What Were They Thinking?! Cognitive Biases in Human Error and Decision Making

About the Session:

As humans, we are all prone to unconscious biases, whether we recognize them or not. Most of the time, these natural psychological processes help us reduce our cognitive load when coping with the inherent complexity of our world. However, these mental shortcuts can also prevent us from developing an objective and accurate understanding of the circumstances surrounding our decisions. In high-risk environments, these biases can influence judgment, shape our interpretations of events, and contribute to human error.

Whether we are making decisions in the moment, investigating an event after it occurs, or evaluating the actions of others, cognitive biases can subtly affect what we notice, how we interpret information, and the conclusions we reach. Understanding these biases is essential for improving decision quality, strengthening learning, and creating systems that support human performance rather than simply expecting perfect behavior.

This workshop will introduce participants to several of the…