Your Brain Might Be Working Against You
The LSAT is designed to test pure logical reasoning, but human brains aren’t naturally wired for perfect logic. In fact, cognitive biases—mental shortcuts that often lead to flawed thinking—can sabotage even the most prepared test-takers.
Understanding which biases affect LSAT performance can help you avoid common mistakes, think more objectively, and maximize your score. Let’s break down the most deceptive cognitive traps and how to overcome them.
The Confirmation Bias: Seeing What You Want to See
The brain’s tendency to favor information that confirms what it already believes.
On the LSAT, confirmation bias can lead you to:
- Stick to an initial answer choice, even if it’s wrong.
- Ignore evidence contradicting your assumptions about the passage.
- Misinterpret arguments in logical reasoning questions to match your expectations.
Fix: Challenge your initial instincts. Before locking in an answer, ask yourself: Would I still pick this if I had to prove the opposite case?
The Anchoring Bias: Getting Stuck on Irrelevant Information
The brain’s tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information it encounters.
On the LSAT, anchoring bias often happens in:
- Logic games: Where test-takers assume a fixed setup based on an early rule, ignoring flexibility.
- Reading comprehension: Where an initial summary causes students to misinterpret nuanced arguments.
Fix: Before answering, reset your perspective by asking: Am I solving this question based on logic, or based on my first impression?
The Availability Heuristic: Prioritizing What Feels Familiar
The brain’s tendency to overvalue information that comes to mind easily.
On the LSAT, this bias can trick you into:
- Choosing an answer just because it sounds familiar from previous questions.
- Thinking a difficult question must be about something you’ve studied before.
Fix: Always evaluate each LSAT question independently. If an answer feels “obvious,” double-check that it’s logically correct, not just mentally convenient.
The Framing Effect: How Wording Tricks Your Mind
The brain’s tendency to interpret information differently based on how it’s presented.
The LSAT deliberately uses misleading wording to exploit this bias. Traps include:
- Answer choices that sound correct but subtly alter meaning.
- Extreme wording (“always” or “never”) in incorrect answers to mislead test-takers.
Fix: Before choosing an answer, rephrase it in your own words.
Ask: Does the logic still hold up when stripped of its tricky phrasing?
Outsmart Your Brain to Outsmart the LSAT
Cognitive biases are subtle but powerful—and the LSAT knows how to use them against you. By recognizing and counteracting these mental pitfalls, you can approach the test with a more objective, unbiased mindset—and unlock a higher score.
At Kingston Prep, we train LSAT students to identify and overcome cognitive biases that hold them back. Our targeted strategies help test-takers avoid common traps and think with precision. Want to outsmart the LSAT? Let’s get started.