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Pattern Recognition Biases

Personalized guidance report

Pattern Recognition biases, a subset of cognitive biases, include Confirmation, Availability Heuristics, Generalization, Frequency Illusion, and Law of the Instrument. Developing an awareness of your biases brings them to the forefront of your thinking and is the first step toward change. Working to overcome your biases will help you improve your decision-making and problem-solving. It will also enhance your relationships and help you treat people fairly.

The following graphic is based on your responses and reveals insights into your tendencies that lead you to recognize patterns and sometimes imagine them even where there are none.

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Hover on any of the graph to get detailed information about each factor.

Click on any of the graph to get detailed information about each factor.

Pattern recognition is one of six groupings of cognitive biases:

Frequency Illusion

We learn or notice something new; we start seeing it everywhere due to selective attention.

Your personal guidance

Your responses indicate that you are free of this bias and can make objective observations. For example, you do not particularly notice an object like yours, even if recently acquired. Similarly, when you read something new, you don’t particularly notice the same information everywhere. This helps you draw valid conclusions from the data you observe around you. The selective attention phenomenon - the brain’s inclination to notice recently acquired information or objects doesn’t impact your observations or decisions.

Understanding others

The Frequency Illusion bias might influence others more or less than you. Understanding other individuals’ bias levels will help promote constructive conversations with them.

 

  • Individuals strongly influenced by this bias may be unable to make objective observations. For example, they notice an object (car/phone/watch/attire, etc.) like theirs, particularly if they recently bought it. Similarly, they tend to notice that they keep coming across information about something they have learned recently. This happens due to selective attention — an inclination of the brain to notice and capture recently acquired information or objects. This bias can make people draw incorrect conclusions based on the frequency of observations. Being aware of this bias will help them develop a more objective view.

  • Individuals moderately influenced by this bias tend to notice objects like those they own, especially those they recently acquired. However, they may not always draw conclusions based on what they observe and give the benefit of the doubt. The selective attention phenomenon —the brain’s inclination to notice and capture information or things we have recently acquired sometimes — but not always — influences your perception of things. Being aware of this bias will help people develop a more objective view.

  • Individuals free of this bias can make objective observations. For example, they do not particularly notice an object like theirs, even if recently acquired. Similarly, when they read something new, they don’t particularly notice the same information everywhere. This helps them draw valid conclusions from the data they observe around them. The selective attention phenomenon - the brain’s inclination and capture recently acquired information or things doesn’t impact their observations or decisions.

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Law of the Instrument

We rely too heavily on a familiar tool, even if we have better options.

Your personal guidance

Your responses indicate that you tend to use an object for its given purpose and find it hard to apply it in other ways. For example, it’s hard to imagine that a paper clip can function as a bookmark, yet sometimes, you can think outside the box. Awareness of this bias will help you apply your learnings from different experiences to solve problems and make decisions.

Understanding others

The Law of the Instrument bias might influence others more or less than you. Understanding other individuals’ bias levels will help promote constructive conversations with them.

 

  • Individuals strongly influenced by this bias find it difficult to use an object for a different use apart from its original purpose. For example, it’s hard for them to imagine that a paper clip can function as a bookmark, and they prefer to use the object for its original purpose. This bias can limit their application of fresh perspectives and application of ideas. Awareness of this bias will help them apply their learnings from different experiences to solve problems and make decisions.

  • Individuals not completely influenced by this bias tend to apply an object for its given purpose and find it hard to apply it to other uses. For example, it’s hard for them to imagine that a paper clip can function as a bookmark. However, sometimes they can think outside the box and overcome a limited view of uses for various objects and ideas.

  • Individuals free of this bias can easily apply fresh perspectives and actions to ideas and objects respectively. For example, they can easily imagine numerous uses of a paper clip than just holding the papers together. They can overcome the limited view/perspective of how to use various objects and ideas and imagine creative applications for them.

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Your Personalized Guidance

We've analyzed your responses to the questionnaire and created personalized guidance for the five biases contributing to your Pattern Recognition Biases.
Read on to learn more!

Confirmation Bias

We favor information confirming our beliefs or attitudes and hold onto first impressions instead of heeding new information about a person or situation.

Your personal guidance

Your responses indicate that you may tend to look for, interpret, support, and recall information that aligns with your beliefs or values. This bias may impact your decision-making, perception of information, and views on social issues. Sometimes you may also be open or skeptical about your long-held beliefs and values. Awareness of this bias will help you regulate your behaviors, understand situations and issues objectively, and respond to situations and issues appropriately.

Understanding others

The Confirmation bias might influence other people more or less than you. Understanding other individuals’ bias levels will help promote constructive conversations between you and others.

 

  • Individuals strongly influenced by this bias tend to look for, interpret, support, and recall information that aligns with their existing beliefs or values. This may lead them to judge others incorrectly at times based on the first impression they made. This may also impact how they make decisions, perceive new information and view social issues. Awareness of this bias will help them regulate their behaviors, understand situations and issues objectively, and respond to situations and issues appropriately.

  • Individuals moderately influenced by this bias may tend to look for, interpret, support, and recall information that aligns with their beliefs or values. This bias may impact how they make decisions, perceive information, and view social issues. However, sometimes they may be open or skeptical about their long-held beliefs and values.

  • Individuals free of this bias and able to overcome the tendency to interpret information that supports their beliefs and values. They can judge a situation or a person objectively and keep an open mind when they hear something that questions their previously held beliefs. To a large extent, they can make decisions, perceive new information and view social issues objectively.

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Availability Heuristics

We rely on immediately or easily available information and regard it as more valuable or believable than less attainable information.

Your personal guidance

Your responses indicate that you are free of this bias and do not assume immediately available data is all you need. You will likely search for missing information to fill in the gaps in available data. Instead of going with what meets the eye, you look for more details to help you evaluate people and situations.

Understanding others

The Availability Heuristics bias might influence others more or less than you. Understanding other individuals’ bias levels will help promote constructive conversations with them.

 

  • Individuals strongly influenced by this bias rely heavily on easily available data and facts and tend not to look elsewhere for information. They will likely accept what meets the eye rather than do further research or data gathering. This bias would impact their perception of facts and data while making a decision. Being aware of this bias will help them regulate their behaviors and mitigate the impact of this bias to help them make better decisions.

  • Individuals moderately influenced by this bias tend to rely on the available data and facts rather than looking elsewhere for more information. However, sometimes they may be open to seeking missing information and more evidence when required.

  • Individuals free of this bias do not assume immediately available data is all they need. They are likely to search for missing information to fill in the gaps in available data. Instead of going with what meets the eye, they look for more details to help them evaluate people and situations.

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Generalization Bias

We often interpret generic statements as if they apply to us personally.

Your personal guidance

Your responses indicate that you tend to draw personal inferences from generic statements. However, you do not always identify with a group based on generic statements. Awareness of this bias will help you better understand how you interpret statements not specifically directed at you.

Understanding others

The Generalization bias might influence others more or less than you. Understanding other individuals’ bias levels will help promote constructive conversations with them.

 

  • Individuals strongly influenced by this bias draw personal inferences from generic statements. They may identify with larger groups they think are very similar to them, even when the similarities are applicable only at a high level. This bias may cause them to identify with people who are not like them. Awareness of this bias will help them better understand how they interpret statements not specifically directed at them.

  • Individuals moderately influenced by this bias tend to draw personal inferences from generic statements. However, they do not always identify with a group based on generic statements. Awareness of this bias will help them better understand how they interpret statements not specifically directed at them.

  • Individuals free of this bias can view and understand generic statements realistically and do not try to attach any personal meaning to generic statements. If a generic assumption were true, they would consider it a coincidence rather than personally significant.

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Talent Transformation has also developed worksheets to help you develop work on your biases to help you improve your decision-making, problem-solving, relationships, and fairness.

Conclusion

Cognitive biases are innate. However, developing an awareness of your biases brings them to the forefront of your thinking and is the first step toward change. Overcoming your biases will help you improve your decision-making and problem-solving. It will also enhance your relationships and help you treat people fairly.

This guidance derives from your responses to the quiz on Pattern Recognition Biases, one of six groupings of cognitive biases:

Action-oriented biases:

Drive us to take action less thoughtfully than we should.

Interest biases:

Arise in the presence of conflicting incentives, including non-monetary and even purely emotional ones.

Pattern recognition biases:

Lead us to recognize patterns and sometimes imagine them even where none exist.

Pattern recognition biases:

Current Quiz
Stability biases:

Create a tendency toward inertia in the presence of uncertainty.

Social biases:

Arise from the preference for harmony over conflict

Self-related biases:

Cause us to judge ourselves differently than we understand and judge others.

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Introduction

Self

Introduction

Self

5 Groupings

Confirmation Bias

Introduction

Availability Heuristics

Introduction

Generalization Bias

Introduction

Frequency Illusion

Introduction

Law of the Instrument

Introduction

Self

Conclusion

Based on your responses we recommend:

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