Jump to: navigation, search This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate (May 2008) Adaptive bias is the idea that the human brain has evolved to reason adaptively, rather than truthfully or even rationally, and that cognitive bias may have evolved as a mechanism to reduce the overall cost of cognitive errors as opposed to merely reducing the number of cognitive errors, when faced with making a decision under conditions of uncertainty Contents !hide" # $rror %anagement Theory & The 'ostly (nformation )ypothesis * +ee also , -eferences [edit] Error Management Theory .ccording to $rror %anagement Theory, when making decisions under conditions of uncertainty, two kinds of errors need to be taken into account / 0false positives0, ie deciding that a risk or benefit exists when it does not, and 0false negatives0, ie failing to notice a risk or benefit that exists False positives are also commonly called 0Type # errors0, and false negatives are called 0Type & errors0 Where the cost or impact of a type # error is much greater than the cost of a type & error 1eg the water is safe to drink2, it can be worthwhile to bias the decision making system towards making fewer type # errors, ie making it less likely to conclude that a particular situation exists This by definition would also increase the number of type & errors 'onversely, where a false positive is much less costly than a false negative 1blood tests, smoke detectors2, it makes sense to bias the system towards maximising the probability that a particular 1very costly2 situation will be recognised, even if this often leads to the 1relatively un/costly2 event of noticing something that is not actually there This situation is exhibited in modern airport screening // maximi3ing the probably of preventing a high cost terrorist event results in fre4uent, low/cost screening hassles for harmless travelers who represent a minimal threat %artie 5 )aselton and 6avid % 7uss 1&88*2 state that cognitive bias can be expected to have developed in humans for cognitive tasks where: 6ecision making is complicated by a significant signal/detection problem 1ie when there is uncertainty2 The solution to the particular kind of decision making problem has had a recurrent effect on survival and fitness throughout evolutionary history The costs of a 0false positive0 or 0false negative0 error dramatically outweighs the cost of the alternative type of error [edit] The Costly Information ypothesis The costly information hypothesis is used to explore how adaptive biases relate to cultural evolution within the field of dual inheritance theory The focus is on the evolutionary trade/offs in cost between individual learning, 1eg, operant conditioning2 and social learning (f more accurate information that could be ac4uired through individual learning is too costly, evolution may favor learning mechinisms that, in turn, are biased towards less costly, 1though potentially less accurate2, information via social learning [edit] !ee also 5uided variation 9 biased transmission / .daptive biases in dual inheritance theory Psychological adaptation [edit] "eferences )aselton, %5, :ettle, 6 9 .ndrews, PW 1&88;2 The evolution of cognitive bias (n 6 % 7uss 1$d2, Handbook of evolutionary psychology 1pp <&,=<,>2 )oboken: Wiley Full text )aselton, %5 9 7uss, 6% 1&88*2 7iases in +ocial Judgment: 6esign Flaws or 6esign Features? (n J Forgas, @ Williams, 9 7 von )ippel 1$ds2, Responding to the social world: !plicit and e"plicit processes in social #udg!ents and decisions :ew Aork, :A: 'ambridge Full text )enrich, J 9 %c$lreath, - 1&88<2 6ual (nheritance Theory: The evolution of human cultural capacities and cultural evolution (n - 6unbar and B 7arrett, 1$ds2, $"ford Handbook of %volutionary &sychology' 'h *C Dxford: Dxford Eniv Press Full text