Rational Roundup #4 – Anchoring News

When we created this publication format, our aim was to launch a medium where our members get updated on recent developments in behavioral science. Our Roundups will now be celebrating a comeback for a while. Continuing in the spirit of previous publications, the aim is to provide you with a number of interesting topics too…

#30in30 – When you see it, it will chase you “Catch me if you can.”

(Reading time: 3 min read)

The 30 in 30 Briefing Series focuses on a new cognitive bias, fallacy or heuristic in every single publication. Through this Briefing we want to provide you with a rough overview of the cognitive phenomena most likely to occur in the legal profession. Today’s content: Frequency illusion, or also known as Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.

It has to be understood in conjunction with the Confirmation Bias: A combination of both has ample potential to turn out harmful for legal research.

#30in30 – What you see is what you get

(Reading time: 2 min read)

The context Effect relates to how our brain processes the information we perceive in our environment. It describes how when we are confronted with environmental influences we often include them subliminally in our decision making.

Applied to the process of jurisdiction the Context Effect affects juries and judges because in each of them the finder of the…

Get Accuracy by Leaving Your Comfort Zone

(Reading time: 3 min read)

The confirmation bias is one of the most common biases in our everyday life. Like other biases it hinders us to make conclusions on a rational basis and therefore can lead to poor or faulty choices.

Where do your beliefs and opinions come from? Most people like to think that their beliefs are the result of experience and objective analysis of the information they have available. However, the reality might be different.