Thinking TrapsUnderstand the patterns shaping your judgment
Cognitive Bias Categories

Moral, Political, and Workplace Biases

These biases affect ethical judgment, conflict, hiring, evaluation, politics, and organizational life.

01

Moral luck bias

Judging morality by outcomes partly shaped by luck.

02

Moral licensing

Using past good behavior to excuse later poor behavior.

03

Moral outrage bias

Letting outrage become its own reward.

04

Purity bias

Judging by feelings of contamination or disgust.

05

Partisan bias

Evaluating facts differently by political side.

06

Ideological bias

Filtering evidence through a worldview.

07

My-side bias

Favoring arguments that support your side.

08

Identity-protective cognition

Rejecting facts that threaten group identity.

09

Reactive devaluation

Devaluing proposals because they come from an opponent.

10

System justification

Defending current systems because they are familiar.

11

Status quo bias

Preferring existing arrangements.

12

Just-world bias

Assuming outcomes are deserved.

13

Zero-sum bias

Assuming one group's gain must mean another's loss.

14

Outrage bias

Rewarding content or claims that provoke anger.

15

Affinity bias

Favoring people you feel comfortable with.

16

Similarity bias

Favoring people who resemble you.

17

Likeability bias

Letting warmth or charm outweigh relevant criteria.

18

Beauty bias

Attributing positive qualities to attractive people.

19

Age bias

Judging ability by age stereotypes.

20

Gender bias

Judging through gendered expectations.

21

Race bias

Judging through racial assumptions or unequal standards.

22

Name bias

Inferring identity or ability from a name.

23

Confirmation bias in hiring

Looking for evidence that confirms an early impression of a candidate.

24

Contrast bias in evaluation

Rating someone relative to the previous person instead of the standard.

25

Recency bias in performance reviews

Overweighting recent work in long-term evaluation.

26

Leniency bias

Rating too generously.

27

Severity bias

Rating too harshly.

28

Central tendency bias

Avoiding high or low ratings by clustering everyone in the middle.

29

Halo effect

Letting one strength lift the whole evaluation.

30

Horn effect

Letting one flaw lower the whole evaluation.

31

Attribution bias

Misreading causes of behavior or performance.

32

Proximity bias

Favoring people who are physically or visibly closer.

33

Authority bias

Overweighting the view of a senior person.