Do Some Cognitive Biases Contaminate Even Our Simplest Mental Mechanisms?

When we implement complex cognitive processes, for example when making decisions, we are subject to cognitive bias. But what about simpler processes, such as those involved in the most basic learning? In a new study analyzing data from all previous research in the field, researchers from Inserm and ENS-PSL show that not only are positivity and confirmation biases present even in the simplest human and animal cognitive processes, but also that incorporating them into learning algorithms would enhance their performance. This research, published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences , suggests that these biases could initially have been a very old evolutionary advantage. Cognitive biases, such as positivity and confirmation biases, are known to influence our beliefs and decisions. Until recently, it was assumed that they were specific to so-called "high-level” cognitive processes, namely those that come into play when we reason about complex and uncertain proposals. For example, it is well known that people overestimate the likelihood of desirable events (France winning the World Cup) and underestimate that of undesirable events (a marriage ending in divorce). In a study published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences , Stefano Palminteri, Inserm researcher at the ENS-PSL/Inserm Laboratory for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience and Maël Lebreton, researcher at the Paris School of Economics, challenge this conception of the involvement of positivity and confirmation biases.