ORGANISALTIONAL BEHAVIOUR

SELF RELECTIVE PRACTICE

ON COGNITIVE BIASNESS

AJAY GANESH I R
(2013006)
 ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS ON SELF BIASNESS

A thor is ..

Whether we are aware of it or not we all operate on self belief.

It can also be called as fixed action patterns which we set
ourselves and it varies from person to person. If you are not
aware of these biasness then that is called unconscious
biasness. It happens outside of your control. It is triggered by
our brain making quick judgement and assessments of people
or the situation , which is influenced by our background ,
culture environment and personal experiences.
Either it is an conscious or unconscious biasness it is always
better to avoid it. Identifying and eliminating the conscious
biasness by people can be treated immediately and can resolve
it. But unconscious biasness demands more focus and
mindfulness to identify them and also rectify it. Since they are
rooted in stereotype and prejudices there are different
techniques to get out of the unconscious biasness.
Also related note scientific research concludes that here are no
convincing methods for eradicating prejudice entirely, and the
substantial amounts of cash spent on combatting biases are
p obabl a ed , beca e he e no p o en a o make
people un biased. Still there are recommended way to to control
it as long as you are aware and if you want to put an end to your
biasness.
Project summary :-

This project was made after my cognitive and unconscious

biases within myself. I equipped reflective method to encounter
this biases within myself. Once I decided to take on this
reflective practice I referred on internet about the types of
cognitive biases and how to overcome it which stated in
upcoming pages. Most of us like to think that we are capable of
making rational decisions. However, all of us are inclined to
interpret situations in biased ways, often based on our cultural
norms and beliefs. Even the most well-trained intelligence
brain is still a human brain. Biases are normal processes
designed to make decisions quickly. They are unconscious,
automatic and non-controllable and there is no magical solution
to overcome these reflexes. However, knowing their effects,
when and where they apply as well as some key structured
techniques, can help mitigate their negative consequences.
Systematically identifying their effects on your analysis is a
habit that each analyst should possess. All the biases I found
within myself had played a major role in constructing my
personality and I am glad that I identified them. Equieping
mindfulness is the the one of the most effective way to to get
rid of this. It is always advisable to have a act of empathy so
that it is easy for us to identify biases in others so you can act
accordingly. Most of us are capable of self-reflection like this. We
periodically reflect back on an event and how we handled it in
hopes that we learn something from it and make better
decisions in the future. Obviously, we could all benefit from doing
this kind of retrospective self-reflection more often. I making
progress in eliminating thise biases.
COGNITIVE BIASES :-

The human brain is capable of 1016 processes

per second, which makes it far more powerful than any
computer currently in existence. But that doesn't mean our
brains don't have major limitations. The lowly calculator can
do math thousands of times better than we can, and our
memories are often less than useless plus, we're subject to
cognitive biases, those annoying glitches in our thinking that
cause us to make questionable decisions and reach erroneous
conclusions. Here are a dozen of the most common and
pernicious cognitive biases that you need to know about.
Before we start, it's important to distinguish between cognitive
biases and logical fallacies.

A logical fallacy is an error in logical argumentation (e.g. ad

hominem attacks, slippery slopes, circular arguments, appeal to
force, etc.). A cognitive bias, on the other hand, is a genuine
deficiency or limitation in our thinking a flaw in judgment
that arises from errors of memory, social attribution, and
miscalculations (such as statistical errors or a false sense of
probability).

Some social psychologists believe our cognitive biases help us

process information more efficiently, especially in dangerous
situations. Still, they lead us to make grave mistakes. We may
be prone to such errors in judgment, but at least we can be
aware of them. Here are some important ones to keep in mind.
TYPES OF COGNITIVE HUMAN BIASES :-

CONFIRMATION BIAS:-

Confirmation Bias We love to agree with people who agree

with us. It's why we only visit websites that express our
political opinions, and why we mostly hang around people who
hold similar views and tastes. We tend to be put off by
individuals, groups, and news sources that make us feel
uncomfortable or insecure about our views what the
behavioural psychologist B. F. Skinner called cognitive
dissonance. It's this preferential mode of behaviour that leads
to the confirmation bias the often unconscious act of
referencing only those perspectives that fuel our pre-existing
views, while at the same time ignoring or dismissing opinions
no matter how valid that threaten our world view. And
paradoxically, the internet has only made this tendency even
worse.

BANDWAGON EFFECT :-

Though we're often unconscious of it, we love to go with the flow of

the crowd. When the masses start to pick a winner or a favourite, that's
when our individualized brains start to shut down and enter into a kind
of "groupthink" or hivemind mentality. But it doesn't have to be a large
crowd or the whims of an entire nation; it can include small groups,
like a family or even a small group of office co-workers. The
bandwagon effect is what often causes behaviours, social norms, and
memes to propagate among groups of individuals regardless of the
evidence or motives in support. This is why opinion polls are often
maligned, as they can steer the perspectives of individuals accordingly.
INGROUP BIAS:-

Somewhat similar to the confirmation bias is the

ingroup bias, a manifestation of our innate tribalistic tendencies. And
strangely, much of this effect may have to do with oxytocin the so-
called "love molecule." This neurotransmitter, while helping us to forge
tighter bonds with people in our ingroup, performs the exact opposite
function for those on the outside it makes us suspicious, fearful, and
even disdainful of others.

ANCHORING EFFECT:-

Also known as the relativity trap, this is the

tendency we have to compare and contrast only a limited set of items.
It's called the anchoring effect because we tend to fixate on a value or
number that in turn gets compared to everything else. The classic
example is an item at the store that's on sale; we tend to see (and value)
the difference in price, but not the overall price itself. This is why some
restaurant menus feature very expensive entrees, while also including
more (apparently) reasonably priced ones.

OVERCONFIDENCE EFFECT :-

Overconfidence bias is a tendency to hold a false and

mi leading a e men of o kill , in ellec , o alen . In ho , i an
ego i ical belief ha e e be e han we actually are. It can be a
dangerous bias and is very prolific in behavioral finance and capital
markets. We systematically overestimate our knowledge and our ability
to predict.

HALO EFFECT :-
Judging others similarly on all traits, assuming that because someone
is good or bad at one thing they will be equally good or bad at another.
A cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences
how we feel and think about his or her character.
 REFLECTIVE WRITING

So finally I decided to become a less biased version

of myself. My desire on being less biased itself an first step on
the reflective practice. I googled lot of ways to get over
biasness which is inherited within us. Then I found next step I
need to do is to get aware of my unconscious biasness only then
I can find a way to eliminate it.

So as soon as I started my reflective journey , I paid close

attention to my thoughts and my action.

Next I googled for some reflective exercise then I found there

a few set questions to ask myself

They are:-

1. The first time I became aware of differences was when ...

2. As I was growing up, my parent taught me that people who
were different from us were...
3. As I was growing up, my parent taught me that people who
were like us were ...
4. A time I was mistreated because of my own difference was
when ...
5. A time I mistreated someone for being different was when
...
6. I feel most comfortable when I am around people who ...
7. I feel least comfortable when I am around people who ...
So a e ion I a ked m elf a WHAT DO I BELIVE ,
AND WHY DO I BELIEVE THAT?

Once I asked this question to myself I gradually understood that

most of the things I believed was just confirmed by myself just
because it is said by a particular person or about particular
about something without even analysing whether they are true
or not. Most of the time I believed on wrong facts and also tried
to justify that to other people even without interupting about it.
These bias confirmation of information keeps me limited upon
referring further about the information. It also leads me to false
justification of information. To be precise I sometimes I takes
opinions of others as an fact. Most likely to take others opinions
as confirmation fact without even referring to it. Now I realised
this bias of understanding or observing things happened around
me. I really wonder how many false justification I have ever
done without even referring to real facts, felt bit of guilt.
Now all I have to do is try and got rid of this bias as soon as
possible.

So now all I have to do is find a possible way to get rid of this.

I know when this bias is going to happen so I will really be
more aware of processing others opinions and it is always good
to study or do a confirmation by myself before processing
those information to confirmed facts.

Now I am aware of my one unconscious biasness which I may

be performing it for an long period of time but I am already
eager to find my next bias , because even simple understanding
of information can create a great impact in my personality.
I was in search of my other biasness.
Ano he e ion I came ac o o a k o m elf a Ho do
I e pond o o he e e ? .

Once I came across this question I was sure that I am having

some issue with this situation. Then I analysed on my past
responds to others request so that I can rectify or identify my
bias. When I was gradually analysing on my past responds I
was little te ified ha ho bad I a in in elling NO o a
request. Looking back I was working more productive to others
request than my own work , so I was falling further behind in
completion of my own work or tasks to do. Simultaneously this
act keeps me stressed and overwhelmed for not completing my
own tasks. I mean ome ime e en hen I an o a no o
he e e b I ended p a ing e . I a ed o king on
what causing me to do this. Whether am I concerned about their
thought about me or it is for the person who is requesting me. I
was analysing the cause of this. In past I accepted requests for
few reasons like I feel I could complete that work, or to
reciprocate the favour which they did to me, or because of what
they thing about me. When these assumptions goes wrong I
ended p a ing ong e . I eali ed ha he e a e hing
happening in my mind-thoughts, emotions specifically which I
am not aware of. And these inner forces are pushing me
towards the same unhelpful response. So I decided next time I
respond to any request I should put myself first and then
respond to the request.

As week goes it was really good identifying my own bias and

to know how huge impact it has on my overall personality.

The next question I decided to ask myself tha ho a e all m

friends? Am I biased in choosing my friends?
I knew I have some biasness on choosing my friends circle
which inherited with me. I hope many of us have this biasness.
Just like that I get attached with only certain type of people. I
am not able to point out the exact characteristics of my friends
but I knew I am not getting gelled with all people I meet. Yah
none of us get attached to all the people they meet. The problem
with me is I really get attached to very few people with whom
I feel more attached and get opened minded. So I tried to
analyse my existing friends , why am I getting so attached to
them and not others. As I was analysing I found out that most
of my friends are submissive to me but they are dominant by
nature. This is the kind of people I get more attached to. Also
found out that most of my friends are extrovert. I am likely to
get more attached to people of has really very good sense of
humour. I know I so much biased on choosing my friends. I feel
little bad for myself for limiting myself in this diversified
society. I should socialise more to get rid of this bias.

So to get rid of this bias I am planning to socialise myself by

talking to strangers or making call to my old school mates and
college mates with whom I hardly speak.

Then I continued my reflective journal by frequently analysing

my thoughts and behaviours to check whether am I still biased
in any way.

Procrastination if that is an biasness then that is all inherited

me. I always think that I have more time and keep postponding
things. I know I have a good ability to perform things in better
than I usually do but continuous procrastination on completing
task, so result will not be up to the mark. It is like lie myself
ha I go o m ch ime b I don . I ead in a article that these
biases cannot be sorted out by time management . This requires
lots of mindfulness and required to step out of the comfort zone.

These are all the biases I identified within in this reflective

practice and I wrote that as a reflective journal.

CONCLUSION :

At end of this reflective practice I realised these biases are

major factor in portraying who we are in this society. If we are
not aware of it this can get negative and portray an individual
as bad personality. Any way these biases are cognitive we are
not responsible for it but we are the one who is facing the
consequence each time we perform this bias. So it is always
advisable to have reflective practice which is really effective .
It is not that you will be free from every bias right after doing
this reflective practice but you will get aware of each one of
them. Once you are aware of those bias your subconscious
mind will automatically take that into account and notify you
,whenever you perform that bias again. At that point of time
you can stop and change your actions. Gradually you will see
changes in your overall personality. Any way according
scientific research concludes that there are no convincing
methods for eradicating prejudice entirely, and the substantial
amounts of cash spent on combatting biases are probably
a ed , beca e he e no p o en a o make people n
biased. But there are also people who overcome their biasness
so always strive hard to better version yourself.