Question: What do you think of Alan and Ben?
Alan: intelligent – industrious – impulsive – critical – stubborn – envious
Ben: envious – stubborn – critical – impulsive – industrious – intelligent
Answer: Most people will think more positively about Alan than Ben, even though both men have the same personality traits.
The sequence in which you see the characteristics of a person usually occurs by chance. But the sequence matters. We tend to put more weight on first impressions, sometimes even ignoring new information that might be more important.
Question: Is this a valid argument?
All roses are flowers. Some flowers fade quickly. Therefore some roses fade quickly.
Answer: Most people read this and will quickly agree that this is a valid argument.
But when you think about it a bit more, the argument is flawed. You don’t know if roses are in the group that fades quickly. But it seems like a logical answer, so most will jump to say that this conclusion is true.
These are common cognitive biases.
If you made mistakes, you are not alone.
Most people do exactly the same.
