Bias Cards Full Deck Web Version

q PLANNING w OBSERVING e DESIGNING
BIAS CARDS
www.sitback.com.au
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Putting people at the centre of
everything we do
We believe that everyone deserves

exceptional experiences.
Whether your customers are consumers,

companies, students, citizens or staff, we
exist to ensure your organisation provides the
best possible experience, resulting in satisfied
customers and a successful business.
As the trusted partner for organisations

dedicated to putting the customer first,
we take a holistic approach to Human
Centred Design and provide market-leading
Experience Design Consultancy from
registered Psychologists and HCI experts,
alongside specialist Software Development,
Website Support and Training services.
The Sitback Experience Design Team have
produced this collection of Bias Cards,
summarising 25 common biases that
researchers, designers and participants may
hold unconsciously.
They are colour coded according to five

categories:
► First impression
► Influencing decision-making
► Remembering
► Reacting
► Predicting
On each card we explain what the bias is and

provide suggestions on how to mitigate.
Regularly reviewing these cards reminds us to

pay attention to the biases we may have and
react strategically to alleviate them.
e DESIGNING
q q PLANNING
w OBSERVING
CONFIRMATO
RY BIAS
wCONFIRMATORY What is it?

Paying particular
t
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attention to, or
mation that conf
r Bias) the researche irms
(Experimente information that
r’s hypothesis,
over
does not supp
ort it.
What can we
do about it?
e Be impartial and
and if possible
open to new ideas
,
y
use
researchers who participants and
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Researcher research ques the
Participant tions.
When gathering
information and
designing scrip
ts, use open-end
questions and ed
standardised
tools.
KING
r INFLUENCING
DECISION MA
q Project phase where the bias appears
w Name of the bias
e Group who hold the bias
r Category of the bias
t Definition of the bias
y Strategy to mitigate the bias

PROJECTION BIAS
Participant Researcher
FIRST IMPRESSION
PROJECTION BIAS
What is it?
1) When observers see their own
values and attitudes in the participant
and therefore wrongly interpret their
behaviour.
2) When people assume that their

beliefs and preferences are going to stay
the same in the future.
What can we do about it?

Use multiple observers and standardised
observation sheets. Ask participants
to be specific in their responses and
remind them that people respond
differently. Also ensure that you choose
a wide variety of people as participants.
MERE EXPOSURE
EFFECT
FIRST IMPRESSION
MERE EXPOSURE EFFECT
What is it?
Phenomenon where we have a
preference for something, simply
because we are familiar with it.

During usability testing rotate the
presentation of designs between
participants to avoid any carryover
effect and let them complete tasks using
the interface rather than just asking
about first-impressions. Designers may
use this as an advantage to familiarise
users with a new interface.
HALO EFFECT
(Aesthetic Usability Effect)
FIRST IMPRESSION
HALO EFFECT
What is it?
The Halo effect occurs when an overall
impression of something (e.g. a person
or website) influences the impression
of certain attributes of what is being
evaluated.

Don’t let first impressions take over,
ask participants to elaborate when
they make statements about liking or
disliking a site. When evaluating a site
or product, triangulate data – consider
more than one source of information.
PRIMING
FIRST IMPRESSION
PRIMING
What is it?
When exposure to a stimulus influences
the response to the same or a similar
stimulus. For example, seeing a picture
of a dog and then being asked to
name an animal is likely to result in the
response “dog”.

Use open-ended questions and allow
participants to explore a product
more freely, rather than directing their
attention to specific features or to one
specific aspect.
ANCHORING
EFFECT
INFLUENCING DECISION MAKING

ANCHORING EFFECT
What is it?
Relying too heavily on a reference
or ‘anchor’ (usually the first piece of
information offered) when making
decisions.

Use open questions during sessions to
avoid giving the participants an anchor.
After sessions consult detailed records
so that interpretations can be made
using a “fresh set of eyes”.
OBSERVER BIAS

OBSERVER BIAS
What is it?
When observations are influenced
by the observer’s values, attitudes,
mood and other factors. Different to
confirmatory bias in that it refers to
general views and traits of the observer.

Use standardised reporting tools,
clearly define what behaviour is being
observed. In addition, have several
observers and conduct observer-training
to help reduce this bias.
DECOY EFFECT
(Asymmetric Dominance Effect)

DECOY EFFECT
What is it?
The effect when a choice between
products (usually 3) includes one option
that is usually of lower quality but more
expensive than the two other options
(decoy) and is only introduced to
distract from the cheapest option.

Be aware of this comparison effect.
Decide if the business has a priority
to sell a certain product and ensure
when arranging content that it does not
accidentally become a decoy product.
CONFIRMATORY
BIAS
(Experimenter Bias)

CONFIRMATORY BIAS
What is it?
Paying particular attention to, or
selecting information that confirms
the researcher’s hypothesis, over
information that does not support it.

Be impartial and open to new ideas,
and if possible use participants and
researchers who are unaware of the
research questions.
When gathering information and

designing scripts, use open-ended
questions and standardised tools.
ACQUIESCENCE
BIAS
(Response Bias)

ACQUIESCENCE BIAS
What is it?
People are more likely to agree to a
question than to disagree.

Avoid asking forced choice questions as
it may lead to a distinct pattern towards
one outcome, usually agreeing. Instead,
use neutral questions or alternatively,
phrase half the questions in a positive
way and the other half in a negative way.
GROUP THINK

GROUP THINK
What is it?
Occurs when the desire for harmony
results in a group trying to reach
consensus without critically evaluating
alternative viewpoints.

In a research setting, group sessions
should be made up of a variety of
members and individual members
should be encouraged to contribute to
a discussion. In settings such as focus
groups, gather a variety of different
opinions and probe for alternative ideas.
FRAMING EFFECT

FRAMING EFFECT
What is it?
People will make decisions differently
depending on the language that is used
to present the options.

When testing and conceptualising
research questions, think about why
certain responses are chosen and ask
open ended questions that don’t require
a forced choice but lets the participant
come up with a solution.
FREQUENCY
ILLUSION
(Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon)
REMEMBERING
FREQUENCY ILLUSION
What is it?
When something that has recently
come to one’s attention is suddenly seen
everywhere.

Use open-ended questions and allow
participants to explore a product more
freely rather than possibly drawing their
attention to specific features.
AVAILABILITY
CASCADE
REMEMBERING
AVAILABILITY CASCADE
What is it?
Whereby beliefs increase in plausibility
the more they are repeated. In other
words, repeating something long
enough until it becomes true.

Think critically, and gather insight from a
wide variety of individuals when relying
on input from users on a certain aspect.
Ask probing questions after global
statements including words such as: all,
always, never, none, etc.
GOOGLE EFFECT
REMEMBERING
GOOGLE EFFECT
What is it?
Tendency where people tend to think
about where they can access the
information when asked a difficult
question rather than think about the
answer itself.

From a design perspective it will be more
important to let users rely as little as
possible on recalling information from
memory as this may risk driving users
away from a site to a search engine.
CHOICE
SUPPORTIVE BIAS
REMEMBERING
CHOICE SUPPORTIVE BIAS
What is it?
When deciding between different
options, people tend to remember more
positive characteristics of their chosen
option and more negative characteristics
of the one not chosen.

Ask participants to consider the
positives and negatives of their choices
and let them explain the rationale for
their decision. As a researcher ensure to
document your choices well so that you
can reference them at a later stage.
RECALL BIAS
REMEMBERING
RECALL BIAS
What is it?
The way we recall events may be
influenced by our own history (e.g. if
we were not feeling well on the day, we
might remember something as being bad).

Report/recall things immediately
after they happen. For example, in
usability testing, talk aloud rather than
remembering it later; in diary studies
have participants record events straight
away. Use data triangulation as well.
PEAK-END RULE
REMEMBERING
PEAK-END RULE
What is it?
We tend to highlight and weigh two
moments when recalling an experience:
the most intense moment, that is the
peak, and the end.

Record ongoing ratings rather than
global ratings, keep your mind focused
on the objective during intense
moments. Rotate tasks to get a fresh
perspective.
SEMMELWEIS
REFLEX
REACTING
SEMMELWEIS REFLEX
What is it?
The tendency to reject new information
when it contradicts current norms and
beliefs.

There is no solid scientific evidence for
this effect, but worth considering when
conducting research that touches on
subjects which participants may hold
strong beliefs about.
REACTANCE
REACTING
REACTANCE
What is it?
A person’s attempt to restore their
freedom when it is threatened to be
restricted. For example, a person’s
increased interest in products that have
been labelled with warning messages.

To avoid participant frustration, set out
expectations during usability sessions
and ask them to talk aloud about their
natural steps. As a researcher, if there
is a project with a lot of limitations, be
aware of this natural reaction and keep
an objective and problem focused view.
REACTIVE
DEVALUATION
REACTING
REACTIVE DEVALUATION
What is it?
This bias is found when an idea put
forward by an “opposing” (or other) side
is devalued simply because it came from
the other side.

Fostering a culture that encourages
working collaboratively with the client
will help mitigate this bias. However, as
these biases can occur unconsciously
it can be good to verify objections by
lettng the person explain their response
to uncover unjustified objections.
HAWTHORNE
EFFECT
REACTING
HAWTHORNE EFFECT
What is it?
When a person increases their effort
under observation in order to appear
more skilled.

Remind participants that the product
is being tested, not them. If possible,
record notes in a subtle manner and
create a more relaxed atmosphere rather
than a formal observation.
GAMBLERS
FALLACY
PREDICTING
GAMBLERS FALLACY
What is it?
The belief that the frequency of
something happening now impacts how
frequently it will happen in the future.

Remind yourself (and participants) that
certain events occur independently
and to be aware when participants may
unconsciously use this fallacy when
interacting with a design.
LOSS AVERSION
PREDICTING
LOSS AVERSION
What is it?
People tend to be more concerned
about potential losses than future gains.

When designing questionnaires make
sure you have a mix of loss and gain
questions. When designing interview
scripts or creating wireframes it is good
to be aware of this and to focus on the
core objectives of the task to determine
what is really relevant.
POSITIVE
ILLUSIONS
PREDICTING
POSITIVE ILLUSIONS
What is it?
People are bad at predicting their
behaviour. When asked about future
behaviour, participants often inflate
their abilities in a positive manner.

Observe participants whilst they’re
completing a task rather than asking
how they might do something in
the future. If this is not possible ask
participants about their past behaviour
using a specific time frame and use this
as an approximation for their future
behaviour.
TASK SELECTION
BIAS
PREDICTING
TASK SELECTION BIAS
What is it?
Believing that a task or action can be
completed simply because one is told
to do a task. For example, in usability
testing, if participants are asked to buy
a product online, they will assume that
this can be done.

Be open with the participant in the
beginning of the session that they
should try to behave as they usually
would and that they are free to end a
task whenever they feel like it.

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q PLANNING w OBSERVING e DESIGNING

We believe that everyone deserves

Whether your customers are consumers,

As the trusted partner for organisations

They are colour coded according to five

On each card we explain what the bias is and

Regularly reviewing these cards reminds us to

wCONFIRMATORY What is it?

q Project phase where the bias appears

w Name of the bias

e Group who hold the bias

r Category of the bias

t Definition of the bias

y Strategy to mitigate the bias

2) When people assume that their

What can we do about it?

What can we do about it?

What can we do about it?

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INFLUENCING DECISION MAKING

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When gathering information and

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