5 'Caveman Thinking' Biases That Could Hold You Back

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David McRaney, author of “You Are Now Less Dumb,” has studied and written extensively about cognitive biases and calls them ”predictable patterns of thought that we unconsciously fall back on in the best of situations to help us to navigate complicated, nuanced decisions and conclusions.” McRaney believes they’re probably built into the brain to avoid contemplation that our ancestors couldn’t afford. Find out if these “caveman” biases are holding you back from a fitter, healthier you.

1. Choice Supportive Bias
This is the tendency to credit positive occurrences to a single option. Say you join a gym, cut out processed foods and get more sleep. Months later, you might attribute your success to what took the most effort, such as daily gym visits, letting all the other positive changes go. Keep an eye on ALL the changes you make. Changing your diet might seem easier than going to the gym, but it’s just as important, and sometimes more essential, to your results.

Related: What Really Happens When You Drink

2. Anchoring
With this tendency, you over-rely on one piece of information. Food manufacturers sometimes manipulate consumers with anchoring. By slapping the words “low fat” on a label, the healthy association has been planted in your mind. The product may not be healthy, but the words “low fat” make a positive first impression, and now it’s up to you to disprove the claim, which can be difficult to do on the spot.

3. Confirmation Bias
This is the tendency to prove your assumptions are correct by looking for confirmation of preconceived notions instead of testing those assumptions. This bias determines what most people read, watch and buy. How can confirmation bias affect health? It limits one’s exposure to potentially healthy lifestyles. A vegetarian who is struggling might find success on a different diet, but only if they seek new and different information.

Related: 11 Myths About the Vegan Diet, Debunked

4. Unit Bias
This is the sense that a particular portion of food is acceptable. The term was coined by Penn State researchers who discovered that portion size influenced how much people ate, using soda as an example. A 24-ounce bottle of soda is viewed by the brain as a single serving, even though it technically contains at least two. The obvious remedy: smaller portion sizes can help one create a new normal.

Related: 10 Ways to Make Fast Food Healthier

5. Availability Cascade
This happens when an insight seems to explain a complex process simply, and the insight becomes popular because of its simplicity. For example, consider “fat is bad for your heart.” This was circulated in the 1980s, but health experts have since discovered that certain types of fat are good for health, while fats that were once thought harmful don’t pose as grave a risk as foods such as processed carbs. But “fat is bad for your heart” sounds intuitive, whereas “bread is bad for your heart” does not.

Are these “caveman” biases holding you back? Check out the full list of biases here.

By Joe Donatelli

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