Why knowing about cognitive biases is important?
Cognitive Psychology and UX design are two closely related fields: users apply their cognitive functions during their interaction with digital products (services).
Cognitive biases are shortcuts, distortions in our perceptions, parts of our cognitive activity. The important thing to understand here is that biases are not necessarily bad: as Rüdiger F. Pohl expresses in his book, Cognitive Illusions:
“The question of whether a decision, judgement, or memory is “correct” (in a normative way) is usually secondary to the question of whether that decision, judgement, or memory is helpful in the current situation.”
So by understanding the effects of the most relevant cognitive biases, we can improve user experience not only by trying to avoid the possible negative consequences, but also by taking advantage of them!
Another significant aspect is that we, designers also have cognitive biases, so we need to pay attention to these during the research and design process.
Cognitive Biases: the first 6
The second part of the Cognitive Bias UX Knowledge Base Sketch series describes 6 cognitive biases:
- Dunning-Kruger Effect
- Information Bias
- Loss Aversion
- Confirmation Bias
- Distinction Bias
- Negativity Bias
All these have important implications on how we should design with the users’ cognitive tendencies in mind.
Cognitive Biases: 6 more to explore
The third part of the Cognitive Bias UX Knowledge Base Sketch series describes these cognitive biases:
- Framing Effect
- Bandwagon Bias
- Focusing Effect
- Outcome Bias
- Anchoring Effect
- Selection Bias
Cognitive Biases: 6 more to explore
The fourth part of the Cognitive Bias UX Knowledge Base Sketch series describes these cognitive biases:
- IKEA Effect
- Survivorship Bias
- Ambiguity Effect
- Peak-End Rule
- Observer-Expectancy Effect
- Attentional Bias
Cognitive Biases: 6 more to explore
The fifth (and for now the last) part of the Cognitive Bias UX Knowledge Base Sketch series describes these cognitive biases:
- False Consensus Effect
- Sunk Cost Bias
- Clustering Illusion
- Social Desirability Bias
- Empathy Gap
- Fundamental Attribution Error
Recommended Reading & Useful Links
- Ariely, D. (2010). Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
- Phol, F. R. (2005). Cognitive Illusions: A Handbook on Fallacies and Biases in Thinking, Judgement and Memory
- Gilovich, T.; Griffin, D.; Kahneman, D. (2002). Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment
- Kahneman, D. (2013). Thinking, Fast and Slow
- 67 Ways to Increase Conversion with Cognitive Biases
- The Importance of Cognitive Bias in Experience Design
- Are we in control of our own decisions? — TED Talk by Dan Ariely
- Tversky, A.; Kahneman, D. (1991.) Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model
- Kruger J.; Dunning D., (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.
- Hsee C. K.; Zhang, J. (2004). Distinction Bias: Misprediction and Mischoice Due to Joint Evaluation
- Does comparison really lead to better choices?
- The Negativity Bias in User Experience
- Don’t Let Your Brain Deceive You: Avoiding Bias In Your UX Feedback
- 67 Ways to Increase Conversion with Cognitive Biases
- Prospect Theory and Loss Aversion: How Users Make Decisions
- Tversky, A., Kahneman, D. (1981). The Framing of decisions and the psychology of choice
- Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade D., Schwarz N., Stone, A. A. (2006). Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion
- Cherubini, P., Mazzocco, K., Rumiatic, R. (2002). Rethinking the focusing effect in decision-making
- Baron, J., Hershey, J. C. (1988). Outcome bias in decision evaluation
- Decision Frames: How Cognitive Biases Affect UX Practitioners
- 67 Ways to Increase Conversion with Cognitive Biases
- Reward Framing & Its Stunning Impact On Conversion Optimization: What You Need To Know
- The Bandwagon Bias — The Dangers of Groupthink
- Empty Your Cup: How to Address Biases in UX
- Outcome Bias — Not All Outcomes are Created Equal
- The Types of Cognitive Biases that You Need to be aware of as a Researcher
- Overcoming Cognitive Bias in User Research
- 4 basic problems cause all the cognitive biases that screw up our judgement
- User Memory Design: How To Design For Experiences That Last
- Design principles: Selection bias
- Avoiding Bias from the Survivor Effect
- Overcoming survivorship bias in data-driven experience design
- Overcoming bias in research and product design
- 6 common cognitive biases UXers should know
- Cognitive Biases in Digital: Why users are irrational and how to design for it (Part 1)
- Attentional Bias and Your Decisions
- Aronson, E. (2008). The Social Animal 10th Edition, p167
- Cognitive psychology for UX: how to avoid the false consensus effect
- You Are Not the User: The False-Consensus Effect
- Don’t Let Your Brain Deceive You: Avoiding Bias In Your UX Feedback
- You Are Not Your User
- Cognitive biases in user research — 2
- Sunk-Cost Fallacy: How to Avoid Bias Based on Past Decisions
- Design principle: Know when to quit
- The Types of Cognitive Biases that You Need to be aware of as a Researcher
- Psycho Wednesday #2 Clustering illusion
- 18 Cognitive Biases You Can Use for Conversion Optimization
- UX & Social Desirability
- 9 Biases In Usability Testing
- 6 common cognitive biases UXers should know
- Overcoming the social desirability bias in UX research
- Empathy Gap
- Cognitive Biases in Digital: Why users are irrational and how to design for it (Part 2)
- UX 6 of 10: The Fundamental Attribution Error
- The Fundamental Attribution Error
- Fundamental Attribution Error and the User
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