Top 10 Cognitive Biases in Product Design
A cognitive bias is an error in thinking that affects judgments and decision-making. By being aware of the biases, we can mitigate their impact and make more rational, objective decisions.
Here are the top 10 most common cognitive biases in product design:
Confirmation bias
The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports your point of view or values. It leads to a lack of objectivity in decision-making.
Anchoring bias
The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the “anchor”) when making decisions. For example, initial user research can set an anchor for product design strategy.
False consensus effect
The tendency to assume that your own attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs are more widely shared by others than they actually are. (“Other people think like me”).
Bandwagon effect
The tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. This is related to groupthink and herd behavior. ( “This design is great because my team thinks it’s great.”)
Availability heuristic
A bias where people overestimate the importance of information that is available to them. A person might argue that doing user research is unimportant because they know someone who could release a commercially successful product without doing research.
Dunning-Kruger effect
Individuals with average skills overestimate their ability. It’s the phenomenon where the least competent people often believe they’re the best.
Overconfidence bias
The tendency for someone to be overly confident in their own abilities, such as marketing, prototyping, or coding, than is objectively reasonable. Overconfidence can lead to underestimation of potential risks and neglect of potential problems.
Framing effect
People react differently to a particular choice or decision depending on how it is presented or “framed.” This effect shows how the same information can lead to different conclusions or actions, based purely on the context in which it is presented.
Sunk cost fallacy
This bias refers to the phenomenon where a product creator is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it’s clear that abandonment would be more beneficial. (“This product is my baby.”)
Self-serving bias
The tendency to attribute positive events to your own character but attribute negative events to external factors. It’s common in the case of a team win versus loss. (“We released a successful product because I was in charge of design” vs. “We failed to release a successful product because our team doesn’t understand what good design is”).
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