Cognitive Biases are mental shortcuts that people usually use to simplify complex information and make decisions quickly. These biases can impact the product/service user experience (UX) and the way how people perceive and interact with the product/service also. And understanding them can help UX designers to create more effective and user-friendly designs.

There are many different types of cognitive biases, but some examples include the confirmation bias, the sunk cost bias, and the availability heuristic.

Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that confirms one’s existing beliefs, while sunk cost bias is the tendency to continue investing time and resources into something because of the effort already put into it.

The availability heuristic is the tendency to base judgments on readily available information, rather than on all the information that might be relevant.

These biases can affect UX design in several ways. For example, confirmation bias can lead people to overlook potential problems with a design because they are focused on finding things that support their existing beliefs about the design.

The sunk cost bias can cause people to persist with a design that is not working well because they have already invested a lot of time and effort into it. And the availability heuristic can cause people to give too much weight to the first piece of information they encounter, leading them to make judgments that are not fully informed.

To counteract these biases, UX designers can use a variety of techniques. One approach is to provide people with more balanced and complete information, which can help them make more informed decisions. For example, a designer might include both positive and negative feedback on a design, rather than just focusing on the positive aspects. This can help users see the design more objectively and make more informed judgments about it.

Another approach is to use tools and techniques that help people think more critically and objectively. For example, a designer might use user testing to gather feedback from a diverse group of users, rather than relying on their own opinions or the opinions of a small group of people. This can help identify potential problems with the design and provide insights into how different users might react to it.

In addition, UX designers can use various methods to reduce the impact of cognitive biases on their designs. For example, they can use design patterns that have been proven to work well and avoid using complex or unfamiliar design elements that might confuse users.

The designers can also use clear and concise language to communicate information and provide users with clear calls to action that make it easy for them to take the desired action.

Overall, understanding and addressing cognitive biases in UX design can help create more effective and user-friendly designs. By providing balanced and complete information, using tools and techniques that encourage critical thinking, and using design patterns that are proven to work well, UX designers can help ensure that their designs are effective and intuitive for a wide range of users.

To continue learning about Cognitive Biases you should read this post “Flashcards to Learn 168 Cognitive Biases” and this one also “Cognitive bias cheat sheet“.