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33 ways thinking goes wrong. Filter by type or search for a name or idea.

33 shown

Logical Fallacy
Ad Hominem
"To the person".
Logical Fallacy
Ad Populum
"To the people".
Cognitive Bias
Anchoring Bias
The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the "anchor") when making decisions.
Logical Fallacy
Appeal to Authority
Using an authority figure's opinion as evidence even when they have no expertise in the relevant field.
Logical Fallacy
Appeal to Emotion
Manipulating emotions to win an argument rather than using valid reasoning.
Cognitive Bias
Availability Heuristic
Overestimating the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind.
Logical Fallacy
Begging the Claim
Presenting a controversial or unproven claim as if it were already established fact.
Logical Fallacy
Burden of Proof
Claiming something is true because it hasn't been proven false.
Cognitive Bias
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information that confirms one's pre-existing beliefs while giving less attention to information that contradicts them.
Cognitive Bias
Dunning-Kruger Effect
When people with low ability in a specific area overestimate their ability, while experts tend to underestimate their abilities.
Logical Fallacy
False Dilemma
Presenting only two options when others exist.
Cognitive Bias
Framing Effect
Drawing different conclusions from the same information when presented differently.
Cognitive Bias
Fundamental Attribution Error
Attributing others' behaviors to their personality or character while attributing our own behaviors to external circumstances.
Logical Fallacy
Genetic Fallacy
Judging something solely on its origin rather than current merit.
Cognitive Bias
Halo Effect
When one positive trait influences our overall impression of a person or thing.
Logical Fallacy
Hasty Generalization
Drawing a conclusion based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence.
Cognitive Bias
Hindsight Bias
The tendency to perceive past events as having been predictable.
Cognitive Bias
Implicit Bias
Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that influence our understanding, actions, and decisions.
Cognitive Bias
In-Group Bias
Favoring members of one's own group over those in other groups.
Logical Fallacy
Moral Equivalence
When someone suggests that two significantly different actions, situations, or behaviors are morally the same or comparable, despite clear differences in scale, context, or severity.
Cognitive Bias
Negativity Bias
Giving more weight to negative experiences or information than positive ones.
Logical Fallacy
No True Scotsman
Redefining a group to exclude counterexamples.
Cognitive Bias
Optimism Bias
Overestimating the likelihood of positive events and underestimating the likelihood of negative events.
Logical Fallacy
Petitio Principii
"Assuming the initial point".
Logical Fallacy
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
"After this, therefore because of this".
Cognitive Bias
Recency Bias
Giving greater importance to more recent information compared to older information.
Logical Fallacy
Red Herring
Introducing an irrelevant topic or issue to divert attention away from the original subject of discussion.
Cognitive Bias
Self-Serving Bias
Attributing successes to our own abilities while blaming failures on external factors.
Logical Fallacy
Slippery Slope
Claiming one small step will inevitably lead to extreme consequences.
Logical Fallacy
Straw Man
Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.
Cognitive Bias
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Continuing a behavior or endeavor due to previously invested resources (time, money, effort) despite new evidence suggesting it's no longer worthwhile.
Cognitive Bias
Survivorship Bias
Focusing on successful examples while overlooking failures, leading to overly optimistic beliefs.
Logical Fallacy
Tu Quoque
"You also".