Cognitive biases that creators & writers should look out for

We like to think we make rational decisions about our writing and creating every day, but more often than not, cognitive biases bleed into our decisions and every day actions more often than we are aware.

Writing a headline? You’re more likely to reach for the last headline structure you used, than one that’s best for the content. Or you’ll probably use a headline that’s really worked really well in the past, instead of researching on headlines that works really well for your topic.

Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. Essentially, subjective prejudices that we all carry, either due to lack of or too much information, difficulty in understanding, or not enough time to process information. And these biases affect the quality of our writing, the performance of our copy.

Here’s 5 cognitive biases that creators and writers should look out for:

Status quo bias

Our need for stability and security shapes how we think about our writing style and voice. Status quo bias predisposes us to prefer things to be unchanged because there’s certainty and comfort in that, and any deviation provokes feelings of potential loss and fear. What if I lose followers? What if my audience hate this new style? This bias prevents us from trying out new projects and approaches, and can hold us back from growth.

The availability heuristic

This cognitive bias is our tendency to think that the likelihood of something happening is based on how many past examples you can recall. If a few of your articles, posts or tweets of a certain topic went viral, you’ll start thinking you need to write more of that topic in style. This is the downside of having data analytics for your writing. On one hand you get feedback and metrics. But the downside you might reinforce the availability heuristic, thinking that just because you can recall that this type of writing does well, you should write more.

Confirmation bias

This is our predisposition to only seek out information that validates our existing beliefs, values and ideology. This is especially dangerous bias if you’re say, a reporter or journalist. But it affects even the rest of us who write. Writing reinforces certain thought processes and idea loops, and if you never seek out information that falsifies our own assumptions, then we might never learn and grow from the writing.

Optimism bias

We often overestimate the probability that good things will happen, yet underestimate how likely bad things will impact us. Basically, we tend to be too hopeful for our own good. “Just write every week on your blog and your audience will grow!” That’s well-intentioned but unhelpful advice to aspiring writers, because it couldn’t be further from the truth. It preys on the optimism bias of newcomers, because they don’t know better, that one cannot just write into the void and expect people to find your writings.

Bandwagon effect

Also known as herd mentality. We are mimetic creatures, and are often swayed by social pressure to conform to what’s trending or fashionable, or what’s accepted within our peer group. It’s easy to look at other successful writers and creators and think, I got to be just like them! All this comes at the cost of potentially losing your voice and authenticity in your own work.

What other cognitive biases should a writer or creator watch out for? Which ones did you learn the hard way?