bias

22 02, 2023

Anchoring: The bias which affects our ability to estimate & negotiate

By |2023-02-22T21:37:16+01:00February 22nd, 2023|Curiosity|2 Comments

When you are about to negotiate, is it better to go first, or is it better to wait for the other person to show their hand and you then are able to adjust with more information? Well, according to the research, whoever provides the first piece of information has a major advantage, as the final [...]

13 10, 2022

The availability bias: Why we overestimate the likelihood of scary but unlikely events

By |2022-10-13T21:08:57+02:00October 13th, 2022|Curiosity|0 Comments

What is more likely to kill you: A shark? Or a cow? Most people would be much more afraid of a shark. After all, they are known to be an alpha predator, and many movies show how easily they will kill anyone that comes to close. Indeed, a 2010 survey conducted in the USA found [...]

24 11, 2021

The Einstellung Effect: Why knowledge can make you stupider

By |2021-11-24T19:59:15+01:00November 24th, 2021|Creativity|0 Comments

I want you to do a couple of short mental tests with me. It will only take a minute and you will be fascinated by the results. You will be fascinated by what this teaches you about innovation and creativity. Let me explain the rules. You have some water jugs of different sizes which each [...]

2 08, 2021

Functional fixedness bias, and how to overcome it

By |2021-08-02T16:51:15+02:00August 2nd, 2021|Creativity|0 Comments

When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. One of the primary biases affecting innovation teams is called functional fixedness. This bias limits a person's ability to only see an objects only in the way it is traditionally used. So for example, if a person has always worked with a [...]

14 07, 2021

The mere exposure effect bias: Why people like ideas they have seen before

By |2021-07-14T20:59:48+02:00July 14th, 2021|Curiosity|0 Comments

What do you need to do to make someone like your idea? Get them to see it as many times as possible. One of the most powerful unconscious biases which we all suffer from is called the Mere Exposure Effect. It essentially says that the more often we see something, the more we will associate [...]

2 02, 2021

Survivorship bias

By |2021-02-02T12:52:33+01:00February 2nd, 2021|Innovation|0 Comments

Survivorship bias is one of the most common selection biases, and can be extremely detrimental when assessing whether a new idea or innovation will work. Survivorship bias is the tendency for humans to be aware of an focus on thins (be it people or products) which made it past some selection process, and not pay [...]

8 07, 2016

How making Pros & Cons lists damage your innovation projects without you realising

By |2016-11-04T10:37:54+01:00July 8th, 2016|Innovation|1 Comment

The science suggests that we will naturally try to find reasons to reject an idea before it begins. Could this most simple of all benefits analysis activities actually be one of the most harmful you can do at your business? I just got back from a lunch with a dear friend of mine, who was [...]