Bias Recognition in Emotional Reactions

Bias vs Belief: Who’s Really in Charge? We make around 35,000 decisions every day. But most of them aren’t logical. They’re emotional. We don’t like to admit that. We say, “I’m a rational thinker.” But all human thinking is emotional especially under pressure. And that’s where risk gets complicated. Because emotions aren’t the enemy. But they do influence how we see risk, trust others, or make trade-offs. Fear can make us overly cautious. Overconfidence can blind us. A good mood makes us underestimate consequences. A bad one exaggerates them. This is emotional bias when feelings quietly distort decisions. Now layer on cognitive bias: – Anchoring to the first idea – Ignoring facts that don’t fit – Overweighting what’s recent or vivid 🧠Then add cognitive dissonance which is the inner conflict when your actions clash with your values. You start justifying poor choices just to feel consistent. Most bad decisions aren’t due to lack of data. They’re due to unchecked thinking traps. 📌So how do you decide better under pressure? Here’s few steps to think about: Step 1: Don’t resist the emotion. Trying to push a feeling away only makes it louder. Your mind doesn’t delete thoughts but multiplies them. Step 2: Pause before acting. Just stop. Give yourself a beat. That small space between stimulus and response is where awareness lives. Step 3: Observe, don’t engage. Let the emotion surface. Name it silently: “This is anxiety.” “This is frustration.” You’re not suppressing but separating. Step 4: Ask the real question. What’s driving this reaction? Is it fear? Ego? Time pressure? A need to be right? Step 5: Re-centre on what matters. Once you name the driver, shift focus back to the goal: What decision supports the outcome not just the emotion? That’s when you move from reaction to intention. From pressure to clarity. If people don’t feel safe, they won’t speak up. They won’t challenge assumptions or call out blind spots. Without psychological safety, teams protect comfort not performance. Yes, it can be hard to gather senior leaders and talk about their biases. But it’s even harder to fix what no one’s willing to name. Because risk doesn’t live in frameworks. It lives in choices. And choices are shaped by minds under pressure. So let me ask: How do you train yourself, or your team, to recognize emotional and cognitive bias in decision-making? Let’s share ideas. We all benefit from the awareness. 👍 React to support 💬 Comment with your experience ♻️ Share this post to help others ➕ Follow me, Fayadh Alenezi, PhD for more insights

It’s easier to blame a person than question our story. It’s easier to be a victim than confront our bias. I get it. I’ve been there too. That sick feeling after a meeting where someone challenges you. The tension that builds when a colleague’s success feels... unfair. The frustration when a project fails — and our first instinct is to say, “It’s because of them.” That’s the sneaky villain at work: Our bias. When we’re hurt, tired, or uncertain, we grab the nearest explanation: 👉 "They don’t respect me." 👉 "They’re selfish." 👉 "They don’t know what they’re doing." 👉 "They had it easier." Bias becomes our shield — and our prison. David Rock’s SEEDS model explains why. We naturally fall into five types of bias: Similarity Bias: "They’re not like me, so I can’t trust them." Expedience Bias: "I’ll trust the fastest answer, even if it’s wrong." Experience Bias: "My view is the only correct view." Distance Bias: "If it’s closer to me, it’s more important." Safety Bias: "It’s better to avoid loss than risk gain." When conflict happens, instead of being curious, we unconsciously default to these stories in our head. Here’s a reframe: ✨ If you feel tension with someone, your first move isn’t to confront them. Your first move is to confront your assumptions about them. Practical Steps: 🔹 Pause. Acknowledge the tension without acting on it yet. 🔹 Identify the SEEDS bias you might be activating. 🔹 Ask yourself: What assumptions am I making about this person? 🔹 Challenge the story: What else could be true? 🔹 Approach with curiosity instead of judgment. Bias isn't a flaw. It’s part of being human. But unexamined bias keeps us stuck as victims. Examined bias gives us back our power. Self-awareness is the bridge between reaction and choice. Choice is where true leadership begins. PS: What’s one assumption you caught yourself making lately — and rewrote?

Cognitive biases often mislead us, particularly under stress, as our minds rely on shortcuts and assumptions that can result in flawed decisions. Recognizing this pattern is critical for leaders, as choices made under pressure can have lasting effects on their teams and organizations. Daniel Kahneman’s research highlights how stress disrupts analytical thinking, pushing us to rely on fast, instinctive reactions that are often influenced by hidden biases. He describes this shift as a move from System 2 thinking—deliberate and logical—to System 1, where gut feelings take the lead. Neuroscience now reinforces this idea, showing that thinking and feeling are not isolated processes; rather, they’re deeply connected pathways in the brain that constantly influence each other. Under stress, the brain’s emotional center, the amygdala, can overpower the prefrontal cortex, which handles logic, triggering instinctive responses. This reaction was once vital for survival but can lead to hasty, biased decisions in modern business contexts. Leaders who understand this can foster calm, deliberate decision-making environments that counteract the brain’s tendency to fall back on bias. Emotions are not barriers to decision-making but provide valuable signals that guide our priorities. Leaders who can interpret these signals use emotions as tools to shape balanced, informed choices rather than ignoring them. By managing stress, involving diverse perspectives, and encouraging thoughtful reflection, leaders mitigate the impact of bias, supporting better decisions. Mindful leaders understand that stress will always be part of the equation, but they can create an atmosphere where it doesn’t dominate. They encourage teams to pause, reflect, and consider both analytical and emotional insights. This approach not only improves decision quality but builds trust and resilience, leading to thoughtful actions aligned with organizational values.

It’s natural to feel ashamed of biased intrusive thoughts. Anu Gupta, Author of Breaking Bias, offers a more productive 5-step internal response… 1) Mindfulness. Start by noticing you’re having intrusive thoughts and what the reaction to the thoughts feels like in your mind and in your body. 2) Stereotype Replacement. Create a new mental model in your head. You’re aware, you’ve noticed the stereotype in your mind, now replace that with a real life example of someone who defies that stereotype. 3) Individuation. Cultivate your curiosity about individuals to help differentiate them from latent group-based stereotypes. 4) Prosocial Behavior.   Practice compassion and loving kindness. This can shift the negative thoughts associated with stereotypes in our heads. 5) Perspective Taking.   Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This can help to cultivate radical empathy.