Cognitive Errors and

Biases
Introduction

Cognitive errors refer to how our minds are

convinced that something is right even when
it is not. 
How human beings interpret their life
experiences solely depends on their emotions.
These emotions are influenced by their
feelings and interpretation of the world
around them (Ackerman, 2019). 
However, in most cases, the interpretations
are based on cognitive errors.  
Self-fulfilling prophecy

This cognitive error occurs when an individual

believes that a future occurrence manifests
because the person holds it (Curran, 2015). 
For example, a student might not be active in a
mathematics class because she believes that
mathematics is a difficult subject and she will
fail even if she studies hard. This would make
her behave in ways that are unlikely to
contribute to her success in mathematics and
ends up failing the subject.
Memorable Events Error

The memorable events error occurs when an

individual vividly remembers incidences of a
particular day basing on other outstanding
events that occurred on that day (Cherry,
2014).
For instance, a lady would be able to vividly
recall the incidences that occurred on the
morning of her wedding day but will not
remember the incidences that occur during
the other days.
Misperception of Random Data

Misperception of random data occurs

when our brains strive to impose order on
random data to formulate meaningful
patterns where there are none (Howard &
Sutorius, 2019). 
For instance, individuals might tend to
see a man on the moon even these men do
not exist because their brains have been
structured to form random shapes.
Self-service Bias

Sometimes, individuals tend to believe that

they are in control of events even if the events
are out of their control, this is self-service bias. 
It occurs when an individual blames outside
factors for any negative outcome but takes
credit for a positive outcome (Saposnik, 2016).
For example, a student will tend to believe that
she got a good grade because she studied hard
and think that if she gets a bad grade, either the
test was unfair or the teacher does not like her.
Probability error

Probability error occurs when an

individual believes that an event is likely
to occur depending on the outcomes of a
previous similar event. 
For instance, if a student gets a higher
grade in a certain subject in a given exam,
she/he will expect a higher grade in the
subject in the subsequent examinations. 
“One of us/One of the” error

People learn to identify with an individual

or a group of individuals depending on the
similarity in their characteristics because
such people have programmed their minds
to classify these individuals as “one of us”. 
As such, they tend to treat those they refer
to as “one of us” with love, care, and
respect than those who are different
(Cherry, 2014).
Mental filtering

This cognitive error occurs when individuals

filter things out of their conscious awareness. 
Mental filtering results in a person choosing to
concentrate more on the negative outcomes
rather than the positive outcomes of the
situation (Saposnik, 2016).
For example, a parent can reprimand a child if
he makes a mistake but cannot award him or
applaud him when he does what is expected.
Emotional reasoning

Emotional reasoning shapes the behavior,

belief or idea based on how we feel. 
When an individual is excited, she is likely to
show a positive reaction towards other people
than when she is exhausted or stressed
(Howard & Sutorius, 2019). 
For example, when a child makes an
inappropriate comment, her mother will and
up lashing her out because of her negative
emotions. 
Magnification and minimizing 

This cognitive bias occurs when we

minimize our positive attributes and
magnify those of another person.
It happens when a person tries to lower
people’s expectations towards her by
talking down all his positive attributes and
accomplishment while exalting the
accomplishment of other people. 
Catastrophizing error

This cognitive error occurs when a person

predicts a negative outcome and immediately
concludes that the negative outcome would be a
catastrophe if it did happen (Saposnik, 2016).
For example, a student worries that he would
fail mathematics and jumps into the conclusion
that failing mathematics would be a catastrophe
and if he fails mathematics, he would not
become a doctor as he has always desired. 
Conclusion

The inaccurate thoughts that originate

from our cognitive distortions have
influenced how and what we think about
ourselves thus reinforcing the negative
thinking and emotions even on things that
are not true. Hence, cognitive errors only
serve to make individuals bad about
themselves and about the situations that
they are going through.
References
Ackerman, C. (2019). Cognitive Distortions: When
Your Brain Lies to You (+ PDF Worksheets).
Retrieved October 4, 2019, from
https://positivepsychology.com/cognitive-distortions/
Cherry, K. (2014). How Cognitive Biases Influence
How You Think and Act. Retrieved October 4, 2019,
from
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cognitive-b
ias-2794963
Curran, E. T. (2015). Outbreak Column 16: Cognitive
errors in outbreak decision making. Journal of
infection prevention, 16(1), 32-38.
References cont.
Howard, J., & Sutorius. (2019). Cognitive
Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes. Springer
International Publishing.
Saposnik, G., Redelmeier, D., Ruff, C. C.,
& Tobler, P. N. (2016). Cognitive biases
associated with medical decisions: a
systematic review. BMC medical
informatics and decision making, 16(1),
138.