What is the difference between heuristics and cognitive biases?

To understand biases, you need to grasp the concept of heuristics, which forms the basis of all biases. Heuristics are similar to algorithms but are less accurate, quicker, and easier to use. Imagine trying to pick the winning team for the AFL Grand Final. An algorithm would analyse play styles, previous records, and recent injuries to calculate each team's win probability. In contrast, a heuristic might be as simple as "pick the team that is higher on the ladder." It's a quick and easy rule of thumb that often leads to the right choice. So, when you need to place a bet in a few seconds, picking the higher-ranked team to win isn't a bad idea.

Our brains aren't wired to always seek the truth or rationally think. Its main job is to keep us alive and ensure the survival of our offspring. If believing something false would have helped us survive, our brains are more inclined to accept it.

The human brain operates at a slower pace compared to computers when it comes to processing information. While computers excel at complex algorithms, our brains rely on quick and simple heuristics to make decisions. These heuristics are fast and efficient but may not always provide reliably accurate results.

Have you ever encountered someone who instantly reminded you of a loved one? It's natural to assume they share similar traits, like kindness and trustworthiness. But did you know this snap judgment is known as the "representativeness heuristic"? This heuristic involves making decisions based on how closely something matches our mental model of a concept. So, when trying to gauge someone's trustworthiness, you might subconsciously compare them to your mental examples of trustworthy individuals.

Cognitive biases occur when we use a consistently wrong heuristic. Suppose you ask someone how likely they think it is for a plane to crash. They often overestimate the probability because of how frequently plane crashes are portrayed in the media. Our brains struggle to differentiate between realistic and unlikely events, causing us to perceive them as reasonably likely. However, the actual statistics of plane crashes versus the number of flights show that the probability tends to be much lower than people expect.

Cognitive bias is our brain's go-to method of thinking, using shortcuts that often lead to predictable yet incorrect answers. These biases are like known flaws in our thinking process. Once we recognise these biases, we can take steps to minimise their impact and find ways to overcome them.

TLDR; Heuristics are like mental shortcuts we use to simplify decision-making, while biases are the discrepancies between our rational choices and the choices influenced by these shortcuts.


How do cognitive biases affect UX Design?

UX designers should be mindful of their cognitive biases and how these biases manifest in their work. It could be during the design process, research activities, or stakeholder interaction. These biases can influence how users perceive and engage with our products. Acknowledging and understanding these biases is the first step to minimising the impact biases have on both users and designs, ultimately helping create superior and more gratifying user experiences.

Keep an eye out for these three common biases and try out these strategies to help overcome them:

1. Framing Bias

The framing bias occurs when the way information is presented influences our decisions rather than the information itself. The same information can seem more or less appealing depending on which features are emphasised.

Imagine you're at your local grocery store, trying to choose between two different diet products. One claims to be 95% fat-free, while the other proudly states it contains 5% fat. As a health-conscious consumer, it's natural to lean towards the fat-free option to avoid consuming any unnecessary fat.

In UX Design, understanding the role of framing in decision-making will assist you in making design decisions. It's impossible to eliminate framing, and doing so wouldn't be helpful anyway because we need context to compare options. The key is to recognise your framing so you don't overlook important information without realising it.

Here are three strategies to check whether you are being influenced by framing:

  1. Check if your viewpoint is being influenced by framing by changing your perspective. You can achieve this by flipping success rates to failure rates or approaching a problem from the opposite angle. The idea is to look at the data from a different perspective to ensure that specific information is neither overemphasised nor excluded.

  2. To minimise the impact of framing, take a moment to carefully consider the context and interpretation of the data. Spending sufficient time with the gathered data allows us to uncover valuable insights and patterns that may not be immediately apparent.

  3. Before making a decision, determine if you have gathered enough information to make an informed choice. Sufficient information enables you to clearly understand the problem and start working on a solution.

Source: Scribbr - What is the framing effect?
2. Attentional Bias:

Attentional bias is how our minds naturally focus on certain things and tune out others. We all have limits to how much we can focus on at any given time because of our limited cognitive ability. Ideally, a rational decision would consider all options and examine each individually. But in reality, we often fixate on just one option, leaving the others behind.

In the world of UX design, this bias shapes how people interact with digital products, influencing what grabs their attention and how they make decisions. Designers can utilise attentional bias to steer users in the right direction, like getting them to sign up or purchase. We can achieve this by highlighting specific content or features, using eye-catching colours, being mindful of our visual hierarchy, or cleverly positioning calls to action. But we need to find the sweet spot – bombarding users with too much can overwhelm them and ruin their experience. By understanding attentional bias, designers can design more products and experiences that are user-friendly and intuitive, which is great for users and businesses alike.

Source: Moresapien - Attentional Bias

3. Confirmation Bias:

Evaluating evidence requires time and effort, so our brains often take shortcuts to streamline the process. This can lead us to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs, shielding us from the discomfort of conflicting viewpoints. However, this tendency can negatively impact UX research and design by distorting or disregarding perspectives that differ from our own.

For example, consider that you are conducting a usability test for a client to evaluate their checkout process. You ask, "What issues did you encounter with the checkout process?" This question has a few issues:

  • The negative wording (What issues did you encounter..) insinuates that there were issues and primes the participant to focus on the problems with the process rather than assessing its effectiveness.

  • The focus on the "issues" introduces bias by collecting evidence in favour of the experience of having issues, a bias introduced by the practitioner.

Instead of asking leading questions, use open-ended questions like 'What are your thoughts on the checkout process?' This approach helps to gather unbiased feedback from participants.

Source: chainsawsuit.com

Understanding confirmation bias helps maintain the integrity of UX research and design processes. By consciously recognising and tackling this bias, we can foster a more receptive and impartial mindset, leading to better decision-making, confidence in our research results, and the development of superior products and user experiences.

Conclusion

By leveraging these strategies, businesses can kickstart meaningful conversations and gain insights into their cognitive biases. This understanding is crucial for preventing unintentional influences on user experiences. Armed with the knowledge of cognitive bias, UX designers can craft interfaces that seamlessly align with natural user behaviours, ultimately enhancing the product.

Further Reading:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cognitive-bias-2794963#citation-5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RLfVxTGH4

https://www.beyonduxdesign.com/cognition-catalog/attentional-bias/

About the author

About the author

Bao Nguyen

Senior Designer and Researcher

Bao focuses on design solutions that find the right balance between the user’s needs and business’ goals, while prioritising visual aesthetics. He brings more than five years of experience in visual and user experience design. Bao is a passionate problem solver, creative thinker and enjoys working collaboratively with clients and stakeholders to get to the root of any problem.

Latest posts

Interested to know more? Let’s Talk.

Interested to know more? Let’s Talk.

Interested to know more?
Let’s Talk.