10 Common Cognitive Biases in Romantic Relationships

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Confirmation bias in relationships: Focusing on partner's flaws, ignoring positive aspects. Reinforces negative beliefs

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Confirmation Bias

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: The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize personality traits while underestimating situational factors when explaining someone's behavior.

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Fundamental Attribution Error

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The Halo Effect

The halo effect occurs when a person's positive qualities influence our perception of their other traits, leading to unrealistic expectations and disappointment when a partner inevitably falls short of these expectations.

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The Horns Effect

The horns effect is the opposite of the halo effect. It occurs when negative qualities overshadow positive ones, leading to an overly critical view of a partner.

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Negativity Bias

The negativity bias is the tendency to focus on negative experiences more than positive ones. In romantic relationships, this can lead to partners dwelling on conflicts and setbacks rather than celebrating successes and positive experiences together.

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The sunk cost fallacy occurs when people continue to invest in a decision based on the amount of resources already invested rather than evaluating the current situation objectively. In relationships,

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The Sunk Cost Fallacy

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The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut where people make decisions based on easily accessible information rather than evaluating all available data.

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The Availability Heuristic

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The self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute success to personal effort and failure to external factors. In relationships, this can lead to partners blaming each other for problems while taking credit for successes, creating an environment of resentment and mistrust.

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The Self-Serving Bias

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Anchoring bias refers to the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions. In relationships,

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The Anchoring Bias

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The false consensus effect occurs when people overestimate how much others share their opinions and beliefs. In romantic relationships,

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The False Consensus Effect

10 Best & Worst Personality Traits The Aries Zodiac Sign   

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