5 Cognitive Tendencies That Favor The Powerful
The human mind is really amazing. Not just for what she is able to create and learn, but for the many ways she can deceive herself. In part, this is what makes us incorporate different cognitive biases into our thought processes. Trends that, on the other hand, are often conditioned by those who have or want to have power on their behalf.
Thinking rationally requires effort, preparation, and reliable sources of information. Furthermore, people tend to be guided by sympathies, likes, fears, etc. We often don’t question an idea – especially if it matches what we already think – but we approve or disapprove because we “feel” it’s better that way. This is a clear example of how cognitive tendencies operate.
During political elections and also in the exercise of power, many use these cognitive tendencies to manipulate people’s opinions. They even make people believe that what is good for a minority is good for everyone. Or vice versa. Let’s look at 5 of these control mechanisms below.
Cognitive trends that favor the powerful
1. Karma Bias
This is one of the most destructive cognitive trends, because it leads to great injustices. It consists of a misleading and simplistic interpretation of the principle of action and reaction. It is assumed that one cannot go through something without having done something to make it happen.
In this way, one comes to think that whoever is in a bad situation is because he deserves it. The poor are guilty of their poverty, the victim of aggression, the sick of their pain, etc. While there is no data to support this, we tend biased towards considering that there is “something” behind every person in a bad situation. Furthermore, this trend is favored because it gives us the feeling of being in a more controllable world, so that we can always do something to not end up like other people. That is, this bias has an intrinsic reinforcer built into it that tends to perpetuate it.
2. Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is to give credence only to data that confirms our already established beliefs. In this case, the source of these data is not evaluated, nor is it contrasted with other ideas that are different. It simply adheres to the idea, more or less blindly. This bias also carries an intrinsic reinforcer: it favors, at least in the first instance, cognitive economy.
This applies particularly in situations of election of a political party or a religion. In general, these beliefs are inherited and never questioned. There is no sense of any other posture, and so it is automatically assumed that the belief itself is the true one. Therefore, only the data that ratify it are considered valid.
3. Framing effect
This is one of the cognitive biases that are directly related to the media. It has to do with the tendency to draw different conclusions depending on how we access information or how it is presented to us.
A classic example is the following: “More than 30% do not agree with Paco”. So, instead of saying that about 70% of people share Paco’s ideas, the opposite is emphasized. In this way, a more negative than a positive connotation is given.
4. Illusory correlation
The illusory correlation is the tendency to establish links between two variables, although objectively such an association does not exist. In this way, two realities are associated from little valid elements. Usually the intention is to cover up some situation or build an illusion of truth.
A very common example of this is when structural facts are associated with punctual situations that are not related. For example, let’s say that prosperity began when “x” ruler came to power, without taking into account that at that time an oil field was discovered in the country. The source of progress is not the ruler, but the discovery of the ore. The opposite can also happen.
5. Sunk cost
This is also one of the most damaging cognitive biases, because it is the basis of intolerance. It consists in holding onto ideas as if they were part of ourselves.
That is why we assume that the cost of changing your mind is very high. On the one hand, it involves getting rid of something that we consider “ours”, which makes us see the situation as a loss. On the other hand, it takes a lot of effort. Undoing ideas and understanding new ways of looking at things is a fascinating exercise, but it is often also difficult.
It is very important that we know these cognitive trends in order to detect them and modulate their influence on our train of thought. On the other hand, the best way to do this is to inform us well. This means looking for reliable and neutral sources. Also analyze and properly digest everything that comes from sources that have an interest in your opinion, especially those in power.
