Bias blind spot
The tendency to see the effect of biases on other people's judgment while seeing ourselves as less biased than average. Learning about biases does not reliably remove it.
In everyday life
After a hiring decision, a manager believes her colleagues were swayed by the candidate's charm, while she judged only on skills.
After reading about how ads manipulate shoppers, you agree completely, confident it happens to other people while your own purchases are purely rational.
Why your mind does this
We see our own intentions, reasons, and circumstances from the inside, while we only see other people's actions from the outside. Trusting our own view helps us act with confidence and stay alert to people who might take advantage of us.
Its family, in 30 seconds: Others' flaws
How to spot it
Notice when you feel sure that others are biased on an issue while you see it clearly.
How to counter it
Ask a colleague to review your reasoning on an important decision and point out where your own interests might have steered it.
Habits that catch it
- Borrow other eyes
Ask someone with different incentives or a different background to find the hole. Your own blind spots are hard to see from the inside.
Same family: Others' flaws
- Bias blind spot
- Naive cynicism
- Naive realism