Fooling Ourselves: The psychology of cognitive distortions, biases & fallacies

UPDATES

A. Parking. I asked the cafe about parking and they replied: “There is street parking, which is $1.00 for every hour first half hour is free. Or there is a driveway across the street from us that is open to the public free parking”

B. Discussion questions. The following questions are meant to facilitate our conversation. There's no need to research any of these topics in advance, but feel free to do so if you want! Also, please feel free to bring your own discussion questions.

1. Terminology: what are the similarities and differences between "biases", "cognitive distortions", "logical fallacies", and so on?

2. What are some common cognitive biases and how do they affect our decisions?

3. Most biases can be viewed as mental shortcuts (heuristics) used by the brain to make decisions quickly, under conditions of uncertainty and information overload. Consider how each of the following biases might have evolved to be beneficial in certain circumstances, while being unhelpful or even harmful in others:

* overgeneralization
* ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation
* Dunning Kruger effect
* imposter syndrome
* future discounting (aka, "present bias")
* cognitive ease bias

4. Confirmation bias urges us to find evidence for what we already believe, while discounting evidence that goes against our beliefs. While this might help us to feel "right", it can often lead us further from the "truth". How can a bias that obscures reality be advantageous?

5. To what extent are biases inherent to human nature and to what extent are they learned? What role does our culture, upbringing and education play in shaping our biases?

6. How are our biases exploited to manipulate us? How can we spot these manipulations?

7. How does the use of technology exacerbate or mitigate biases?

8. What strategies can we use to mitigate the impact of biases in our thinking?

9. Consider examples of biases that you’ve personally dealt with and how they've impacted your life. How did you become aware of them? How have you been able to overcome or manage them?

DESCRIPTION

Join us as we delve into the fascinating realm of cognitive distortions and their profound impact on our lives. In this meeting, we'll explore how our minds are prone to cognitive biases, delusions, logical fallacies and other distortions, leading us to make decisions that may not always serve our best interests.

From confirmation bias to the Dunning Kruger effect, we'll discuss the various ways in which our minds deceive themselves and lead us astray. We'll also explore how external influencers, such as marketers and politicians, exploit these biases to manipulate our thoughts and behaviors for their own gain. By shining a light on these tactics, we can empower ourselves to better recognize and resist such manipulations.

We'll discuss real-life examples and examine how these distortions manifest in everyday situations, from personal choices to broader societal dynamics.

Let’s strive to become more aware of our cognitive distortions and learn strategies to mitigate their impact on our lives!