BIAS FIELD GUIDE

Your brain is fast.
Give it a second pass.

Thinking shortcuts are useful until they quietly become the whole argument. Browse these prompts and ask where a shortcut might be affecting a real decision.

01 / EVIDENCE

Confirmation bias

We may notice support for a belief more readily than evidence against it.

ASK INSTEAD

What would I expect to see if my belief were mistaken?

02 / EVIDENCE

Availability

A vivid or recent example can feel more common than it is.

ASK INSTEAD

What do the base rates or a wider sample suggest?

03 / CHOICES

Sunk cost

Time or money already spent can make it hard to evaluate the next step on its own merits.

ASK INSTEAD

If I were starting today, would I choose this path?

04 / CHOICES

Status quo

Keeping things as they are may feel safer, even when it carries a cost.

ASK INSTEAD

If this were the new proposal, would I accept it?

05 / PEOPLE

Halo effect

A strong impression in one area may colour our judgment in another.

ASK INSTEAD

What evidence speaks to this specific ability or claim?

06 / PEOPLE

Fundamental attribution error

We may explain another person's behaviour by character and our own by circumstance.

ASK INSTEAD

What situation might explain their action without excusing harm?

These are short learning prompts, not a diagnostic instrument. Use a decision canvas to test what matters in your case.