Common cognitive illusions
| COGNITIVE ILLUSION | DEFINITION | RESIDENT EXAMPLE | ATTENDING EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emotionally reasoning | Jumping to incorrect conclusions based on your feelings | I feel like a bad doctor [“therefore” I am a bad doctor] | I feel angry [“therefore” this resident must be up to something] |
| Fortune telling | Presuming to know the future | I just know I’ll never master the brachial plexus | This resident’s destined to raise the world’s malpractice fees |
| Mind reading | Presuming to know what someone else is thinking | I just know my call partner is mad at me [he’s actually just exhausted] | This resident thinks I’m an idiot [she’s actually just intimidated] |
| Overgeneralizing | Overgeneralizing from the facts at hand | I didn’t get the preceptor I wanted—my career is ruined! | I missed that coccidioidomycosis — I belong in Doctor Jail |
| Personalizing | Taking things too personally | That memo was targeted at me! [his charts are actually more current than average] | That resident is very uncooperative [she’s actually worried sick about her mother’s cancer] |
| Polarizing | Seeing things too absolutely (all-or-nothing, black-or-white) | Either I get into ophthalmology or my lifestyle spouse will leave me | This kid’s either gonna be an Osler or a Shipman |
| Shoulding | Excessive self-criticism (sometimes introducing morality when none is warranted) | I should be as sharp after 36 hours on call as after a surfing vacation in Hawaii | I must make all the applause-worthy diagnoses |