Continuing with the series of posts on mental fitness, I wanted to add another topic to prompt parents and teachers about how we can help improve the mental fitness of children, in the same way that there are certain guidelines and general wisdom about how to increase their physical fitness/health.
One sign of a lack of mental fitness in adults is the impact that cognitive biases affect both their logical and reasoning ability, leading to a constant change in their beliefs or an unwillingness to change their beliefs to their own psychological detriment. I have a theory that much of the way we educate our children at an early age contribute to this, and with such a long list of cognitive biases (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias) it is a wonder how we as adults make sound judgments and decisions, and how we teach our children to do so as well.
Of course, many of these cognitive biases may serve a particular purpose that helps us to reinforce behaviours that may be desirable in certain situations, perhaps developed in our ancestors or from other animals (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias_in_animals) , but often they may also lead to some questionable choices or decisions if we simply lean towards those biases without a second thought.
Let's take a look at some of the most common cognitive biases and why they can lead to some less than ideal decisions.
Confirmation bias
the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
This is a common flaw in our thinking, especially when we are searching for information or looking for evidence to support our views, and can quickly create a vicious cycle where incorrect beliefs are reinforced. The best way to reduce confirmation bias is to actively look for information that points to a different interpretation/perspective so that both sides of the argument can be addressed. This will help your child to develop a more tolerant and health attitude to those that hold a different view.
The IKEA effect
an effect in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created regardless of its actual quality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA_effect
It is important to value our work but detrimental to 'fall in love' with it at the cost of not acknowledging or recognizing flaws, which are essential to guide us to improving ourselves and foster life-long learning habits. This is not helped by the fact that modern education programs look upon negative feedback to the students in an unfavorable manner, leading to lost opportunities for constructive criticism and personal growth.
What type of cognitive biases can you spot in the workplace and in the learning environment of your children? It is never too late to start identifying and addressing these biases as part of building your child's mental fitness.
For a full list of cognitive biases:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases