Abstract
This short coursework examines the role of the various types of cognitive biases as common
mental errors among people. A definition of cognitive bias is provided together with a short
description of all common types of mental errors, such as confirmation bias, self-serving bias,
belief bias and framing. The coursework includes a large number of theoretical and empirical
data courses which improve one’s understanding about the common types of mental errors and
the specific role of the types of cognitive bias in particular.
Cognitive biases are classified as types of mental errors. The origin of cognitive biases is related
to the existence of the various human information strategies which are quite simplified. Contrary
to the other types of biases, such as cultural, organisational and self-interest biases, the cognitive
ones are not an outcome of any emotional or intellectual predisposition which may occur toward
a certain judgement. Instead, cognitive biases are suggested to be subconscious mental
procedures which take place during information processing. As a result, cognitive biases are
types of mental errors characterised with a high degree of consistency and predictability (CIA,
2008).
It is worth mentioning that modern psychological research identifies more than 250 different
types of cognitive biases (Reich, 2013). Table 1 below summarises the most widely spread types
of biases in practice with a short description of each type.
Table 1 Types of cognitive biases
Type Description
Fundamental The FAE is also knows a correspondence bias. It captures observer’s tendency to
attribution error explain other people’s behaviour to various external or dispositional factors. The FAE
(FAE) also tends to underestimate the effect of situational causes (Gilbert & Malone, 1995).
Confirmation The confirmation bias takes place when people prioritise sources of information, which
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This short coursework examines the role of the various types of cognitive biases as common
mental errors among people. A definition of cognitive bias is provided together with a short
description of all common types of mental errors, such as confirmation bias, self-serving bias,
belief bias and framing. The coursework includes a large number of theoretical and empirical
data courses which improve one’s understanding about the common types of mental errors and
the specific role of the types of cognitive bias in particular.
Cognitive biases are classified as types of mental errors. The origin of cognitive biases is related
to the existence of the various human information strategies which are quite simplified. Contrary
to the other types of biases, such as cultural, organisational and self-interest biases, the cognitive
ones are not an outcome of any emotional or intellectual predisposition which may occur toward
a certain judgement. Instead, cognitive biases are suggested to be subconscious mental
procedures which take place during information processing. As a result, cognitive biases are
types of mental errors characterised with a high degree of consistency and predictability (CIA,
2008).
It is worth mentioning that modern psychological research identifies more than 250 different
types of cognitive biases (Reich, 2013). Table 1 below summarises the most widely spread types
of biases in practice with a short description of each type.
Table 1 Types of cognitive biases
Type Description
Fundamental The FAE is also knows a correspondence bias. It captures observer’s tendency to
attribution error explain other people’s behaviour to various external or dispositional factors. The FAE
(FAE) also tends to underestimate the effect of situational causes (Gilbert & Malone, 1995).
Confirmation The confirmation bias takes place when people prioritise sources of information, which
1
