Getting Started
  • Welcome to the Course!
  • Who is Kevin deLaplante?
  • What Will I Learn in This Course?
What is a Cognitive Bias?
  • What is a Cognitive Bias?
  • "Biased" does NOT mean "Prejudiced" or "Bigoted"
  • An Example: The Gambler's Fallacy
  • The Most Important Discovery of Modern Psychology
Cognitive Biases and Their Importance for Critical Thinking
  • A Central Aim of Critical Thinking
  • "Mindware": Tools for Smart Thinking
Why Are So Many Industries Offering Cognitive Bias Training To Their Employees?
  • Why is Everyone Talking About Cognitive Biases?
  • Reason 1: Avoiding Disasters
  • Reason 2: Improving Performance
  • Reason 3: Promoting Social Justice
  • All of This is Just APPLIED CRITICAL THINKING
A Gentle Introduction to Cognitive Biases
  • There Are Hundreds of Cognitive Biases
  • We'll Look at FOUR in Detail
(1) Confirmation Bias
  • What is Confirmation Bias?
  • Biased Memory and the Lunar Effect
  • Biased Search for Information (I): Interviews and Framing Effects
  • Biased Search for Information (II): How Questions Can Manipulate Memory
  • Biased Interpretation of Information: Mulder, Scully and Giant Alien Spiders
(2) Pattern Seeking
  • We're Very Good at Seeing Patterns ... Maybe Too Good
  • We See Faces Everywhere: Why?
  • Cognitive Biases and Adaptive Shortcuts
  • Stairway to Heaven, Britney Spears, and Backmasking
  • Looking for Meaning in German Carpet Bombing Patterns
(3) The Anchoring Effect
  • What is the Anchoring Effect?
  • How Much is This Jacket Really Worth?
  • The Basic Shortcut: "Anchor and Adjust"
  • Irrelevant Anchors: Judges Literally Roll Dice on Damages
  • How to Use Anchoring to Manipulate Public Opinion
(4) Hindsight Bias
  • What Is Hindsight Bias?
  • How Hindsight Bias is Demonstrated
  • Hindsight Bias, 9-11 and Earthquake Prediction
Introduction to Debiasing Strategies
  • Debiasing Strategies: Overview
  • What is Debiasing?
  • Debiasing the Decision-Maker
  • Debiasing the Environment
Why Businesses Often Resist Debiasing
  • Five Reasons Why Businesses May Resist Debiasing
  • We Have a BLIND SPOT When It Comes to Our Own Biases
Debiasing Strategies that Work
  • The General Problem: Narrow Thinking
  • (1) Consider the Opposite
  • (2) Make People Accountable
  • (3) PREMORTEM Analysis
  • (4) The Value of Checklists
  • (5-1) The Benefits and Risks of Group Decision-Making
  • (5-2) The Debiasing Effects of Diversity
  • (5-3) How to Get the Most Out of Brainstorming
Wrapping Up
  • What's Next?
  • Bonus Lecture: Other Courses I Teach and Services I Offer