Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2017 - 34

subconscious, ways our thinking is directed when we are
exploring potential decisions. We are all affected by our
cognitive biases, which influence the way we argue and
think. Unless otherwise directed, our minds take the path
of least resistance. Biases are how our minds group and
catalog information. We rely on our cognitive biases to
create guideposts for our minds to follow (Novella, 2012).
Sometimes these biases are based on our experiences (either
professional or personal) and sometimes on logical fallacies
that lead us into patterns of invalid or erroneous thinking
(Novella, 2012). It is imperative that we be aware of our
biases so that we can assess the effect they have on our decisions. Left unchecked, biases can grow into full-fledged
prejudices. Humans will never fully get rid of their biases
(Roberto, 2009). When teaching decision making and critical thinking, it's important to recognize when biases show
up in the decision-making process, and to help students become aware of their own biases. Remember that in a state
of hyperarousal, we are more likely to be influenced by our
biases. Consider these examples of common biases that affect decision making.
* Confirmation bias is the tendency to gather and rely on
only the information that confirms our existing view. The
consequence of this action is clear: If we avoid or downplay information that disconfirms our hypothesis, then we
are not able to look at the whole picture. This can be a
pernicious bias to combat because we tend to do this sub-

theatre design

& technology

2 0 1 7

consciously (Roberto, 2009). One way to resist the pull of
the confirmation bias is to keep our focus on honestly assessing the validity of our ideas and decisions.
* Anchoring bias occurs when we allow an initial point
of reference to distort our estimates. For instance, I once
built a levitation arm for a production of A Christmas Carol. In previous productions, the shop had used box tube.
I continued to work through the problem with the image of box tube (to the exclusion of other materials) in
my mind. And I was successful. I found a piece of box
tube that held the actress up at the end of 7-foot, 6-inch
arm. It was 4-inch box tube with a one-half-foot wall and
it weighed 81 pounds per foot-so heavy that it was extremely difficult to move. Had I not been anchored by the
assertion that this was a problem that could be solved with
box tube, I may have looked at other options, like trusses,
earlier.
* Availability bias and the related "recency" effect takes
place when we put too much emphasis on the information
and evidence that is relevant to us when we are making
the decision. The "recency" effect occurs when we fail to
look at an entire range of information and rely too heavily
on recent data (Roberto, 2009). The recency effect can take
many forms. An example from the management viewpoint is when we judge employees (or students) on their
most recent work without looking at the whole range of
work products. Someone does horrible work one day and
gets fired, even though the bad work is an anomaly when
compared to their entire work history. Another employee
gets a raise because of great work one day, even if history
may indicate that this is a fluke. Of course, in either example, the behavior is actually another data point in the
person's work history, if you do not fall into the recency
effect.
* Sunk Cost Effect is the tendency for people to continue escalating their commitment to a course of action in
which they have made substantial prior investments of
time, money, and other resources (Roberto, 2009). The
tight schedules and the integrated nature of the work in
constructing the designed set on time makes this bias extremely difficult to combat in a typical scene shop.
* The Overconfidence Bias can lead us to be overconfident in our abilities or the abilities of our teams (Roberto,
2009). Build schedules are fraught with this bias, such as
when a technical director states, "It will take two weeks
to build the portals," even though the shop is down two
carpenters and there is no space to lay them out.
Biases also show up when we are assessing completed
work. Four specific biases to be aware of are:
* The Myth of the Specific Cause is characterized by our
inherent desire to find the one reason that a project failed.
The reality is that no matter how comforting it is to believe that only one thing went wrong when a project fails,
this is rarely the case (Roberto, 2009).
* The Illusory Bias occurs when we make connections between variables when no such relationship exists (Roberto,
2009).

http://www.sculpturalarts.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2017