When individuals make decisions, there are often internal and external factors that influence their choices and thought processes. These internal and external factors are known as cognitive biases and social pressures. Cognitive biases are systematic internal errors in thinking that affect judgment, while social pressures are external influences exerted by a group, causing these biases.
The processes that humans go through to reach conclusions and make decisions might seem simple, but in reality, they are highly unstable and complex. Rational choice theory assumes that individuals have full awareness of all external and internal factors, an understanding of all possible information, and have preexisting preferences, allowing them to make choices easily. Many experts disagree with this. According to the PMC article “Decision-Making Processes in Social Contexts,” “Decision-makers have limited time for learning about choice alternatives, limited working memory, and limited computational capabilities.” In reality, there are many more factors that structure the process of decision-making, both internally and externally. Since brains are structured a certain way, individuals often rely on mental shortcuts known as heuristics, which allow information to be processed within the bounds of a person’s cognitive capacity. These mental shortcuts work together, creating a physical process. According to the same article, “Decisions are typically made sequentially, with each stage reducing the set of potential options.” This process involves an awareness set, a consideration set, and ultimately the final decision. This process is not solely internal; however, it is filtered through social factors such as peer pressure or social contexts. Social cues in these environments are able to enable or constrain behavior because they affect an individual’s views on whether something is morally acceptable. This shows how decision-making isn’t something that involves the mind intellectually but is actually a combination of social pressures and cognitive thinking.
Social influence plays a significant role in decision-making through both outside pressures and group membership. Social identity theory explains how individuals are influenced by groups and specifically highlights three psychological processes: social categorization, social comparison, and social identification. Social categorization is when an individual sees people through groups of social identities, like soccer fans or artists; social comparison examines the class and status of individuals in society; and social identification is when people change attributes when involved in a social group. In addition, participants in social groups aim for the protection of status or improvement in status, influencing any actions or choices they might want to portray. Asch Solomon, a Polish American psychologist, studied social pressure and conformity and demonstrated how individuals conform to the majority in groups. In his 1950s Asch Conformity Line Experiment, participants had to match the lengths of the lines on the cards, while some people gave wrong answers. According to the results of the trials, “Over the 12 critical trials, about 75% of participants conformed at least once.” Also, when later interviewed, many participants said that they “did not truly believe the group’s answers were correct” but wanted to fit in. This highlights how individuals prioritize social acceptance and may choose to listen to outside influences when making decisions.
In addition to social influences, cognitive biases play a big role in how individuals mentally process and interpret information and form decisions. Cognitive biases are defined as systematic errors in thinking that occur when people make decisions because of how they process and interpret information. Individuals filter the large amount of information they take in, developing heuristics that allow for these systematic errors to happen because they allow for quick decision-making. There are many different examples of cognitive biases, but important examples include the availability heuristic, attentional bias, and confirmation bias. The availability heuristic is when an individual might focus on information that is most relatably accessible in the moment, which can cause individuals to overestimate the likelihood of events. Attentional bias occurs when an individual focuses on certain pieces of information. Finally, confirmation bias is when individuals take in information that aligns with their preexisting beliefs. These heuristics are examples that show how decisions are mentally processed and are affected by cognitive biases.
The way that information is presented can heavily influence the way that it is processed and ultimately how decisions are made. Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky researched the many ways that information can be presented to influence the outcomes. They developed the Framing Effect Theory, which said that the way situations are presented influences the result, even when those situations are overall identical. For example, one of their experiments was that there were two programs for participants to choose from. In one problem where the outcomes were framed by showing the number of people saved during a hypothetical outbreak of a disease, the idea of risk aversion was shown. According to the article, this is because “the prospect of certainly saving 200 lives is more attractive than a risky prospect of equal expected value, that is, a one-in-three chance of saving 600 lives.” In another problem though, the outcome was framed in terms of lives lost, and the idea of risk-taking was shown. What was learned overall was that, although they were identical situations, “Choices involving gains are often risk averse and choices involving losses are often risk taking.” This is the definition of prospect theory, in which losses are seen as more significant than gains. People are also affected by anchoring bias, which is when judgments and decisions are based on the first piece of information heard. These examples demonstrate how decisions are shaped by the way that information is presented and not only by logical reasoning.
After someone makes a judgment or expresses an opinion, they usually stick to it and try to further defend it. This is attributed to many factors, including the idea of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is an idea that was proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957, explaining the psychological discomfort experienced when people hold contradictory beliefs, values, or behaviors. This psychological discomfort causes individuals to change their conduct, usually by either rationalization or confirmation bias. In addition, research has shown that the discomfort experienced activates parts of the brain, which are essential for emotional and cognitive functioning. This theory shows that after making a decision, individuals continue to internally consider and reinforce those decisions.
The process of making a decision isn’t simple. Instead, it is a complex process, made up of many factors. Many different social pressures and cognitive biases are involved. Understanding this is important as it allows individuals to better understand their own thinking and become more aware of their decision-making process.
