You make countless decisions on a daily basis, ranging from figuring out how to fix a problem at work to simply deciding on a place to eat.

According to social psychologists, there are a number of cognitive biases that will affect your behavior and can lead you to make decisions with an unfortunate outcome.

Here are the first 10 common biases that can mess up your decision making:

1. Anchoring bias

You are over-reliant on the first information that you get. For example, the first person that makes the first salary offer will establish a range of reasonable possibilities in each person’s mind.

In most cases, other people will tend to agree upon the initial argument being made by the first person.

Generally, it is best to engage with open-ended questions to check if the first information is the best option or if there are better alternatives.

2. Availability heuristic

You tend to overestimate the significance of information that is available to you. For example, after hearing that some of your colleagues have left the company, you might think that you are at risk of being laid-off.

You start to feel worried and it affects your work productivity. While availability heuristic can be a handy tool in certain situations, it is important to keep in mind that it can lead you to make incorrect assessments.

3. Bandwagon effect

Your probability of adopting a belief increases based on the number of people who hold a similar belief.

This is a powerful form of groupthink and there are certain cases where it can be a negative trait in the workplace.

For example, if more than one person slacks while at work, more people will likely follow suit.

4. Blind-spot bias

Being unable to recognise your own cognitive biases in itself. You tend to notice cognitive and motivational biases much more in others than in yourself.

Understanding our own biases is the best outcome to overcome blind-spot bias while familiarising yourself with other people’s biases can also help improve your own understanding.

5. Choice-supportive bias

When you choose something, you tend to feel positive about it, even if that choice has its limitations or setbacks.

For example, you think your project will be successful even if it requires a substantial investment.

If you think you are overly defending an idea just to protect your self-esteem, it is not wise to stick to it, especially if there are inherent flaws being pointed out by others.

6. Clustering illusion

The tendency to look for patterns or estimate a number of small runs, streaks or clusters of data.

For example, if a web analyst took a sample of a one week period to observe network traffic went down then up, he/she might think that a trend can be found when in fact there is none.

7. Confirmation bias

You tend to listen only to information that confirms your preconceptions, one of the many reasons why it’s so hard to have an intelligent conversation about serious topics.

Any information that contradicts your preconceptions is ignored and rejected.

Confirmation bias occurs only when you try to reach a conclusion and shape the evidence either knowingly or unknowingly to fit the situation.

8. Conservation bias

Where you favour prior evidence over new evidence or information that has emerged.

You can be slow to accept a new work policy because you maintain your earlier understanding that the existing policy is still deemed acceptable.

9. Information bias

The tendency to search for information when it does not affect action. Having excess information does not mean it will be better. With less information, people can often make more accurate predictions.

10. Ostrich effect

The tendency to ignore dangerous or negative information by “burying” your head in the sand like an Ostrich.

For example, your colleague may continue to work hard despite your advice to slow down due to his deteriorating health.

Keep your eye out for Part 2 of this article to be published soon.

This article first appeared in Jobstore. First launched in New York, Jobstore is one of the largest job distribution platforms which offers services in over 10 countries.