Introduction to Communication Science week 4: 4.5 Cognitive Shortcuts

The study of cognitive biases tells us that we
process information subjectively.

Sometimes to the extent that our perceptions
get distorted,

clouding ‘simple and objective’ facts like the
amount of violations in a football match.

Having cognitive biases is in many cases a very
effective and healthy phenomenon

because people simple can not handle balanced
processing of all input.

Can you imagine being conscious all the time of
all your senses?

You’ll probably be overwhelmed in seconds!

Therefore it’s great that our mind is able to
subconsciously make

all of these processing decisions.

Although we may be inclined to see biases as
limitations,

we could also view them as cognitive shortcuts
since they speed up information processing.

Perhaps the best known theory about cognitive
biases is the theory of cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance is a theory from
psychology that explains how people handle

conflicting feelings, ideas or beliefs. I’ll explain
with an example.

Roger feels he is a well-read intellectual. His
friends start talking about the classic book

War and Peace. Everyone has read it except
Roger.

The belief that he is a well-read intellectual
clashes with the fact that he is the only one

amongst his friends who hasn’t read this
classic.

The theory predicts that Roger will try to avoid
the discomfort of this cognitive dissonance.

He can do this in three ways.

1) By making one of the discordant factors less
important,

2) By adding new elements to his beliefs that
make the picture fit,

or, in other words, create consonance,

3) And finally by changing one clashing factors.

So, to avoid cognitive dissonance Roger could
say: Well, who cares if I’m well read.

It’s not that important! Or: Not having read one
classic hardly makes me illiterate!

Or, he could create consonance by adding new
elements to his beliefs.

For instance by thinking that, being an
intellectual,

he obviously hangs out with other well-read
intellectuals.

It’s therefore not surprising that his friends have
read the classic.

Finally he could change his view: either by
thinking

'Apparently I’m not that well-read' or thinking

'War and Peace is actually greatly
overestimated as a work of literature'.

The theory explains how people balance their
beliefs with reality.

Sometimes this can lead to enormous opinion
changes.

The classic example of this is the fable of the
Fox and the Grapes by Aesop.

In the English translation: “Driven by hunger, a
fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on

the vine but was unable to, although he leaped
with all his strength. As he went away,

the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I
don't need any sour grapes.'”

Aesop sums up the moral of the story.

“People who speak disparagingly of things that
they cannot attain would do well to apply

this story to themselves”. The fox had clearly
reduced cognitive dissonance

by changing his beliefs, which was the third
option,

and deciding that the grapes he had craved
before were actually sour.

On a side note, this is also the origin of the
expression ‘sour grapes’.