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Articles on Cognitive bias

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Cognitive bias is alleged to have contributed to the downing of the Iran Air Flight 655 by the US navy, which killed 290 people in July 1988. Bandar Abbas/AFP

Training to reduce cognitive bias may improve decision making after all

It has long been thought one couldn’t bend one’s intuition. Recent research reveals it is in fact possible to reduce bias through training.
Overtly hostile behavior tends to diminish with age except for a minority of children who are at risk of later criminality. This makes childhood a critical time for steering those most in-need away from difficult life paths. (Erinn Acland)

Aggression in kids is related to how they read others’ emotions

Faces hold crucial clues on what others are thinking and feeling. So, does missing that key social information impact children’s unkind behaviour?
A man holds a QAnon sign outside the White House. Even if most people don’t act on their conspiratorial beliefs, such theories can still pose very real dangers. (Shutterstock)

Conspiracy theories are dangerous even if they don’t affect behaviour

Many of those who believe conspiracy theories do not necessarily act on those beliefs. Nevertheless, conspiracy theories can still spread dangerous misinformation that can cause harm.
Words can have a powerful effect on people, even when they’re generated by an unthinking machine. iStock via Getty Images

Google’s powerful AI spotlights a human cognitive glitch: Mistaking fluent speech for fluent thought

Fluent expression is not always evidence of a mind at work, but the human brain is primed to believe so. A pair of cognitive linguistics experts explain why language is not a good test of sentience.
You might make a quick and exaggerated judgment about what kind of neighborhood you’re in based on the people or flags you see. David Levingstone/DigitalVision via Getty Images

People overestimate groups they find threatening – when ‘sizing up’ others, bias sneaks in

Social psychology researchers found that people commonly exaggerate the presence of certain groups – including ethnic and sexual minorities – because they perceive them as ideologically threatening.
So much uncertainty around risk can make it extra hard to decide what to do. Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Pandemic decision-making is difficult and exhausting – here’s the psychology that explains why

People tend to dislike uncertainty and risk – two things that are hard to avoid completely during a pandemic. That’s part of why it can feel especially draining to make even small decisions these days.
Vaccine hesitancy has been a growing challenge for more than a decade. Concerns about vaccine safety and adverse events are the most commonly cited reasons. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) 

How cognitive biases and adverse events influence vaccine decisions (maybe even your own)

To help increase trust in vaccines, researchers analyzed data on adverse events to address safety concerns, and then used cognitive science to show how cognitive biases feed vaccine hesitancy.

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