Reference no: EM133582933

A friend of yours is raving about this new "neurovestibular system" that he spent a small fortune on, which he is convinced is helping him to get fit. He says: it's based on "real science" and helps you make more hormones that decrease your appetite; the worldrenowned doctor who invented it has tried it on himself and has had amazing results, not only losing body fat but building lean muscle mass; and that almost everyone who has bought one from his web site has lost weight too. He's been using it for three months and believes that it's working, although he acknowledges he hasn't lost much weight according to his scales. He reckons that's because he's built muscle and lost fat. But you're not so sure, because there doesn't appear to be any observable change, you look a little deeper. You go to the website and find that there is no clear scientific argument to support the claims, and in the fine print the doctor who invented it says his results were obtained "when combined with an active and healthy lifestyle" and "should not be viewed as typical", and that the results of others were "self-reported".

Question: What cognitive biases might explain why your friend, and perhaps all the other people who have used this device, might believe that it is working despite no objective evidence that it is? Cognitive biases may be broadly construed to include some fallacies, heuristics and other similar effects. Support your argument with reference to the academic literature. You may cite from the unit resources but the use of additional peer-refereed sources is desirable.