Cognitive biases in technical communication

Rentention

Users are often confronted with a variety of information, both helpful and unhelpful. Sometimes, they might retain too much or even the wrong information. This is the principle of retention. When a user reads a manual, the user may accept the amount of information they receive. Perhaps the information seems useful, visually interesting, or delivers overwhelming details. The user might then become overwhelmed and no longer able to distinguish what is helpful and what is not. The result is that they could be distracted and misled.

People also tend to base their judgments heavily on the first piece of information they receive or the outcome of a situation. This "anchor" information is seen as particularly important and is usually remembered – even if it is unimportant. Subsequently, helpful information may be randomly linked with less helpful information and thus anchored. People also tend to judge an event solely on the basis of its outcome, rather than considering the whole process or events that led to that outcome. If an outcome has been successfully achieved, one tends to judge the process of getting there as correct, without taking into account those steps that may have been flawed.

Focus and availability

Users often focus their attention on particularly conspicuous or central information and overlook other important details – this is called the focus principle. They are attracted to eye-catching information, which can distract them from other, possibly more important, information. The focus is then not on the most productive information, leading to a cognitive bias.

Users also tend to make judgments based on the information that is most easily retrievable – something we call the availability bias. This can occur, for example, when searching the internet if unimportant or even incorrect information is found quickly. In the context of technical communication, this could mean that a user of a product or software tends to favor the features or information they use more often or that are easily accessible in the documentation. Features that are rarely needed or not prominently displayed in the documentation may be perceived as less important or useful, even if they could be crucial for the successful use of the product.

In technical communication, writers might recall similar situations or use existing patterns they know and that are available, but that do not explain the problem at hand. Users might misunderstand certain intentions based on memory because they deviate from the conventions they are familiar with.

Association and compatibility

People tend to associate information or link it to previous experiences that are precisely or metaphorically compatible. This gives rise to the association principle and the compatibility principle. It refers to our tendency to look for coherent patterns and relationships in information in order to understand why something is happening. There is a danger that information is incorrectly placed to suggest a context or causal relationship. In addition, the users' prior knowledge or experience influences their interaction with the product, and they might ignore new information in the user manual.

Prospect and relatedness

The prospect principle refers to how we plan future actions based on these assessments of gains and losses. Many of us are so focused on avoiding losses that we often prefer the status quo, even when alternatives are potentially better.

The last principle of relatedness states that nowadays our decisions are increasingly influenced by the behavior of others as conveyed to us by mass and social media. Users are susceptible to the influence of their social environment. In the field of technical communication, this could mean that users allow themselves to be influenced by the opinions of others in forums or social media and thus rate certain product features or instructions as good or bad without having formed an informed opinion themselves. If, for example, the prevailing opinion in a community is that a particular function is useless or difficult to understand, new users could adopt this view even though the function may be explained simply and clearly in the technical documentation.

Avoiding cognitive biases

To avoid cognitive biases in technical communication, information designers and technical writers should ask themselves a series of questions that helps them to consciously reflect on their designs and recognize possible errors in users' thinking. Above all, they need to think about how they can achieve the desired result.

Knowledge of the target group is crucial here. It is important to understand the user's mental schemata and vocabulary. Possible cognitive biases could be addressed by asking the following questions:

• What prior knowledge does the user likely have on this topic?
• What events or images come to the user's mind as possibly related?
• What elements might trigger the user's associations?
• What preconceived experiences does the user have on this topic?

The design of the information is crucial:

• How does the information design direct the user's focus?
• Is the information complete?
• Has information or data sources been eliminated voluntarily, involuntarily, intentionally or accidentally?

To identify areas and variables that may have been overlooked, think beyond the available information and data sources:

• What information needs to be included to fully consider the context?
• How can we avoid incorrectly correlating different pieces of information or interpreting them as causal relationships?
• What visual strategies are best suited to enable the user to recognize real risks?

It is particularly important to pay attention to the anchor point:

• Is the user fixated on a specific point?
• Are they zooming in on something that is essentially irrelevant?

Techniques to reduce cognitive distortions

The following techniques help to reduce cognitive distortions:

• Reduce the amount of information: Too much information can make it difficult to distinguish between helpful and unhelpful content. It is important to reduce the amount of data presented to facilitate focus on relevant and reliable information.
• Conscious design: Information should be presented in a way that draws the user's focus to the important and relevant content. Avoid overly conspicuous or irrelevant details that distract the user's attention.
• Conscious use of visual aids: Visuals should be designed to prevent unconscious distortions such as the anchor effect, overestimation of results, or incorrect interpretation of causal relationships.
• Avoid mixing information: Don’t mix useful information with irrelevant or even misleading information as this could lead to false associations or distortions in memory.
• Multiple testing: User testing with different target groups using instructions and technical content can identify potential biases early on.
• Clear structure: Structure information logically and clearly so that users can quickly grasp the essential points without focusing on unimportant details.
• Framing and context: Present information clearly to prevent misunderstandings caused by the availability or anchoring of isolated facts.
• Encourage critical thinking: Question the origin as well as the accuracy of the information and data presented.

If technical writers and information designers are aware of how our brains process information, they can use targeted techniques to avoid cognitive distortions.