Overview

I’d like you to write about cognitive biases from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

Your paper should have the following three components:

1. First, explain Kahneman’s Dual Process Model: what both Systems are, how they should work, and how they can interact. Think of this as a mini-essay just on the dual-process model.

2. Next, pick one of the many biases we’ve covered in this unit and explain it (e.g. what the mistake is, situations in which it tends to happen, etc). Make sure you clarify what makes it different from other similar biases. And make sure you use the dual-process model to make sense of this bias.

(I chose imposter syndrome as my cognitive bias.)

3. Apply your discussion of your chosen cognitive bias to an area of your own life that you care about. Pick a situation in which you tend to fall prey to this bias, or a particularly memorable example. Explain how exactly the bias worked in this case, and what you should have done instead or could do better next time. And be specific about the behavioral/environmental changes you should make: just ‘being more careful’ or ‘thinking more clearly’ isn’t good enough!

Each of these two components should take close to a page. But you’ll also need a proper introduction and conclusion, so that should push you over 3 pages. If you’ve written less than that, odds are you aren’t going into enough detail, or leaving out important information.

Instructions

Each short paper should be roughly 750-900 words (about 3-4 pages). 12 pt. font, double-spaced.

For this paper, you will need to properly cite your sources (Kahneman for sure, plus the source for whichever bias you pick, and maybe others). I don’t care which citation format you use for these, so long as it’s an accurate citation. If you’re not sure, a simple in-text (Author, xx) format will suffice. Add a short bibliography/work cited at the end.

Rubric

Each response paper is worth 15 pts, which equals 15% of your final grade. I will grade your papers according to the following rubric:

3 pts: Accurately & sufficiently explains Dual Process Model 3 pts: Accurately & sufficiently explains chosen cognitive bias 3 pts: Accurately & sufficiently explains instance of cognitive bias in real life 3 pts: Accurately & sufficiently gives strategy for resisting cognitive bias in real life 2 pt: Makes good use of course reading, and properly cites it

1 pt: Has proper introduction (with good thesis statement!!!!!) and conclusion1

1 A proper paper introduction serves as a brief table of contents for your paper. It should include an explicit thesis statement, something like “In this paper I will argue that ___ because ____” or “I think that ___ because ____”.