Cognitive biases are errors in reasoning, evaluating, remembering, often occurring as a result of holding onto one’s preferences and beliefs regardless of contrary information. According to some social psychologists, cognitive biases can make us process information faster, especially during dangerous circumstances. However, they also can lead us to make consequential mistakes.
In UX research, biases can skew the findings and ultimately affect the decision making of a project at any stage. Cognitive bias can also affect both researchers and participants, so it is important for the researcher to be aware and familiar with these biases in order for them to conduct screening, usability testing and synthesizing more carefully.
According to Ruth Ellison, the following are some common cognitive biases that are important for researchers to be aware of when they are carrying out their tasks.
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.
During research, we tend to unconsciously filter out feedback from users that does not help in supporting our assumptions.
How to avoid Confirmation Bias during research process?
The phenomenon of groupthink is closely related with the Bandwagon Effect. People working in a group tend to maintain harmony between members of the group. To attain harmony, the members may agree upon a decision that deviates from the correct decision. Thus, for the sake of avoiding conflict, members agree upon a point without critical evaluation.
How to avoid Groupthink effect during research process?
During decision making, anchoring occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgments. Once an anchor is set, other judgments are made by adjusting away from that anchor, and there is a bias toward interpreting other information around the anchor. A/B Testing.
Anchoring bias is the human tendency to “rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions”. In short, we tend to prefer the first thing we are shown when asked to make a decision, such as choose between a set of available options.
How to avoid Anchoring bias during research process?
This bias occurs when the researcher decides which type individuals or the number of individuals to participate in the study. Because the selection of participants isn’t random, as the result, the validity of the studies may be undermined.
How to avoid it during research process?
Clustering Illusion occurs when we tend to look for patterns in a pool of random data. In other words, we are ‘pattern machines’ and we recognise people and things from their overall pattern rather than the bigger picture. Reporting bias occurs when the direction or statistical significance of results influences whether and how research is being reported.
How to avoid it during research process?
The observer-expectancy effect (also called the observer effect) is a form of reactivity in which a researcher’s cognitive bias causes them to subconsciously influence the participants of a study. Quiet often, Observer Effect occurs during the Usability Testing session where the researcher subconsciously make ‘sigh’ sounds or shook their heads when participants were performing their tasks.
How to avoid it during research process?
Thanks again to Ruth Ellison for her interesting talk at the UXSG 2016 Conference. Here is the recap of the biases that I learned, I am aware that are more which you can always Google them up.
This post was originally published on Sep 27, 2016, on my Medium blog.