Course description

Our judgments depend partly on what comes to mind, where we start, how a choice is described, and what we want to be true. These influences are often useful. In some situations they also lead to predictable mistakes. A cognitive bias is a tendency in how a judgment is formed; it is not a diagnosis or proof that someone is dishonest. This course explains each pattern through its mechanism, its limits, and a practical way to check the judgment. You will distinguish bias from ordinary error and random variation, examine how memory and expectations affect estimates, and consider how social information shapes impressions. Reasoning Foundations already examines faulty arguments. Here the focus is on how a person can arrive at a judgment before, or while, offering reasons for it.

Topics covered

• Heuristics, bias, and ordinary mistakes
• Confirmation and motivated reasoning
• Vivid examples and familiar patterns
• Anchors, framing, losses, and defaults
• How sure we feel before and after an outcome
• Impressions, situations, and social influence
• cognition
• Beginner

Prerequisites and next steps

This course belongs to Cognitive Foundations. Start with the first step, then work through each level in order before moving back to the path.