Conclusions
The emergence of the COVID-19
outbreak was not a choice, but its persistence might be a result of the
cognitive biases that primarily affect medical, strategic, and consumer
decision-making. Due to the lack
of sufficient knowledge, there are many scientific uncertainties
associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and uncertainties are a potential
source of meta-cognitive bias and, therefore, poor performance. Such
cognitive biases broadly consist of the following four categories: prior
hypotheses and focusing on limited targets, exposure to limited
alternatives, insensitivity to outcome probabilities, and the illusion
of manageability 12. For a strategic decision-making
process, cognitive biases happen at the level of research, education,
and execution. A systematic review of studies identified 19 cognitive
biases that threaten medical decision-making 13. They
can occur at the screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic levels. Biases
imposed by unreliable data or delayed data release occur at different
data sharing levels. Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the levels
of decision-making under the influence of different cognitive biases. In
this manner, a rational mode of
action should not be only limited to decision-making in a single area of
interest but it requires decision makers in different areas of
management to frame the least biased outlet of decision-making.
Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate. Not applicable
Consent for publication. Not applicable
Availability of data and materials. Not applicable
Competing interests. The authors declare that they have no
competing interests
Funding. There is no funding for the present study
Acknowledgments. Not applicable