WEBVTT 00:00:11.066 --> 00:00:15.966 The study of cognitive biases tells us that we process information subjectively. 00:00:15.966 --> 00:00:19.866 Sometimes to the extent that our perceptions get distorted, 00:00:19.866 --> 00:00:25.032 clouding ‘simple and objective’ facts like the amount of violations in a football match. 00:00:25.033 --> 00:00:31.066 Having cognitive biases is in many cases a very effective and healthy phenomenon 00:00:31.066 --> 00:00:36.399 because people simple can not handle balanced processing of all input. 00:00:36.400 --> 00:00:40.166 Can you imagine being conscious all the time of all your senses? 00:00:40.166 --> 00:00:43.566 You’ll probably be overwhelmed in seconds! 00:00:43.566 --> 00:00:46.632 Therefore it’s great that our mind is able to subconsciously make 00:00:46.633 --> 00:00:49.666 all of these processing decisions. 00:00:49.666 --> 00:00:52.799 Although we may be inclined to see biases as limitations, 00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:58.992 we could also view them as cognitive shortcuts since they speed up information processing. 00:00:59.733 --> 00:01:05.766 Perhaps the best known theory about cognitive biases is the theory of cognitive dissonance. 00:01:05.766 --> 00:01:11.166 Cognitive Dissonance is a theory from psychology that explains how people handle 00:01:11.166 --> 00:01:17.666 conflicting feelings, ideas or beliefs. I’ll explain with an example. 00:01:17.666 --> 00:01:23.766 Roger feels he is a well-read intellectual. His friends start talking about the classic book 00:01:23.766 --> 00:01:28.766 War and Peace. Everyone has read it except Roger. 00:01:28.766 --> 00:01:33.832 The belief that he is a well-read intellectual clashes with the fact that he is the only one 00:01:33.833 --> 00:01:36.233 amongst his friends who hasn’t read this classic. 00:01:36.233 --> 00:01:42.333 The theory predicts that Roger will try to avoid the discomfort of this cognitive dissonance. 00:01:42.333 --> 00:01:45.499 He can do this in three ways. 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:50.533 1) By making one of the discordant factors less important, 00:01:50.533 --> 00:01:57.966 2) By adding new elements to his beliefs that make the picture fit, 00:01:57.966 --> 00:02:00.032 or, in other words, create consonance, 00:02:00.033 --> 00:02:06.499 3) And finally by changing one clashing factors. 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:13.833 So, to avoid cognitive dissonance Roger could say: Well, who cares if I’m well read. 00:02:13.833 --> 00:02:23.466 It’s not that important! Or: Not having read one classic hardly makes me illiterate! 00:02:23.466 --> 00:02:29.232 Or, he could create consonance by adding new elements to his beliefs. 00:02:29.233 --> 00:02:31.799 For instance by thinking that, being an intellectual, 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.466 he obviously hangs out with other well-read intellectuals. 00:02:35.466 --> 00:02:40.032 It’s therefore not surprising that his friends have read the classic. 00:02:40.033 --> 00:02:45.433 Finally he could change his view: either by thinking 00:02:45.433 --> 00:02:49.133 'Apparently I’m not that well-read' or thinking 00:02:49.133 --> 00:02:54.533 'War and Peace is actually greatly overestimated as a work of literature'. 00:02:54.533 --> 00:02:58.233 The theory explains how people balance their beliefs with reality. 00:02:58.233 --> 00:03:02.666 Sometimes this can lead to enormous opinion changes. 00:03:02.666 --> 00:03:08.566 The classic example of this is the fable of the Fox and the Grapes by Aesop. 00:03:08.566 --> 00:03:15.032 In the English translation: “Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on 00:03:15.033 --> 00:03:22.566 the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, 00:03:22.566 --> 00:03:29.399 the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.'” 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:31.900 Aesop sums up the moral of the story. 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:38.166 “People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply 00:03:38.166 --> 00:03:42.266 this story to themselves”. The fox had clearly reduced cognitive dissonance 00:03:42.266 --> 00:03:45.666 by changing his beliefs, which was the third option, 00:03:45.666 --> 00:03:50.999 and deciding that the grapes he had craved before were actually sour. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:56.333 On a side note, this is also the origin of the expression ‘sour grapes’.