There are many different cognitive biases, but they all have something in common. Namely, that as humans we tend to think in a certain way and that this way of thinking can lead to errors. When this happens, we call it a cognitive bias.
Causes of cognitive biases
The way of thinking that can lead to thinking errors is often described as “thinking with system 1. This is the ‘fast’ thinking that takes little energy and is automatic. We can also think with ‘system 2’. This is intentional thinking that takes a lot of energy and is not automatic.
Cogntive biases occur when we think with system 1 in situations where thinking with system 2 is needed.
So this type of error is not caused by limited thinking ability. The errors occur because we do not realize that the situation requires a different way of thinking. Everyone is prone to cognitive biases.
Preventing cognitive biases
In some workshops on cignitive biases, it is advised to always be alert and always think through ‘system 2’. However, this is not realistic advice. Our brain is actually optimized to perform certain tasks with less energy.
Our brain is an organ that consumes a lot of energy. It is not feasible to use a lot more mental energy than necessary every moment of the day. Nor are you going to lift a 2 kg weight with a muscle effort as if you were lifting 30 kg.
However, it is useful to check more often whether more mental energy is needed, and thus system 2 thinking. There are situations in which there is a greater chance of cognitive biases with major negative consequences. For these situations, questions or other triggers can be built into the tasks and processes. In this manner system 2 thinking will be activated and errors are prevented or corrected in time.
Presentation on Human Factors and cognitive biases?
My papers on this topics
Cogntive biases in accident analysis
Burggraaf, J, and Groeneweg, J. Managing the Human Factor in the Incident Investigation Process. Paper presented at the SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility, Stavanger, Norway, April 2016.
https://doi.org/10.2118/179207-MS
Cogntive biases in data verification (of safety indicators):
Burggraaf J, Groeneweg J, Sillem S, van Gelder P. How Cognitive Biases Influence the Data Verification of Safety Indicators: A Case Study in Rail. Safety. 2019; 5(4):69.
https://doi.org/10.3390/safety5040069
