The Cognitive Bias Codex
T H E C O G N I T I V E B I A S C O D E X
Too Much Information
Not Enough Meaning
Need To Act Fast
What Should We Remember?
Availability heuristic
Attentional bias
Illusory truth effect
Mere–exposure effect
Context effect
Cue–dependent forgetting
Mood–congruent memory bias
Frequency illusion
Baader–Meinhof Phenomenon
Empathy gap
Omission bias
Base rate fallacy
We notice things already primed in memory or repeated often
Bizarreness effect
Humor effect
Von Restorff effect
Picture superiority effect
Self–relevance effect
Negativity bias
Bizarre, funny, visually striking, or anthropomorphic things stick out more than non-bizarre/unfunny things
Anchoring
Conservatism
Contrast effect
Distinction bias
Focusing effect
Framing effect
Money illusion
Weber–Fechner law
We notice when something has changed
Confirmation bias
Congruence bias
Post–purchase rationalization
Choice–supportive bias
Selective perception
Observer–expectancy effect
Experimenter's bias
Observer effect
Expectation bias
Ostrich effect
Subjective validation
Continued influence effect
Semmelweis reflex
We are drawn to details that confirm our own existing beliefs
Bias blind spot
Naïve cynicism
Naïve realism
We notice flaws in others more easily than we notice flaws in ourselves
Confabulation
Clustering illusion
Insensitivity to sample size
Neglect of probability
Anecdotal fallacy
Illusion of validity
Masked–man fallacy
Recency illusion
Gambler's fallacy
Hot–hand fallacy
Illusory correlation
Pareidolia
Anthropomorphism
We tend to find stories and patterns even when looking at sparse data
Group attribution error
Ultimate attribution error
Stereotyping
Essentialism
Functional fixedness
Moral credential effect
Just–world hypothesis
Argument from fallacy
Authority bias
Automation bias
Bandwagon effect
Placebo effect
We fill in characteristics from stereotypes, generalities, and prior histories
Out–group homogeneity bias
Cross–race effect
In–group favoritism
Halo effect
Cheerleader effect
Positivity effect
Not invented here
Reactive devaluation
Well–traveled road effect
We imagine things and people we're familiar with or fond of as better
Mental accounting
Appeal to probability fallacy
Normalcy bias
Murphy's Law
Zero sum bias
Survivorship bias
Subadditivity effect
Denomination effect
The magical number 7 ± 2
We simplify probabilities and numbers to make them easier to think about
Illusion of transparency
Curse of knowledge
Spotlight effect
Extrinsic incentive error
Illusion of external agency
Illusion of asymmetric insight
We think we know what other people are thinking
Telescoping effect
Rosy retrospection
Hindsight bias
Outcome bias
Moral luck
Declinism
Impact bias
Pessimism bias
Planning fallacy
Time–saving bias
Pro–innovation bias
Projection bias
Restraint bias
Self–consistency bias
We project our current mindset and assumptions onto the past and future
Overconfidence effect
Social desirability bias
Third–person effect
False consensus effect
Hard–easy effect
Lake Wobegone effect
Dunning–Kruger effect
Egocentric bias
Optimism bias
Forer effect
Barnum effect
Self–serving bias
Actor–observer bias
Illusion of control
Illusory superiority
Fundamental attribution error
Defensive attribution hypothesis
Trait ascription bias
Effort justification
Risk compensation
Peltzman effect
To act, we must be confident we can make an impact and feel what we do is important
Hyperbolic discounting
Appeal to novelty
Identifiable victim effect
To stay focused, we favor the immediate, relatable thing in front of us
Sunk cost fallacy
Irrational escalation
Escalation of commitment
Generation effect
Loss aversion
IKEA effect
Unit bias
Zero–risk bias
Disposition effect
Pseudocertainty effect
Processing difficulty effect
Endowment effect
Backfire effect
To get things done, we tend to complete things we've invested time and energy in
System justification
Reverse psychology
Reactance
Decoy effect
Social comparison effect
Status quo bias
To avoid mistakes, we aim to preserve autonomy and group status, and avoid irreversible decisions
Ambiguity bias
Information bias
Belief bias
Rhyme–as–reason effect
Bike–shedding effect
Law of Triviality
Conjunction fallacy
Occam's razor
Less–is–better effect
We favor simple–looking options and complete information over complex, ambiguous options
Misattribution of memory
Source confusion
Cryptomnesia
False memory
Suggestibility
Spacing effect
We edit and reinforce some memories after the fact
Implicit association
Implicit stereotypes
Stereotypical bias
Prejudice
Negativity bias
Fading affect bias
We discard specifics to form generalities
Peak–end rule
Leveling and sharpening
Misinformation effect
Serial recall effect
List–length effect
Duration neglect
Modality effect
Memory inhibition
Primacy effect
Recency effect
Part–set cueing effect
Serial–position effect
Suffix effect
We reduce events and lists to their key elements
Levels–of–processing effect
Absent–mindedness
Testing effect
Next–in–line effect
Google effect
Tip of the tongue phenomenon
We store memories differently based on how they were experienced