Cognitive Biases
Predictable patterns of mental shortcuts and errors in reasoning that act unconsciously. Essentially they're unconscious fallacies.
Bias list
- Confirmation bias - seeking information that confirms existing beliefs
- Negativity bias - giving greater weight to negative experiences
- Sunk cost fallacy - continuing projects based on past investment
- Planning fallacy - underestimating time needed for completion
- Dunning-Kruger effect - overestimating abilities when unskilled
- Impostor syndrome - underestimating abilities despite evidence
- Status quo bias - preferring things to remain the same
- Survivorship Bias
- Goldilocks Effect
- Spotlight Effect
tive Process
- Premature judgment of ideas before development
- Overvaluing first ideas and underexploring alternatives
- Excessive attachment to initial approaches
- False pattern recognition leading to familiar solutions
- Self-evaluation distortions affecting confidence
- Social comparison biases influencing originality
- Attribution errors in assessing creative success or failure
Bias as Resistance Vehicle
- Rationalization using cognitive biases to avoid creative risk
- "Better-than-average" effect preventing objective self-assessment
- Availability heuristic focusing on immediate barriers
- Loss aversion preventing creative experimentation
- Fundamental attribution error in interpreting creative blocks
- Optimism bias creating unrealistic project timelines
- Hindsight bias preventing learning from creative failures
Mitigation Strategies
- Deliberate perspective-shifting exercises
- Structured decision-making frameworks
- External feedback and accountability
- Awareness practices like mindfulness meditation
- Systematic documentation of creative processes
- Pre-mortems and other anticipatory techniques
- Creating psychological distance from one's work
Additional Connections
- Broader Context: Psychology of Creativity (mental factors) Fallacy (errors in reasoning)
- Applications: Rationalization (how biases support resistance)
- See Also: Mindfulness in Creative Practice (awareness techniques)
References
- Kahneman, Daniel. "Thinking, Fast and Slow"
- Pressfield, Steven. "The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles"