Strategies to enhance intelligence analysis
Friday, January 30, 2015 - 08:50
in Psychology & Sociology
If you've ever watched a thriller about undercover agents, you probably have the impression that intelligence officers are models of objectivity, pragmatism and sharp, unbiased thinking. However, in reality even the most well-trained and highly honed intelligence brain is still a human brain. As such it is vulnerable to influences that may steer it towards ill-judged decisions – these are known as 'cognitive biases'. The RECOBIA project, which held its final conference in Brussels last week, sought to explore and assess these cognitive biases, investigate their affect on the practice of intelligence analysis and develop mitigation strategies to address their impact.