What is the Cue-dependent Forgetting effet?
The Cue-dependent Forgetting effect is an amnesia or memory disorder where information learned before the onset of amnesia is retained, whereas information acquired after the onset of amnesia is forgotten.
Why do people use this bias?
The Cue-dependent forgetting effect could be used to bias decision-making by having knowledge about which events happened in the past and therefore avoiding these events in future decisions. As an example of why someone would use this, investors can avoid assets that had negative returns in the past (and shown to be doing poorly) and invest more into assets that have outperformed previously (and are likely to continue). If you were lucky enough to pick stocks correctly using only their previous performance then you could make money like Warren Buffet (he’s actually an advocate of this form of investing).
How do people use this bias?
The most common example is when a Cue-dependent forgetting effect is used by an investor, who can avoid assets that performed poorly in the past and instead invest more into assets that had positive returns before. This would be based on the fact they know these stocks will likely continue to perform well and avoid those which performed poorly previously. They may even go as far as running trading systems or algorithms for their investment choices using previous data. This type of strategy usually allows someone to beat market indices such as the Standard & Poor 500 with less overall risk than simply investing in the index itself.
How to avoid this bias?
You can’t avoid this bias as it’s not really a cognitive bias but rather, an amnesia or memory disorder. Investors who do their research and take the time to learn about how the market works would be less likely to make mistakes based on Cue-dependent forgetting effects. They can use past returns of stocks as an indication for predicting future returns which should increase their chances of making money compared to other traders who may rely more on instinct (or advice from other people).
Examples of Cue-dependent Forgetting:
One example is where someone who has just witnessed a car accident begins to jog away after one minute, whereas others will remember that they only started running after three minutes. This is because when something significant happens in people’s lives, such as witnessing a car accident, the brain stores memories of this event more vividly than other daily activities.
Another example of a Cue-dependent forgetting effect is where a person can remember a phone number they see on their screen for only 5 seconds before losing it, whereas if they have been repeating the number to themselves in their head then they can remember it longer. This is because the majority of memories are short term and not long-term unless they’re rehearsed or reviewed periodically.
Which profession use the Cue-dependent Forgetting?
Investors can avoid assets that had negative returns in the past (and shown to be doing poorly) and invest more into assets that have outperformed previously (and are likely to continue). If you were lucky enough to pick stocks correctly using only their previous performance then you could make money like Warren Buffet (he’s actually an advocate of this form of investing). This would be based on the fact they know these stocks will likely continue to perform well and avoid those which performed poorly previously. They may even go as far as running trading systems or algorithms for their investment choices using previous data. This type of strategy usually allows someone to beat market indices such as the Standard & Poor 500 with less overall risk than simply investing in the index itself.
Cue-dependent Forgetting Conclusion.
This bias is not something you can avoid. Investors who choose to do their research and take the time to learn about how the market works would be less likely to make mistakes based on Cue-dependent forgetting effects. They can use past returns of stocks as an indication for predicting future returns which should increase their chances of making money compared to other traders who may rely more on instinct (or advice from other people).

