The study of cognitive biases tells us that we process information subjectively.
Sometimes to the extent that our perceptions get distorted,
clouding ‘simple and objective’ facts like the amount of violations in a football match.
Having cognitive biases is in many cases a very effective and healthy phenomenon
because people simple can not handle balanced processing of all input.
Can you imagine being conscious all the time of all your senses?
You’ll probably be overwhelmed in seconds!
Therefor it’s great that our mind is able to subconsciously make
all of these processing decisions.
Although we may be inclined to see biases as limitations,
we could also view them as cognitive shortcuts since they speed up information processing.
Perhaps the best known theory about cognitive biases is the theory of cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance is a theory from psychology that explains how people handle
conflicting feelings, ideas or beliefs. I’ll explain with an example.
Roger feels he is a well-read intellectual. His friends start talking about the classic book
War and Peace. Everyone has read it except Roger.
The belief that he is a well-read intellectual clashes with the fact that he is the only one
amongst his friends who hasn’t read this classic.
The theory predicts that Roger will try to avoid the discomfort of this cognitive dissonance.
He can do this in three ways.
1) By making one of the discordant factors less important,
2) By adding new elements to his beliefs that make the picture fit,
or, in other words, create consonance,
3) And finally by changing one clashing factors.
So, to avoid cognitive dissonance Roger could say: Well, who cares if I’m well read.
It’s not that important! Or: Not having read one classic hardly makes me illiterate!
Or, he could create consonance by adding new elements to his beliefs.
For instance by thinking that, being an intellectual,
he obviously hangs out with other well-read intellectuals.
It’s therefore not surprising that his friends have read the classic.
Finally he could change his view: either by thinking
'Apparently I’m not that well-read' or thinking
'War and Peace is actually greatly overestimated as a work of literature'.
The theory explains how people balance their beliefs with reality.
Sometimes this can lead to enormous opinion changes.
The classic example of this is the fable of the Fox and the Grapes by Aesop.
In the English translation: “Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on
the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away,
the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.'”
Aesop sums up the moral of the story.
“People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply
this story to themselves”. The fox had clearly reduced cognitive dissonance
by changing his beliefs, which was the third option,
and deciding that the grapes he had craved before were actually sour.
On a side note, this is also the origin of the expression ‘sour grapes’.