ii. Radically important is to distinguish between cognitive biases and fallacies of relevance. A fallacy of relevance is an error in logical argumentation. A cognitive bias, on the other hand, is a genuine deficiency or limitation in our thinking; it describes the inherent thinking errors that humans make in processing information. These thinking errors prevent one from accurately understanding reality, even when confronted with all the needed data and evidence to form an accurate view.

iii. Apparently, psychologists believe our cognitive biases help us process information more efficiently, especially in dangerous situations. Still, they lead us to make grave mistakes. We may be prone to such errors in judgment, but at least we can be aware of them. In your social interactions, you spend a great deal of time and effort trying to understand why people do or fail to do certain things. When you assign causes to behaviour, these references are referred to as ‘Attributions’. To have solid attributions, you need to rely on three basic considerations: Consistency, Distinctiveness and Consensus. In ‘Consistency’, you need to establish whether the change in behaviour occurs regularly when suspected causal event is present. In ‘Distinctiveness’ you need to establish if the change in behaviour occurs uniquely in the presence of the suspected causal event. You establish ‘Consensus’ by examining whether other people show similar reactions when they are exposed to the same causal event.

iv. Now, have you ever attributed success to your own character and failure to external factors? This is the Self-Serving Bias. When you over-emphasise personality-based explanations for behaviours observed in others, while under-emphasising the role and power of situational influences on the same behaviour, then you have drifted to Fundamental Attribution Bias. The tendency to engage in behaviours that elicit results which will (consciously or subconsciously) confirm your beliefs is called Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. If you find yourself referencing only those perspective that fuel your pre-existing views, then you are using the Confirmation Bias.

v. Sometimes you overestimate the values of your immediate group, at the expense of others. This is the In-group Bias. When you tend to put a tremendous amount of weight on previous events, believing that they will somehow influence future outcomes, then you have drifted to Gambler’s Fallacy. If you happen to feel better after making crappy decisions or making a costly purchase, then you are using Post-Purchase Rationalisation. Your inability to properly grasp a proper sense of peril and risk — which often leads you to overstate the risks of relatively harmless activities, while forcing you to overrate more dangerous ones, is called Neglecting Probability.

vi. In most instances, the effect of suddenly noticing things you did not notice that much before — but you wrongly assume that the frequency has increased, is Observational Selection Bias. We humans tend to be apprehensive of change, which often leads us to make choices that guarantee that things remain the same, or change as little as possible. This is Status-Quo Bias. If you tend to perceive or pay more attention or give more credibility to bad news, then you are a victim of Negativity Bias. Though we are often unconscious of it, we love to go with the flow of the crowd and follow majority opinions. This is the Bandwagon Effect.

vii. Thoughtfully, when you assume that most people think just like you - without any justification – then you are using the Projection Bias. Do you have a really hard time imagining yourself in the future and altering your behaviour and expectations accordingly? Would you rather experience pleasure in the current moment, while leaving the pain for later? Then you have drifted towards The Current Moment Bias. If you have the tendency of comparing and contrasting only a limited set of items, then you are a victim of Anchoring Effect. If you easily forget information that can be found readily online on the internet, then you are the victim of Google Effect.