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.”

Origin: Latin confirmatio `making firm` + bias `oblique line` (from Old French biais `slant, slope`)

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.”

Origin: Old English ancor `anchor` from Latin ancora, from Greek ankyra `anchor`

judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind

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

Origin: Latin heuristicus `serving to discover` from Greek heuriskein `to find`

the tendency to see past events as having been predictable

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

Origin: Old English hindan `from behind` + sight, bias from Old French biais `slant`

continuing a behavior due to previously invested resources

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

Origin: From nautical term `sunk` + Latin fallacia `deception` from fallere `to deceive`

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.”

Origin: Latin aversio `a turning away` from avertere `to turn away`

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.”

Origin: Old English framian `to profit, make progress` + Latin effectus `accomplishment`

preference for the current state of affairs

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

Origin: Latin status quo `the state in which` + bias from Old French biais

believing that past random events affect future probabilities

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

Origin: Old French gaaignier `to gamble` + Latin fallacia `deception`

giving more weight to recent events than earlier ones

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

Origin: Latin recens `fresh, new` + bias from Old French biais `slant`