Assignemnt: Decision-Making Bias Videos

This task involves locating a video on Youtube which is credible, easy to understand, and explains one or more of the cognitive biases studied in the course. The video selected for this paper relates to confirmation bias (Big Think, 2015). The video focuses only confirmation bias and does not discuss any of the other cognitive biases.

In this video, Heidi Grant Halvorson, a social psychologist, explains the concept of confirmation bias using very simple words to make the viewer understand the theoretical and practical concept of confirmation bias. The video explains that the first impression an individual makes of someone is extremely important.

Once that impression is made, the other person will continue to perceive the individual as reflected by the first impression. Even if the impression is wrong, the other person will somehow continue to believe the impact left by the first impression and not absorb what he later learns or finds out about the individual. Thus pre-existing beliefs are more important for a person who has a confirmation bias rather than any new information he obtains.

This video has more than 91 thousand views and more than 1000 likes. This reflects the acceptance of the video by the viewers. The speaker in the video, Dr. Heidi Grant, is a Ph.D. in her field and is a well known for her understanding and the ability to deliver on various social topics such as motivation and the science behind it. She has also written a book "No One Understand You And What To Do About It" (Dr. Heidi Grant, 2017).

The credibility of the speaker directly reflects on the credibility of the video. Since the speaker is an accepted and recognized speaker and author, the video can be taken as credible and useful. The information in the video is simple and easy to understand. By giving this video just four minutes, one can easily understand what confirmation bias is.

References

Big Think. (2015, Sept 27). Confirmation Bias: Your Brain is So Judgmental.

Dr. Heidi Grant. (2017). SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST, SPEAKER, & AUTHOR.