Decision Biases Vocabulary

the tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information that confirms one's preexisting beliefs

“His confirmation bias led him to only read news sources that agreed with his views.”

the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered

“The initial asking price served as an anchor, making all subsequent offers seem reasonable.”

judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind

“People overestimate plane crash risks due to the availability heuristic—crashes are memorable.”

the tendency to see past events as having been predictable

“With hindsight bias, everyone claimed they saw the market crash coming.”

continuing a behavior due to previously invested resources

“She stayed in the bad relationship due to sunk cost fallacy—all those years invested.”

the tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains

“Loss aversion explains why people hold losing stocks too long—selling feels like accepting defeat.”

drawing different conclusions from the same information depending on how it's presented

“Describing meat as '90% lean' versus '10% fat' demonstrates the framing effect.”

preference for the current state of affairs

“Status quo bias kept her at her unfulfilling job rather than seeking new opportunities.”

believing that past random events affect future probabilities

“After five heads, he bet on tails—a classic gambler's fallacy.”

giving more weight to recent events than earlier ones

“Recency bias made investors forget the long bull market after one bad quarter.”