Pathways into Politics, Exploring Cognitive Bias with Mohamed Okda – 14 April 2021

On Wednesday 14 April, Forward Thinking convened an online workshop to discuss the issue of cognitive bias with Mohamed Okda. This workshop was held as part of our Pathways into Politics programme, an initiative that aims to develop the political literacy, leadership, and communication skills of young British Muslims through regular engagement with political figures from a range of backgrounds.Mohamed discussed the different forms that bias can take and how this affects our ability to make well-informed decisions. Different forms of bias include confirmation bias, anchoring bias and the ‘Dunning-Kruger' effect. In politics, recognising and countering these forms of bias is essential for ensuring that decision making is as effective as possible.Participants also discussed the impact of so-called echo chambers, reflecting on how decision-making can be altered by exposure to only a limited range of often similar resources. This was seen to be particularly true with relation to social media.Throughout the session, the group discussed their own biases and how they can impact their behaviour. They were also able to explore how, going forward, they could work to counter such bias and seek to address bias that they see within others. Developing an awareness of the types of bias held was seen to be an important first step. The participants also identified practical suggestions that they could employ to avoid bias such as diversifying the types of media they are exposed to as well as broadening their personal and professional networks.Mohamed Okda is a political consultant with extensive business experience, who is active on interfaith issues, crisis mediation and assessment, the economics of conflict and religious–secular dialogue. He is also the founder of Insight into Crisis, a conflict advisory.