Biases

Person-positivity bias is the tendency to evaluate an object more favorably the more the object resembles an individual human being. Generally, the more a comparison target resembles a specific person, the more familiar it will be. However, groups of people are considered to be more abstract concepts, which leads to less favorable judgments.With regards to the optimistic bias, when people compare themselves to an average person, whether someone of the same sex or age, the target continues to e viewed as less human and less personified, which will result in less favorable comparisons between the self and others. false-consensus effect or false-consensus bias is a cognitive bias whereby a person tends to overestimate how many people agree with him or her.There is a tendency for people to assume that their own opinions, beliefs, preferences, values and habits are ‘normal' and that others also think the same way that they do. [l] This cognitive bias tends to lead to the perception of a consensus that does not exist, a ‘false consensus'. This false consensus is significant because it increases self-esteem. The need to be â€Å"normal† and fit in with other people is underlined by a desire to conform and be liked by others in a social environment.Counterfactual thinking is a term of psychology that describes the tendency people have to imagine alternatives to reality. Humansare predisposed to think about how things could have turned out differently if only†¦ , and also to imagine what if?. Counterfactuals are conditional propositions, containing an antecedent and a consequence (e. g. , If Matt had run, he would have caught the bus. )