Cognitive biases is the reason why we are drawn to make wrong conclusions. Cognitive biases is an automatic mental shortcuts that we make and it is natural. Normally, these shortcuts make things easier. You don’t need to re-learn, process new info, understand new concepts and get outside your comfort zone.
These biases are blind spots, leading you not to realize something that may be apparent. For example, young people mistakenly believing they don’t need health insurance because they are generally healthy. This is perfectly logical to a healthy person, but overlooks the possibility of catastrophic events.
Cognitive Biases and Fake News
Mental shortcuts or cognitive biases also affect the way we use information. there are at least four types of cognitive biases are relevant in relation to fake news and its influence on society:
- We tend to act on the basis of headlines and tags without reading the article they’re associated with.
- Social media convey signals that affect our sense of the popularity of information, which leads us to greater acceptance.
- Fake news takes advantage of the most common political mental shortcut: partisanship.
- There’s a tendency for false information to stick around, even after it’s corrected.