Types of Cognitive Bias Every Designer Should Know

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Have you ever wondered why users click one button over another—even when they’re the same? Or why some feedback seems overly positive while other users never engage at all?

The answer often lies not in logic, but in psychology—specifically, in the many types of cognitive bias that shape how we perceive and respond to information.

Cognitive bias are mental shortcuts our brains use to process decisions quickly. While they help us make sense of the world, they often lead us to irrational choices.

For designers, understanding these unconscious patterns can be the key to crafting digital experiences that feel more intuitive, engaging, and human.

In this Design Journal guide, we’ll explore powerful types of cognitive bias, grouped by how they influence decision-making, perception, self-evaluation, and memory.

By understanding them, you’ll not only design smarter—you’ll connect better with the people behind the screens.

Overview of cognitive bias

We all like to think we’re rational beings, making clear-headed choices based on facts. But the reality is, much of our thinking is shaped by unconscious patterns—what psychologists call cognitive bias.

These mental shortcuts help us make fast decisions, especially when we’re overloaded with information. But they don’t always lead us in the right direction. They twist how we see problems, how we react to options, and even how we remember things.

Cognitive biases aren’t flaws—they’re features of how our brain works. They’ve evolved over time to help us survive in a world full of uncertainty and limited time to process everything around us.

For designers, ignoring these biases means ignoring the way people actually think. It’s like designing a road without knowing how people drive.

When you understand the types of cognitive bias at play, you start designing for real behavior, not just ideal scenarios.

There are hundreds of documented biases, but not all are relevant in design. That’s why we’ve narrowed it down to a practical list of cognitive biases that directly influence user experience, behavior, and perception in the digital world.

Understanding them won’t just make your design smarter—it’ll make it feel more human. Because when we design with bias in mind, we build products that connect, guide, and resonate on a deeper level.

Types of cognitive bias

Bias doesn’t wear a name tag. It sneaks into decisions, nudges opinions, and shapes what users see—even before they know it. As designers, we don’t remove bias—we design with it in mind.

Different types of cognitive bias influence different moments. Some sway decisions at the checkout. Others affect how users interpret your layout, content, or even color choices.

This curated list of cognitive biases breaks them into four practical groups—so you can understand where they show up, and how to design smarter because of them.

List of cognitive biases affecting decision-making and judgment

Every click, scroll, or skipped step is shaped by hidden mental shortcuts. These cognitive biases influence how users weigh options, process choices, and make decisions—even when they think they’re being logical.

Great design begins by understanding these invisible forces.

Confirmation bias

People naturally seek out information that supports what they already believe. In UX design, this plays out when users interpret content in ways that align with their expectations—even if it contradicts the actual data.

Imagine a returning user landing on a new dashboard layout. If they’re used to seeing data in a certain way, they’ll instinctively look for familiar patterns—even if a new layout is objectively better.

Confirmation bias also affects designers—especially during user testing, where we may subconsciously interpret feedback in favor of our original design hypothesis.

To combat this, design research must include a wide mix of users and clear, unbiased testing prompts. The goal is to reveal how people actually behave, not how we hope they behave.

Anchoring bias

The first piece of information users see becomes the mental anchor for everything that follows. Anchoring bias can be in form of price, a time estimate, a number of reviews—or even just a loading speed.

Let’s say your pricing page starts at $499. Everything below that now feels like a discount—even if $299 is still expensive. This is why your hero copy, first screen, and CTA hierarchy matter so much. Anchors are often set within the first 5 seconds.

Designers should be intentional about what information appears first, especially in onboarding, product comparison, or conversion flows. One poorly placed anchor can skew how users interpret value.

Availability heuristic

We tend to overestimate things that are easy to remember. If something recent, emotional, or vivid sticks in the mind, it feels more important—even if it’s rare.

Let’s say a user saw one review mentioning a payment error. That single memory might outweigh dozens of positive testimonials.

In UX, this shows why every microinteraction counts: tooltips, empty states, and error messages linger long after the task is done.

To avoid availability heuristic use visual cues, reassuring copy, and consistent feedback to shape what users remember most. Because what they recall will shape what they trust.

Framing effect

The way you present a choice changes how users feel about it—even if the facts don’t change. “Get 20% off” feels more appealing than “Pay 80% today,” even though they’re identical.

In UX writing, framing affects everything from button labels to modal popups to form confirmations. The same outcome can inspire confidence or hesitation based on tone and structure.

Good design uses framing ethically to encourage clarity—not to manipulate. The goal is to guide users toward confident, informed choices—especially in high-stakes moments like checkout or account deletion.

Loss aversion

Users are more motivated to avoid a loss than to gain something of equal value. In design, this means a well-placed “limited offer” or “your spot expires in 10 minutes” notice can trigger action faster than a reward.

But tread carefully—overdoing it can erode trust. The trick is to align your UI scarcity cues with actual value. Loss aversion is powerful, but best used when your product genuinely delivers on what’s at risk of being lost.

Loss aversion bias works especially well in email opt-ins, cart abandonment flows, or retention nudges—anywhere a user has something to lose by leaving.

Sunk cost fallacy

The deeper a user goes into a process, the harder it is for them to back out—even if continuing no longer makes sense. Time, energy, and emotional investment cloud judgment.

In digital products, this shows up in long sign-up flows, multi-step forms, or overly complex onboarding. A user might slog through a bad experience just because they’re halfway through—and then blame themselves instead of the product.

Great UX allows graceful exits and gives users quick wins. Let them skip steps, save progress, or return later. Respecting their effort builds more loyalty than forcing them to finish what no longer serves them.

List of cognitive biases impacting perception and social interaction

Design isn’t just about interfaces—it’s about people. These cognitive biases shape how users perceive others, interpret intentions, and relate to your brand.

Whether it’s trust, empathy, or assumptions, these subtle mental shortcuts influence every social interaction online.

Halo effect

When users like one thing, they assume everything else is great too. A sleek interface or stunning branding can make users believe the product itself is better—even if the experience hasn’t proven that yet.

Think of it this way: a beautifully designed onboarding screen can make users overlook clunky navigation.

That’s the halo effect at work—it colors perception across the whole experience. In UI design, this means your visual hierarchy, typography, and even microinteractions can heavily influence how users feel about functionality.

Actor–observer bias

We judge others by their actions—but ourselves by our intentions. When something goes wrong, users might blame your product, not the context or their own actions.

Say a user clicks the wrong button and ends up frustrated. From their perspective, it’s a UX flaw. From your perspective, it’s user error. This bias affects how support flows, error messaging, and feedback loops are perceived.

Design for empathy. Assume the user believes they’re doing the right thing—and if something breaks, help them recover without blame.

False consensus effect

Users often believe others think the way they do. If they find a feature intuitive, they assume everyone else does too.

False consensus effect bias can lead to design decisions based on a narrow view. It’s why persona development and diverse user testing are critical. Designing from your own perspective—or one vocal user—can alienate the rest of your audience.

Break the bubble. Validate your design with people who don’t think like you.

Optimism bias

People tend to believe that bad outcomes won’t happen to them. This makes users dismiss warnings, skip terms, or ignore important instructions.

For example, users may skip setting up 2FA because they believe they’ll never get hacked. In UX, this bias shows up in security, privacy settings, and checkout flows where risks are involved.

Design nudges that guide users gently—but firmly—toward responsible choices. Use progressive disclosure, smart defaults, and well-timed prompts to protect them from their own optimism.

In-group bias

People naturally prefer those who seem like them—those who look, think, or behave similarly. In UX, this impacts how users perceive communities, testimonials, and even design language.

If users see only one kind of voice or visual identity, they may feel left out. That’s why inclusive design and representative visuals matter. A product that feels like it “belongs” to a specific group risks alienating others.

Design for belonging. Make every user feel seen—regardless of where they’re from or how they interact.

List of cognitive biases related to self-perception and evaluation

Design isn’t just about how users see your product—it’s also about how they see themselves while using it.

These cognitive biases influence confidence, self-awareness, and how users judge their own decisions. Great UX accounts for both the user’s actions and their self-image.

Dunning-kruger effect

Sometimes, users overestimate their understanding. The Dunning-Kruger Effect describes when people with limited knowledge believe they know more than they actually do—because they lack the perspective to recognize gaps.

In UX, this can appear when users skip tooltips or guides, thinking they already “get it.” They might misconfigure settings or ignore important onboarding steps.

As designers, it’s crucial to design with progressive disclosure—giving help without making users feel incompetent.

Smart UX supports confidence while quietly correcting assumptions.

Self-serving bias

When things go well, we take the credit. When they don’t, we blame something else. This self-serving bias is a natural part of human psychology—and it shapes how users respond to digital experiences.

A smooth checkout? “I figured it out fast.” A failed upload? “The app is broken.” This dynamic influences how users rate experiences, write reviews, and submit feedback.

It’s why your error messaging, recovery states, and support flows must be crafted with care.

Design with humility—acknowledge errors gently, and always offer a way forward.

Bias blind spot

Here’s the twist: people believe others are biased—but not themselves. The bias blind spot makes users feel like they see the truth clearly, even when they’re acting on assumption.

This can show up in user feedback, where users deny being influenced by ads or layout decisions—while clearly reacting to them.

For designers, it’s a reminder not to take self-reported data at face value. Behavior speaks louder than opinion.

That’s why observational usability testing is gold. It reveals what users do, not just what they say.

List of cognitive biases affecting memory

Our memories aren’t as reliable as we think. Users don’t just remember what happened—they remember how it felt, what stood out, and how it ended. That has huge implications for product design, onboarding, and support.

Designing for memory means paying attention to emotional touchpoints, end states, and moments of friction. Below are two major memory-based cognitive biases every UX team should know.

Misinformation effect

If users hear inaccurate information—especially after the fact—it can reshape how they remember the original experience. This is the misinformation effect, and it’s common in apps that involve user-generated content, reviews, or fast-moving updates.

Think of a user reading one incorrect comment about a feature being broken. Even if they never experienced it, that idea may stick. This is why clear updates, status messages, and official FAQs are essential—they help manage perception before misinformation spreads.

Design for clarity, and don’t let rumors define your product’s reputation.

Hindsight bias

Once something happens, it feels obvious. Users may look back on a process and think, “I knew that would happen,” even if it surprised them in the moment. This is hindsight bias, and it colors how people reflect on their experiences.

This can affect how users evaluate your product. If something goes wrong, they may assume they should’ve known better—and grow frustrated. But the truth is, poor feedback, vague calls-to-action, or hidden steps likely led them there.

Use clear feedback loops, step-based flows, and visible system status to keep hindsight honest—and helpful.

False memory

Our minds don’t just store memories—they reconstruct them. Users might swear they clicked “Save” or completed a form when they never did. These fabricated memories often form when the UI design implies that something has happened, but no feedback confirms it.

Inconsistent visual cues or missing confirmations confuse users—and their brains fill in the blanks. For example, if your form design doesn’t clearly show submission success, users may assume it was completed and move on. That’s a false memory in action.

Great UX counters this by reinforcing feedback loops: confirmations, animations, and visible state changes that help users trust what actually happened.

Memory decay

The human brain is wired to forget unused information. A user who last logged in six months ago likely won’t remember the navigation pattern, checkout flow, or even their original intent.

Without helpful cues, they feel like they’re starting from scratch—and that friction increases bounce rates.

Thoughtful design anticipates this by using re-onboarding prompts, inline guidance, and contextual tooltips that support returning or long-lapsed users.

It’s not about hand-holding—it’s about respecting how real people actually remember.

Consistency bias

We like to think we’re consistent—even when our memories aren’t. This bias causes users to reshape past experiences to match their current beliefs or feelings.

For example, if someone now dislikes your product due to a recent bug, they might “remember” the whole experience as clunky—even if they previously gave glowing feedback. The emotional state influences memory.

To design against this, build strong emotional peaks and reinforce positive moments, like delightful onboarding, smooth error recovery, and rewarding success states.

These moments form emotional anchors users come back to—even when small hiccups arise.

Peak-end rule

Users don’t remember everything—they remember how your product made them feel, especially during the most intense (peak) moment and at the very end of their experience.

This means that even if 90% of the interaction was smooth, a single moment of friction—like a failed payment or vague confirmation—can define the entire memory. The last impression leaves the deepest impact.

To optimize for memory, focus on the emotional high points (like key feature interactions) and the closing experience (like thank-you pages or final confirmations). These are the moments that shape user loyalty, brand perception, and word-of-mouth.

Recency bias effect

In a sequence, people are more likely to remember the items they saw last. In UX flows, this impacts how users recall tasks in long forms, multi-step checkouts, or onboarding journeys.

If you place less important or overly complex steps at the end, users may finish the flow with a negative impression—even if everything else went smoothly. Design your sequences so that the final few steps feel intuitive, rewarding, and clear.

Use the recency bias effect to highlight benefits, show rewards, or build excitement at the end of a journey. A good last impression increases satisfaction, task completion, and user retention.

Conclusion

Cognitive bias isn’t a bug in the system—it’s part of being human. As designers, understanding these biases isn’t just about empathy; it’s about strategy. Each one—from confirmation bias to the peak-end rule—influences how users think, decide, remember, and engage.

By learning the different types of cognitive bias, we can design experiences that feel intuitive, respectful, and real. We stop designing for the “ideal” user and start designing for actual human behavior. That’s where the magic happens.

This isn’t just a list of cognitive biases to memorize. It’s a lens to view your UX through—one that sharpens over time. Test often, listen deeply, and always design with the brain in mind.

Frequently asked questions

What are the three most common cognitive biases?

Three widely observed cognitive biases are confirmation bias, anchoring bias, and availability heuristic. These often influence decisions in subtle but powerful ways—like sticking to assumptions, relying too heavily on the first piece of information, or making judgments based on what’s most memorable.

What are the three main types of bias?

Biases are generally grouped into cognitive bias, affective bias, and behavioral bias.

• Cognitive bias affects how we process information.
• Affective bias is shaped by emotions.
• Behavioral bias impacts how we act—often unconsciously.
  Designers usually focus on cognitive bias because it shapes user decisions and perception.

What are the two different types of cognitive biases and explain them?

Cognitive biases can be split into two categories:

• Biases affecting judgment and decision-making, like loss aversion or framing effect
• Biases affecting memory and perception, such as false memory or the halo effect
  Both categories shape how users think, remember, and act during digital experiences.

What are the 7 types of bias in English?

The seven common types of bias that influence thinking, decisions, and perception across industries—including design—are:

• Confirmation Bias – Favoring information that supports your existing beliefs.
• Anchoring Bias – Relying too heavily on the first piece of information seen.
• Selection Bias – Using non-representative data or sample groups.
• Observer Bias – Letting expectations shape how you interpret results.
• Cultural Bias – Viewing things strictly through the lens of your own culture.
• Gender Bias – Making assumptions or decisions based on gender.
• Implicit Bias – Unconscious stereotypes that influence choices and behavior.

These biases play a major role in how users interact with products, how research is interpreted, and how decisions are made in UX and beyond.