Cognitive bias training teaches employees and managers to recognise the predictable thinking errors that distort business decisions, such as anchoring, confirmation bias, overconfidence and sunk-cost thinking. Bodhih's program applies these ideas to real cases, covers how AI tools can amplify bias, and gives teams practical debiasing techniques. It differs from diversity-focused unconscious bias training.
- Recommended: 1 day in person, or 3 × 2.5-hour live virtual sessions
- Level: Intermediate · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: cognitive bias in decision making, decision bias workshop, behavioural economics training for managers, debiasing training for teams
Where and how: cognitive bias training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why smart teams still make predictable mistakes
Business decisions are made by people who are busy, confident and often under pressure, which is exactly when mental shortcuts take over. The first number in a negotiation anchors the deal, the project that has already consumed a year keeps getting funded, and the data that agrees with the boss gets highlighted.
AI adds a new layer. A fluent AI answer can reinforce what we already believe, and people tend to over-trust automated output. Cognitive bias training helps teams slow down at the right moments and build habits that catch these errors before they become costly.
Udemy reports decision-making skills learning up 38% year on year, alongside critical thinking up 37%.
56% of workers in a 2025 global study reported making mistakes in their work due to AI.
What participants will be able to do
Understand how judgement works
Explain fast and slow thinking and why intelligent people fall into predictable traps.
Spot common biases
Recognise anchoring, confirmation, availability, overconfidence and sunk-cost bias in real decisions.
Challenge AI-assisted conclusions
Identify automation bias and prompt-framing effects when using AI for analysis or recommendations.
Debias group decisions
Use pre-mortems, devil's advocate roles and independent estimates to reduce groupthink.
Know when to stop
Set kill criteria and review points so projects are judged on future value, not past spend.
Build a decision checklist
Create a short checklist for high-stakes decisions in your own role.
Who should attend
- Managers who approve budgets, hires, vendors and project priorities
- Analysts and strategy teams preparing recommendations
- Product managers deciding what to build, keep or kill
- Finance, procurement and investment teams making estimates and negotiations
- Project and portfolio sponsors reviewing troubled initiatives
- Teams using AI tools for research, forecasting or analysis
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01How judgement goes wrongModule 1 · 60 min+
- Fast and slow thinking in everyday business
- Heuristics as useful shortcuts and hidden traps
- A live bias quiz to reveal your own tendencies
02Biases in estimates and numbersModule 2 · 75 min+
- Anchoring in pricing, negotiations and forecasts
- Overconfidence and the planning fallacy
- Reference-class forecasting and ranges instead of single numbers
03Biases in evidence and informationModule 3 · 75 min+
- Confirmation bias and selective data
- Availability and recency effects in risk judgements
- Framing: how the same data leads to different choices
04Sunk cost, escalation and loss aversionModule 4 · 60 min+
- Why we keep funding failing projects
- Kill criteria and staged funding
- Case clinic on a real stalled initiative
05AI and amplified biasModule 5 · 60 min+
- Automation bias and over-trust in fluent answers
- How prompts can steer AI towards what you want to hear
- Using AI to generate counter-arguments and alternatives
06Debiasing teams and processesModule 6 · 60 min+
- Pre-mortems, red teams and independent estimates
- Reducing hierarchy and groupthink in meetings
- Building your personal and team decision checklists
Sample training plan: 1-day hands-on design
This one-day workshop helps smart teams catch the predictable mistakes that creep into busy decisions. Participants bring one real decision they face in the next quarter. They discover their own biases through a live quiz, see anchoring move their estimates, practise forecasting in ranges, test evidence against confirmation bias, apply kill criteria to a stalled project and catch AI answers that tell them what they want to hear. The capstone is an investment committee where teams use debiasing tools on three competing proposals.
Participants can spot the main biases in their own decisions and apply debiasing tools to a real decision.
- 09:30–10:15The live bias quizDiagnostic
- 10:15–10:45Quick and deliberate thinkingConcept burst
- 11:00–12:00Anchors and rangesSkill drill
- 12:00–13:00Evidence that agrees with the bossCase clinic
- 13:45–14:30The project that will not dieReal-play
- 14:30–15:15AI told me soHands-on lab
- 15:30–16:45The investment committeeSimulation
- 16:45–17:30My decision checklistAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 1 day in person (09:30–17:30), or 3 × 2.5-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 90-day follow-up applying a decision checklist to real decisions. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is cognitive bias training?
The recommended design is one day in person, from 09:30 to 17:30, followed by 90 days of applying a decision checklist to real decisions. It also runs as three live virtual sessions of 2.5 hours each, with the bias quiz run through live polls.
What activities are included in cognitive bias training?
Participants take a live bias quiz with hidden anchors, negotiate with high and low opening prices, test a biased data pack, set kill criteria for a real stalled project, compare neutral and leading AI prompts and sit on an investment committee that uses pre-mortems and independent estimates.
How we deliver it
Experience the bias first
Short experiments let participants fall into a bias before it is explained, which makes the lesson memorable and humbling.
Real decisions as cases
During ADDIE analysis we collect anonymised decisions from your teams, so the cognitive bias training works on familiar situations rather than textbook puzzles.
Tools that fit meetings
Every debiasing technique is designed to take minutes, not hours, so it can be used in normal review and approval meetings.
Independent program
Bodhih's program teaches widely used behavioural science concepts and is independent of any author, publisher or proprietary course.
Tailored versions
For leadership and investment committees
Focus on capital allocation, M&A and portfolio decisions, with structured debiasing processes for committees.
For product and strategy teams
Cases on roadmap prioritisation, experiment interpretation, market sizing and when to kill a feature.
For procurement and finance teams
Emphasis on anchoring in negotiations, forecasting accuracy and vendor selection bias.
How we measure impact
We use the ADDIE Evaluate stage from the outset. Participants can take a pre and post decision-making or critical thinking assessment on AssessAll, and complete a short scenario test measuring susceptibility to common biases. Teams adopt a decision checklist, and at 30, 60 and 90 days we review examples of its use, such as pre-mortems run or kill criteria set. Managers share observations on decision quality and the level of constructive challenge in meetings.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is cognitive bias in decision making?
A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of thinking that leads people away from rational judgement. In decision making, biases such as anchoring, confirmation bias and sunk-cost thinking cause predictable errors, even in experienced professionals. Cognitive bias training helps people recognise these patterns and use simple techniques to reduce their influence on important decisions.
What are the most common cognitive biases at work?
Frequent ones include anchoring on the first number, confirmation bias towards evidence we agree with, overconfidence in estimates, the planning fallacy, availability bias from recent events, sunk-cost thinking about past investments, and groupthink in meetings. The program covers these through business cases and helps each participant identify the biases most relevant to their role.
How is cognitive bias training different from unconscious bias training?
Unconscious bias training usually focuses on diversity and inclusion, such as how stereotypes affect hiring, promotion and everyday interactions. Cognitive bias training focuses on decision quality: the thinking errors that distort estimates, evaluations and business choices. The two share some science but serve different goals, and many organisations run both.
Can AI make cognitive bias worse?
It can. People tend to over-trust fluent, confident AI output, which is known as automation bias, and the way a prompt is phrased can steer the answer towards what the user already believes. AI can also help, for example by generating counter-arguments or alternative scenarios. The program covers both sides with practical exercises.
How can teams reduce bias in decisions?
Useful techniques include collecting independent estimates before discussion, running pre-mortems, assigning a devil's advocate, setting kill criteria in advance, using reference-class data and separating the people who propose from those who evaluate. The program teaches these methods and helps teams build a short checklist for their own high-stakes decisions.
Is this program based on a specific book or author's course?
No. Bodhih's program is independent and teaches widely published concepts from behavioural science and decision research. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed from any author, publisher or course provider, and it does not award any third-party certification. Content is customised to your organisation's decisions and context.
Who should attend cognitive bias training?
Anyone who makes or influences significant decisions benefits, especially managers, analysts, product and strategy teams, finance, procurement and project sponsors. It works well for intact teams because debiasing techniques are most effective when a whole group uses them. Bodhih can deliver in person across India, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, or live virtual.