Cognitive biases vary from common mild heuristics to rare deliberate distortions

Evidence

In the diagram below, I’ve placed these terms on a spectrum using traditional warning signs as a barometer for the degree of post-truth danger.§ These transition from the more ‘common’ (milder intuitive heuristics such as selective perception, and confirmation bias) to the ‘rare’ (relatively infrequent but more deliberate biases such as motivated reasoning, and belief polarisation) to full alert mode (full-blown ‘conspiracy-level theorizing’). — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 121

Categorization

• DEFINE: Positions confirmation bias as a common mild heuristic versus motivated reasoning and belief polarization as rarer, more deliberate biases — a useful severity taxonomy.