Index IntroductionEffect of the contrast principleNegativity biasOut-group homogeneity effectLoss aversion biasConclusionIntroductionCognitive biases. When you ask the average person to give an example of cognitive biases, they would probably have a hard time piecing together what you're asking them, when in reality we all perform cognitive biases every day. Now, you may be wondering, what are cognitive biases and how do you know I do this every day? Cognitive biases are “a systematic pattern of deviation from the norm or rationality in judgment.” We all experience it, no matter who you are, what you think you believe, or what you think you know. In this article I will explain four cognitive biases and provide examples from my life to show you that this happens to everyone. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Effect of Contrast Principle This principle says that we, as human beings, believe we can judge or evaluate anything without any source of influence or manipulation. However this is not the case. We always have some sort of influence from someone, whether we want to believe it or not. For example, there was this guy who “slid into my message” and was starting a conversation. Nothing bad, but he was very straightforward with his answers and knew what he wanted. I didn't have an opinion about him yet because I didn't think anything of it yet. Then, I kept telling my closest friends about him and had shown them the conversation and they were totally beating this guy up. They said, based on her photo alone, that she wasn't attractive and didn't look like she had her life together at all. After listening to them, I really wanted to object to what they said about him, but then I started thinking the same thing as I formed my opinion about that guy. A few months later, I texted him and apologized for how things went down because I had my friend's influence on what I thought about this guy. Luckily he was very understanding, now we are friends today. Lesson learned from that event: Form your own opinion about people and state how you feel before showing them to your friends, so you can influence their opinion instead. Negativity bias This states that a negative event, saying, day, etc. it has a greater impact on us than something positive happening to us. I believe this to be true because I can remember the many bad days I have had compared to the countless good days I have had. For example, my freshman year, I was involved in a sexual misconduct case, nothing happened to me except the consequences of someone being sexually assaulted. It was a family weekend and my 13 year old cousin was staying with me for the weekend. We wanted to have a nice girls weekend, so we started by going to the pantry to get some snacks she would enjoy. Then, we were going up to my dorm room, which was on the third floor, and we got off the elevator and Jennifer, name changed for protection purposes, was in the hallway crying. You know the quote “no good deed goes unpunished”? Well, that statement is the most accurate statement I have ever heard. Since my little cousin was there, I felt obligated to set a good example for her and ask Jennifer if she was okay. I could smell alcohol on her and she said something bad happened and I asked her what happened, I have to call someone, something to help her. She didn't respond, so I invited her back to my room so I could keep a better eye on her and know where she was when I went to get help. Once I called an RA, I saidexplain to her everything that happened and that the Title IX office could contact me if she needed more information. A few weeks go by and I get an email from someone who works in the Title IX office who wants to set up a meeting to discuss everything that happened. I schedule a meeting, talk to everyone I needed to talk to, and that was the end of it for a while. Then, the week before the dead week of the spring semester, I get an email from an attorney representing the University of Kentucky, but I didn't open until the dead week, I wanted to set up another meeting to talk about all things happened in October 2017. It was April. I was already stressed about final exams, studying and my mother had a bad car accident on her way to work; his vehicle was totaled, he was mostly fine, but I was worried about it and now an official lawyer wants to meet with me? I didn't answer because I was going crazy. Then, about two weeks later, I get another email from the same lawyer, asking me the same question as before. I was at home at the time and then I get another email from a university employee asking when I will be available for a hearing. they were having, and I simply responded by saying I couldn't attend this hearing, hoping that was the end of it. Then, I get another email from the same university employee saying the hearing has been cancelled. I was very upset because the university put me through all that stress to cancel the hearing. Now, you may be wondering, how does this apply to negativity bias theory? Whenever I'm asked "how was your freshman year of college," that event is always the first thing I think of; not making amazing friends, the feeling of being alone for the first time, being happy, or all the other amazing things that have happened. I think of that event that took months to “resolve”. For this reason, I would rank my first year of college lower, even though I had the best time of my life. Out-group homogeneity effect With the out-group homogeneity effect, this is when we categorize people of similar appearance, behavior, etc. in a single group. For example, when people think about Muslims or the Islamic faith, they believe that they are all terrorists just because some bad people, who happen to share one thing in common, commit an act of terror. My stepfather once believed this statement to be more true than false. He grew up in your stereotypical small, predominantly white country town where everyone knew everyone and anyone who looked or acted slightly different from them stuck out like a sore thumb. My family is a blended family, meaning both my mother and stepfather have children from previous relationships and such. My family is literally mixed too. All my brothers and half-sisters are mixed, including me. My mother is black and my father and stepfather are both white, so we have had our share of discrimination and racial acts directed at us. One day, when Donald Trump's presidential campaign came on TV saying "we will make America great again" and other things like not allowing refugees into the country, enacting a "Muslim ban" or "build a wall and we" We will make Mexico pay for it." My stepfather agreed 110% with everything the Trump administration said. It honestly broke my heart because I witnessed what it was like to be discriminated against just because of our appearance. So I asked him “why do you agree with what he says? It can guarantee absolutely NOTHING. He's just an American TV personality and the rest of the world.