6 Important Cognitive Biases in Youth

Have you ever felt like everyone’s eyes were on you during a bad hair day or when you had a stain on your shirt? Have you ever followed a trend you saw on social media or that your friends did so you could fit in? Have you ever been super pessimistic and always assumed the worst instead of the best? If you’ve ever done any of these things, which I’m sure almost all youth have, then you’ve been a victim of a cognitive bias! But what exactly is a cognitive bias?

A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that causes a tendency to act in certain and sometimes irrational ways due to the brain’s limited ability to objectively judge and process information and situations.

Let’s take a look at 6 common cognitive biases that you may have experienced as a youth!

Confirmation Bias

This bias takes place when people favor information that align more with their personal beliefs and choose to ignore any other rivaling or opposing information. They interpret information in a way that backs up their assumptions and choose not to recognize any others. This also happens to be the most common bias in teens.

Why might teens feel this way?

Teens are constantly developing their cognitive abilities and identities which is why they tend to be subject to confirmation bias.

An example of this is how when people swing one way politically, they tend to only focus on news or data that support their political views & opinions

Bandwagon Effect:

The bandwagon effect is when people choose to follow and support opinions or choices when they become popular. They tend to adopt certain behaviors and attitudes when others are doing so.

Why might teens feel this way?

Many teenagers want to fit in with their peers which is why this cognitive bias is so prominent in teens. Nobody wants to be left out or be seen as "uncool" for not following a trend.

An example is when people on social media tend to start hating/criticizing something, eventually it seems like everyone hops on the hate train and starts piling on, making fun of it.

Optimism Bias:

This cognitive bias is for people who tend to overestimate their success rates. They believe that experiencing a negative consequence is less probable than a positive event, and therefore they may engage in risky behaviors because they don't think something bad can result from it.

Why might teens feel this way?

This way of thinking can cause a lot of teens to make bad decisions and risky choices because they think the occurrence of a bad outcome is unlikely. A lot of teens don't think about consequences, and therefore just do whatever and hope for the best!

For instance, people may not study for important exams because they’re overly optimistic that they’ll automatically pass and that they don’t need to study, when in reality they end up failing!

Negativity Bias:

This is the tendency for people to focus and dwell more on negative events and thoughts than positive information. We allow negative things to impact our psychological state more than positive ones, and we remember them more.

Why might teens feel this way?

Teens might feel this way because as humans we are naturally predisposed to focusing on negative events more than positive ones.

For example, we may tend to remember the bad/mean things a friend did to us more than all the good things they did for us, and we can hold a nasty grudge that can get in the way of the friendship.

Halo Effect:

Has the way you feel and thought about a person's character ever been influenced by one characteristic of said person? If so, you've fallen victim to the Halo effect. This bias is most common when it comes to physical attractiveness; it tends to influence or overshadow the person’s other qualities.

Why might teens feel this way?

This can cause teens to connect and bond with someone or something that isn’t good for them because they’re looking past all of its bad qualities, which can hurt teens in the long run. They might tend to get attached to something they think is good for them, without actually realizing it's harmful.

To put this into perspective, when you find someone very attractive/cute, you may look past their toxic personality traits and decide to stay with them because their good looks overshadow their less desirable traits.

Spotlight Effect:

This is the tendency to think that other people are paying attention to your behavior and appearance more than they actually are, like you constantly feel like there's a spotlight on you.

Why might teens feel this way?

This can cause teens to feel anxious, have lower self-esteem, overthink their behavior and appearance a lot, and alter themselves a lot for others, all of which are common things that might happen to youth.

A common example is caring a lot about your appearance because you’re scared of how others will perceive you, or being overly self-critical to avoid being judged.

What kind of effects can cognitive biases demonstrate?

The effects of cognitive biases tend to be more negative than positive as most of these biases prove to be more risky when in action. Some effects may include risky behavior as teens start underestimating the possibility of negative events taking place, which can lead to an increase in risky behavior. Cognitive biases can also lead to teens feeling the need to conform to certain things and situations. This can also lead them to loss of identity as they are now needing validation from others and following the crowd more. These negative factors can affect one's mental health and lead them to isolation, anxiety, depression and more. This can also lead teens to having more problems with regulating their emotions because since their mind is messed up, the way they present and express their emotions is messed up as well.

Cognitive biases are something everyone struggles with, but once you learn to identify them in your daily life, you can also learn to fight them. So next time your brain jumps to a quick conclusion, ask yourself: Is there another way to look at this?

Mental health starts with understanding how our minds work, even the tricky parts. This is Between Thoughts: Mental health awareness by youth, for youth!

Sources:

• https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/cognitive-bias/

• https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/conformity-bias/

• https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/05/22/landing-pages-cognitive-biases

• https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/cognitive-biases-holding-students-back/ 

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7024067/#:~:text=Cognitive%20models%20of%20SA%20have,response%20to%20negative%20social%20cues%2C

• https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/optimism/what-is-optimism-bias-and-whats-the-harm-in-it/

• https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cognitive-bias-2794963

• https://www.verywellmind.com/negative-bias-4589618