In order to think effectively, one needs to avoid rules of thumb and short-cuts.
Heuristics for effective thinking:
- Availability heuristics: Recall most vivid memories
- Representiveness heuristics: Judge something with something else it looks like
- Anchoring heuristics: Judge something with its distance from the anchor
Thinking traps:
- Selective perseption
- Contrast effect
- Rationalisation effect
Short cuts:
- Cognitive laziness => Need to gather more information, concrete facts and figures, short-term and long-term consequences.
Biases and Assumptions:
- Consistency bias => Examine your motives regarding the problem
- Confirmation bias => List possible causes of past outcomes. Purposefully focus on contradictory evidence. Seek input from impartial 3rd party
- Hindsight bias
- Attribution biases (self-serving bias, egocentric bias or fundamental attribution error)
Problem Solving Mindsets:
- Apathetic mindset
- Adaptive mindset
- Analitical mindset
Decision making styles:
- Despote
- Judge
- Waffler
- Safety blanket
Obtain a wide range of experiences and maintain a learning log.