Understanding Cognitive Biases

Every second, the human brain processes roughly 11 million bits of information and takes countless shortcuts to manage the flood. Those shortcuts, called heuristics, are usually helpful, but cognitive biases occur when the shortcuts become errors of judgment that the brain defends as certainty. In 24 lectures drawn from psychology, history, and social science, Alexander Swan examines specific biases including confirmation bias, anchoring, and the Dunning-Kruger effect, showing how to recognize them in practice and sometimes turn them to advantage.

Swan narrates his own Great Courses lecture series with the confident, accessible delivery of an experienced teacher, making the psychological concepts feel like lived insight rather than academic taxonomy. The lecture format suits audio listening naturally, with each session complete enough to stand alone while building toward a larger picture of how minds systematically mislead themselves. At just under eleven hours, this is an excellent listen for anyone interested in practical applications of cognitive science.