4. IDENTIFY THE BIASES
THAT CREATE THE STATUS QUO. At the core of thinking wrong
is discovering and overcoming the biases that
seem legitimate and normal but limit what
we can and should do. The limiting effects of
our biases need to be countered by thinking
wrong—to move us away from the status quo
and toward unexpected solutions that bring
our clients closer to their aspirations, not just
to the deliverable.
WHAT WE MEAN BY BIAS, AND SOME KILLER ONES YOU MIGHT RELATE TO.
A bias is an unintentional prejudice, learned and reinforced over time,
that leads us to think and act in predictable patterns. Though we might
not be consciously aware of them, we tend to be good at justifying them when
challenged, based on assumptions and beliefs about how the world works. Biases
often masquerade as common sense. Here’s an unscientificfic sample of biases that
plague designers (and other humans):
| Bias |
Limiting effects for designers
(reinforce the status quo by discouraging exploration) |
| Loss aversion: It’s better to avoid a loss than to realize a gain. |
Fear; reluctance to pursue options even when their rewards might outweigh their risks |
| The mere-exposure effect: What’s familiar to me is probably also familiar to lots of other people, so that makes it preferable to< the unfamiliar. |
Self-satisfaction; the assumption that what you don’t know isn’t worth knowing |
Anchoring: The tendency to rely too heavily on one trait or piece of information when
making a decision. |
Incrementalism; creative solutions tend to be minor variations on established styles/trends; sameness |
| Trait ascription: When they made me they broke the mold, but other people are pretty ordinary and predictable. |
Conceit; you patronize your audience |
| The in-group bias: I give special treatment and consideration to anyone I perceive to be a member of my own group. |
Clubbiness; you put down your competitors and patronize your clients and their customers |
None of these apply to you? Maybe you suffer from “bias blind spot”—the tendency
not to compensate for one’s own cognitive biases.
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