Cognitive biases - Information behavior
Abstract
Information behavior may be impacted by psychological phenomena known as cognitive biases. When
people get new information and interpret it in a way that supports their preexisting opinions, this is
known as confirmation bias. The dynamics of student-teacher interaction can be upset by confirmation
bias, which can have an impact on both individual students and student groups. In addition, the
Dunning-Kruger effect happens when someone overestimates their skills because they lack knowledge
and expertise in a certain field. Furthermore, after taking into account a starting value, a judgment
heuristic called "anchoring bias" generates estimates that are not reliable. The anchoring heuristic
informs decisions in a variety of real-world scenarios.
Furthermore, the framing effect explains how judgments are influenced by how information is
presented. Additionally, when evaluating a topic, concept, approach, or alternative, people usually
depend on the first examples that spring to mind—a cognitive shortcut known as the availability
heuristic or availability bias. This heuristic operates under the presumption that anything that can be
recalled must be necessary or, at the very least, more significant than alternatives that are more difficult
to remember. As a result, it is naturally biased in favor of freshly obtained information. Information
processing is distorted as a result of cognitive biases.
Additionally, cognitive biases affect one's ability to solve problems and make decisions. Furthermore,
cognitive biases have a significant impact on recall and memory retention. Cognitive biases influence
people's memories of prior experiences. Moreover, training in critical thinking techniques is essential for
reducing cognitive bias. To reduce cognitive biases, impartial learning settings must be promoted.
Introduction
Cognitive biases are a type of psychological phenomenon that may influence information behavior. The
term "cognitive bias," according to Baysal and Ocak (2022), was used in the 1970s to describe people's
frequent, allegedly wrong responses to judgment and decision-making tasks. Cognitive biases stem from
the human intellect's inability to pay appropriate attention to and absorb all available information.
Baysal and Ocak (2022) define heuristics as established norms that influence decisions without
knowledge or consent. In the complex world of decision-making, they act as coping mechanisms.
Despite their utility in most circumstances, they can lead to severe errors if employed incorrectly. When
it comes to decision-making, bias is not about being biased or closed-minded; rather, it is about an
unconscious bias toward a particular notion or conclusion that may influence how people seek out and
analyze data. According to Behimeher (2020), humans utilize cognitive biases to persuade themselves
and others, appraise situations, and draw conclusions when they are unable to interpret and apply
available knowledge correctly. When making decisions, humans frequently use heuristics, which are
simplified methods or suggestions (Behimeher, 2020). Heuristics are regularly utilized rules of thumb
that people employ to direct their thoughts in unconventional ways. Individuals use these techniques to
navigate the complex conditions that surround their decision-making. Although they appear to be
advantageous at first, cognitive biases are a method of thinking that causes people to make snap
decisions without thoroughly evaluating all of their options, which can lead to significant mistakes.
According to Behimeher (2020), persons who rely on cognitive biases are not known for their willingness
to consider alternative viewpoints. Instead, individuals tend to unconsciously apply their prejudices
when searching for or analyzing facts. Understanding cognitive biases in education is crucial as they can
distort students' perception, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities. Recognizing these biases
allows educators to create strategies that promote critical thinking, unbiased learning, and improved
academic performance, fostering a more effective and equitable educational environment.
Types of Cognitive Biases
Confirmation bias occurs when people get new information and interpret it in ways that reinforce their
preexisting beliefs. On the other side, it frequently manifests as people ignoring facts and data that
contradict their ideas in order to continue having their ideology confirmed. According to Nair (2022), a
student's confirmation bias is revealed when they fail to follow instructions. Conforming to preexisting
opinions increases the learner's likelihood of disobeying instructions. It leads to passive hostile behavior,
misunderstandings, and alternate occurrences (Nair, 2022).
Furthermore, if the teacher, topic, or notion contradicts the student's prejudice, the learner exhibits
signs of disengagement and focuses more on studying abstract concepts. The effect of confirmation bias
on students' comprehension of course information is controversial. Individuals with significant
prejudices against any or all of the course material, whether owing to prior ignorance, personal
opinions, political beliefs, religious convictions, or ideological convictions, may choose not to learn from
it, subconsciously or actively. Students with prior preconceptions about the teacher are more likely to
incorporate those assumptions into their interpretation of the course materials. Students with racial or
gender prejudices may feel uncomfortable studying from teachers who appear to promote political,
philosophical, or religious views and may even drop out of the course entirely (Nair, 2022). As a result,
the instructor-student relationship becomes dysfunctional, and the latter is unable to receive new
knowledge or ideas. A lack of communication, regulation, or correction of pupils' assumed individual
learning styles results in inadequate instruction. When student organizations do not share their
perspectives, some students prefer to remain introverted and avoid interacting with them. Confirmation
bias among students can make classroom socializing more sensitive or alienating (Nair, 2022).
Furthermore, it may place individual students in an uncomfortable position by requiring them to
conform to group norms, which may result in a loss of distinctiveness and, in the worst-case scenario,
conflict and tension among classmates. Confirmation bias can disrupt the dynamics of student-teacher
interaction, which can affect individual students and student groups.
The Dunning-Kruger effect occurs when a person overestimates their abilities due to a lack of
information and experience in a certain sector. When people who are competent at something believe
that everyone can do it, they tend to underestimate their abilities (Saito et al., 2020). It was formerly
assumed to be a reasonable rationale for how people evaluate their performance, but some
mathematicians and data scientists have questioned the effect. Individuals frequently believe they are
superior to others in terms of competence and general moral traits (Saito et al., 2020). Teachers may be
influenced by the Dunning-Kruger Effect when assigning tasks to their students, incorrectly believing
that the activities are easier to expound on than they are, particularly when beginning a new subject.
This can affect the learning process and how classmates or peers are rated. An experiment at the
Barcelona School of Architecture had students evaluate their own and two randomly assigned partners'
work using a rubric—self-assessment and peer evaluation share qualification requirements (Saito et al.,
2020). The authors suggest that students sometimes focus too much on their existing knowledge and fail
to notice their classmates' contributions while starting a new course. The Dunning-Kruger effect hinders
personal growth and learning. Competence can lead to complacency and a lack of personal progress.
This prejudice can make people doubt their abilities, deterring them from achieving their goals (Saito et
al., 2020). Learning about this cognitive bias and its impacts can help people become more self-aware,
improve their self-image, and seek constructive criticism.
Following consideration of an initial value, a decision heuristic known as "anchoring bias" produces
inaccurate estimations. In many real-world circumstances, the anchoring heuristic affects decision-
making. Anchoring bias arises when people have many possibilities when making a decision because
they focus on the first factor—the anchor. Anchoring bias, like confirmation bias, is common. The
"anchoring effect" is a type of cognitive bias in which people use seemingly unrelated evidence to
evaluate abstract concepts. According to Sevgin (2020), people make decisions based on irrelevant
information without realizing it. The decision's outcome may vary depending on the data. When
estimating, people frequently fail to vary enough from an initial estimate, or "anchor," in order to get
closer to the actual amount they should be estimating. This prejudice can develop spontaneously and is
visible in everyday circumstances. According to Sevgin (2020), natural anchors include a student's prior
grades, the grades of other students enrolled in the same class, and the reputations of individuals who
have previously taken the course. According to Sevgin (2020), unlike other late teenagers, college
students demonstrate specific behavioral patterns throughout experimental procedures, including a
greater proclivity to obey authoritative persons and improved persuasive cognitive abilities.
Furthermore, anchoring may impact survey respondents by providing an excessive quantity of options.
They may not pay close enough attention to each question, causing them to overlook critical nuances
and produce findings that may not truly reflect their opinions (Adame, 2016). Rather, they respond to all
the following queries by referencing an anchor response or factor. Asking students to rate all of their
classes on the same survey may cause them to focus just on one class while completing the questions.
The framing effect describes how the presentation of information influences judgments. On which parts
are emphasized, equal information can be more or less enticing. According to Behimeher (2020), how a
decision is framed or worded can substantially impact decision-making. When individuals are given
identical knowledge in two different but complementary ways (expressed negatively or positively), their
preferences, decisions, or behaviors might shift systemically. Negative frames are often viewed as less
favorable and significantly impact behavior (Behimeher, 2020). Framing effects have been observed in a
variety of fields. Using marks to represent the quality of students' work is an essential aspect of
education, and grading is a common method for assessing student success. Rather than not providing
grades at all, Behimeher (2020) contends that doing so increases student motivation and achievement.
Furthermore, grading may impact students' learning more than the majority of an instructor's activities.
According to Behimeher (2020), students' performance was assessed higher when exam marks were
displayed as percentages correct rather than % incorrect. This implies that students had more favorable
attitudes toward their achievement when marks were delivered positively based on gain. According to
Jónsdóttir and Macdonald (2022), strong framing occurs when control is focused on a single dominant
category, such as the traditional function of a teacher. Weak framing occurs when control is dispersed
over many categories, such as a teacher and a pupil or different subjects in a curriculum. The capacity to
communicate effectively is critical to students' personal and professional success as they progress
through school and into the workforce. Students who understand how framing works can improve their
critical thinking skills by recognizing when another person's framing is swaying them. They can also use
this information to strengthen their persuasive communication skills by developing a closer connection
with their audience.
People frequently rely on the first examples that come to mind when evaluating a topic, concept,
method, or option—a cognitive shortcut known as the availability heuristic or availability bias. This
heuristic, which is inherently biased in favor of recently acquired information, works under the
assumption that everything that can be recalled must be necessary or, at the very least, more significant
than alternatives that are more difficult to recall. According to reports, the availability heuristic—which
connects probability estimates to memory access—has been investigated across various fields (Du,
2022). People are more inclined to inflate the possibility of an event if they can easily recall specific
examples. There is a very high association between the frequency of occurrence and memory ease.
However, many factors can affect memory without having anything to do with likelihood. For example,
people remember colorful photos longer than drab ones. Therefore, having been in a severe auto
accident has greater memory-sticking power than annual statistics about the frequency of (various kinds
of) traffic accidents. The former is more likely to matter than the latter regarding probability estimations.
Du (2022) defines the availability heuristic as people's propensity to make assumptions based on what
they can more easily recall from their surroundings or memories. People tend to overestimate the
likelihood that something is easy to remember from memory. This propensity can be explained by
information gleaned from the surroundings or by personal experience. According to the availability
heuristic, people frequently gauge an event's likelihood or frequency by considering how much work it
would take to remember. Despite the reality that stroke caused 85% more deaths than other accidents
combined, more than 80% of college students and league members believed it was not a common cause
of mortality in the US (Du, 2022). This was shown in an experiment with University of Oregon
undergraduates and League of Women Voters' Eugene, Oregon chapter members. Due to the availability
heuristic, which leads people to overestimate the risk of something that does not genuinely exist,
younger populations—college students and league members, for example—are more likely to
underestimate risk because stroke is less common during this social cycle and their average age is
relatively low.
Impact of Cognitive Biases on Student Learning
Cognitive biases lead to distortion of information processing. According to Murata et al. (2015),
memory, interpretation, and search for new information tend to reinforce prior beliefs and
preconceptions. This prejudice is referred to as confirmation bias. People tend to give more weight to
data that supports their opinion while dismissing or downplaying evidence that contradicts it, resulting
in a biased assessment of information. Murata et al. (2015) identified several errors that might result
from heuristics, including confirmation biases, anchoring and adjustment, hindsight, availability bias, and
conjunction fallacy. There is more availability for an event that is simple to envisage than for one that is
difficult. For example, individuals tend to overestimate the frequency with which similar imagined
scenarios occur due to their vividness. As a result, decisions on how frequently such incidents occur may
need to be corrected. According to Murata et al. (2015), decision distortion is unavoidable, exacerbating
human error and eventually leading to accidents, crashes, collisions, or disasters. Failure to understand
this facet of human nature allows people to unintentionally repeat the same mistakes, which can lead to
a never-ending loop of similar yet vital situations. To avoid becoming trapped in such a never-ending
cycle, it is critical to understand how cognitive biases influence decision-making and result in critical
situations. Cognitive biases, known as heuristics, influence people's preferences, decisions, and
judgments. When someone's opinions get internalized—either because they enjoy them or because
they were previously believed—they will go to any length to ensure that others support and agree with
them. Even if it confronts increasing amounts of opposition, it will ignore, disregard, or eliminate them
due to its severe bias.
Furthermore, according to Murata et al. (2015), bias affects decision-making by altering how information
is examined and weighted, which can lead to incorrect results when contrasted with an unbiased or
neutral viewpoint. Making decisions always means charting a course for the future. As a result, these
activities and their outcomes must be mentally conceptualized. Despite this, cognitive bias gives us the
independence and motivation to solve problems. Finally, cognitive biases in the classroom may influence
both students and teachers. People tend to look for and analyze information in ways that reinforce their
pre-existing beliefs; this is known as confirmation bias.
Besides, cognitive biases influence decision-making and problem-solving skills. Cognitive bias is a
reoccurring mental error caused by a limited ability to interpret information objectively. It can lead to
people taking irrational and absurd acts and misjudging threats and hazards. According to Korteling et al.
(2023), values, memories, socialization, and other personal qualities can all contribute to cognitive bias,
which is the tendency to make erroneous decisions or act. Various biases affect a wide range of
activities, including judgment, decision-making, beliefs, and social relationships. When knowledge is
learned and then judged, it is best to do it objectively. When information is weighed incorrectly when
examined objectively or unbiasedly, bias affects how information is assimilated into conclusions. Making
decisions always implies determining future courses of action. Korteling et al. (2023) describe heuristics
as a framework for quickly and simply making satisfied judgments. Many heuristics have been developed
to characterize the decision-making process; in essence, people strive to reduce the amount of effort
required to make judgments, and heuristics provide them with a broad framework to operate within.
Heuristics and variables that influence judgment interact to create a significant component of critical
thinking (Korteling et al., 2023). This is something that can be taught, which is helpful for people learning
how to choose the best course of action in a variety of situations. According to Korteling et al.'s (2023)
findings, people make decisions based on an unreasonable escalation of commitment. Furthermore,
when people feel responsible for the time, money, and effort they have already put into a project, they
are more likely to keep taking risks. As a result, an individual's decision-making process may sometimes
be influenced by "how far in the hole" they believe they are.
Moreover, cognitive biases have significant effects on memory retention and recall. Cognitive biases
influence how people recall past experiences. The peak-end rule focuses individual memories on the
climax of an interaction and its last moments. According to Korteling et al. (2021), cognitive biases
should be minimized in order to optimize the ability to achieve goals because they can impair human
judgment and decision-making. Heuristics, often known as cognitive shortcuts, are cognitive biases used
to help people make decisions. A heuristic is a cognitive "rule of thumb" or guideline that is applied
unconsciously to a challenging situation to help speed up decision-making (Korteling et al., 2021).
Given that bias is a universal phenomenon with no relationship to intelligence or any other cognitive
aptitude indicator, likely, the vast majority, if not all, of clinical decision-makers are prone to making
errors. Ironically, doctors who saw themselves as "excellent" decision-makers and "free from bias" but
did poorly on formal test batteries demonstrated a general lack of awareness of their bias. Cognitive
biases interfere with usual cognitive activities such as reasoning, judging, and remembering. The
fundamental reason for this viewpoint is people's tendency to value their ideas, feelings, and
preferences over any information or viewpoint from the outside world. Cognitive bias describes a
distortion in a person's perception of reality. It is a methodical deviation from usual, reasonable
judgment. Individuals utilize their perception of the information to create their own "subjective social
reality." Their social behavior may be influenced by how they construct social reality rather than by
external factors. Other implications of cognitive bias include perceptual distortion, biased judgment,
irrational cognition, and senseless explanation. According to Korteling et al. (2021), cognitive biases
impair various daily processes, including memory and decision-making. These biases can lead to
mistaken perceptions based on individual preferences and ideas. Even when decisions are made based
on contradictory evidence, inaccuracies can have an influence. When this bias is associated with
memory, it can have an impact on an event's recollection. Skewed decision-making may emerge from
this. In general, cognitive biases help the mind digest information more efficiently. These biases can lead
to poor decisions since they serve as decision-making references.
V. Strategies to Mitigate Cognitive Biases
Being aware of one's own bias is an essential first step toward reducing confirmation bias. The purpose
of introspective reflection is to increase one's awareness of one's thoughts and behaviors. According to
Berthet (2022), experts believe that enhancing awareness of one's biases can improve connections with
others, reduce fear in settings where individuals of different races cohabit, and help us make more
informed decisions. Students and teachers should be required to keep a reflective notebook in which
they can record their thoughts about classmates, teachers, the teaching-learning process, and
themselves. Berthet (2022) suggests that educators notice their students' preconceptions by connecting
with them outside of the classroom and attempting to lessen their prejudices using educational
materials and other strategies constructively. While evaluating scripts or projects, classroom discussions
and debates might reveal valuable information about students' preconceptions. Blind evaluation, which
entails hiding the student's name, can help mitigate the impact of confirmation bias. Berthet (2022)
recommends that teachers utilize neutral inquiry that does not suggest or endorse any one feature of
the classroom.
Given that a recent study found that incorporating empathy into the learning process lowered student
suspension rates by half, teachers should utilize empathy to assist students in recognizing the root
causes of their prejudices and work critically to lessen them. Educators must foster and develop cross-
group friendships to maintain a clear distinction between ideas and avoid the clouding and formation of
stereotyped biases. Educators can participate on discussion boards, voice their views on confirmation
bias in the classroom, and share examples. This helps to address specific biases in a way that improves
efficiency and explains areas of learning deficit in the classroom. Over time, children with confirmation
bias will have reduced conceptual understanding, poor interpersonal interactions in the classroom,
diminished respect for subordination, and fewer opportunities for value integration in the classroom.
Teachers with confirmation bias hamper students' academic progress, strain their relationships with
them, render the teaching-learning process ineffective, widen knowledge gaps, and undercut the effects
of positive reinforcement. One must first become self-aware of the phenomena through introspective
techniques, talks, arguments, and contact to understand and reduce confirmation bias.
Besides, the implementation of critical thinking skills training is critical in mitigating cognitive bias.
Cognitive biases undermine the ability to objectively appraise information and consider other points of
view, hence impeding critical thinking. Organizations can learn much about a candidate's critical
thinking, logical error identification, and ability to consider alternative viewpoints by testing their
cognitive biases. Critical and analytical thinking allows people to make better, more informed judgments
(Thompson et al., 2023). The critical thinking curriculum allows for various component combinations,
although the most popular are rhetoric, fallacy theory, argumentation, formal and informal logic, and
reasoning. Thompson et al. (2023) recommend that critical thinking courses and literature contain an
explicit focus on the psychology of cognitive and social biases. Although the length and breadth of these
works' treatments vary greatly, they all share the trait of recognizing, classifying, and describing a few
fundamental biases, which are occasionally complemented with instances or explanations of relevant
empirical data. However, Thompson et al. (2023) argue that for cognitive training to be effective in the
real world, the outcomes must improve the decision-maker's behavior and be transferable to different
tasks or training situations. As a result, training should be well remembered, and the effects of bias
mitigation should endure for some time after the training is completed rather than disappearing rapidly.
If an intervention works immediately after training, it does not necessarily continue to operate in the
future. Beyond the limits of the training context, bias reduction advantages must be relevant to real-
world decision-making settings to be termed practical. As a result, participants in bias mitigation training
should be allowed to solve more than one type of problem. There has yet to be comprehensive research
on the effects of bias mitigation strategies on retention and transfer. As a result, this review of the
literature includes all studies that have investigated the retention and transfer of bias reduction
measures.
Mitigating cognitive biases requires fostering unbiased learning environments. The key to reducing
barriers and providing an unbiased learning environment is to be aware of potential equity
vulnerabilities that some students may encounter. According to Korteling et al. (2023), students from
diverse backgrounds frequently face challenges that others do not. A welcoming, inclusive educational
environment motivates these pupils to learn and perform better. Minority families are more inclined to
participate in their children's education when they feel appreciated and respected. Multicultural
education involves using many methods to communicate with and teach pupils from other cultures,
according to Korteling et al. (2023). Multicultural education holds that all children can learn and that
different methods work for diverse backgrounds. Multicultural education encompasses race, ethnicity,
class, and language of origin to create an effective teaching strategy that appreciates each student's
uniqueness. Inclusive classrooms show diversity's power. They share success stories to teach kids
diversity, empathy, and opposing views. According to Korteling et al. (2023), training students to be
sensitive to other people's cultures is one of the most important ways that multicultural education may
overcome cultural gaps and biases in the classroom. Another technique for preventing cultural bias in a
culturally diverse classroom is to treat students fairly and equitably. Fair treatment of all children will aid
in the creation of a tranquil classroom. Teachers should be culturally sensitive when celebrating non-
secular festivals or assigning homework about a non-secular event to avoid upsetting or annoying
students.
Conclusion
Cognitive biases are psychological phenomena that can alter information behavior. The term "cognitive
bias" was used in the 1970s to explain people's frequent and purported incorrect replies to judgment
and decision-making tasks. Confirmation bias arises when people interpret fresh information to confirm
their beliefs. Confirmation bias affects student-teacher interactions, both individually and collectively. In
addition, the Dunning-Kruger effect occurs when someone overestimates their abilities owing to a lack
of information and competence. Competent people underestimate their abilities when they think
everyone can achieve something. People can become more self-aware, appreciate their strengths, and
seek constructive criticism by understanding this cognitive bias and its effects.
The judgment heuristic "anchoring bias" produces inaccurate predictions after evaluating an initial value.
Many real-world decisions are affected by the anchoring heuristic. Anchoring bias occurs when people
face many options when deciding because they focus on the first factor—the anchor. How information is
presented affects judgments due to the framing effect. Which areas are emphasized might make equal
information more or less interesting. Students who understand how framing works might improve their
critical thinking skills by detecting when someone else's framing is influencing them. They can also use
this information to improve their persuasive communication skills by establishing a stronger bond with
their audience. In addition, people usually depend on the first instances that spring to mind when
evaluating a topic, concept, approach, or option—a cognitive shortcut known as the availability heuristic
or availability bias. This heuristic, which is intrinsically biased in favor of recently acquired information,
operates on the idea that everything that can be remembered must be necessary or, at the very least,
more important than alternatives that are more difficult to recall. Cognitive biases distort information
processing.
Additionally, cognitive biases influence decision-making and problem-solving abilities. Cognitive bias is a
collection of recurring mental errors caused by an inability to process information objectively. It can lead
to persons engaging in unreasonable and ludicrous behavior and misjudging risks and hazards.
Furthermore, cognitive biases have a major impact on memory retention and recall. Cognitive biases
vary in how people recall events. The peak-end rule recalls an engagement's peak and end. To reduce
confirmation bias, one must first recognize their bias. Introspective reflection helps one understand
one's ideas and actions. Reducing cognitive bias requires critical thinking skills training. Cognitive biases
hinder critical thinking by preventing objective evaluation and consideration of various perspectives.
Avoid cognitive biases by creating unbiased learning environments. Knowing students' equity
vulnerabilities helps break down barriers and create an unbiased learning environment.
