Lies to You (+ PDF Worksheets).
Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://positivepsychology.com/cognitive-distortions/
Cherry, K. (2014). How Cognitive Biases Influence How You Think and Act.
Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cognitive-
bias-2794963
Curran, E. T. (2015). Outbreak Column 16: Cognitive errors in outbreak decision making.
Journal of infection prevention, 16(1), 32-38.
Hartney, E. (2011). 10 Cognitive Distortions That Can Lead to Addiction Relapse.
Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.verywellmind.com/ten-cognitive-
distortions-identified-in-cbt-22412
Howard, J., & Sutorius. (2019). Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes. Springer
International Publishing.