The ULTIMATE Guide to IMPROVING CRITICAL THINKING (Ayanokoji Method)

Key wellness strategies, self-care, and productivity / thinking tips

• Adopt “epistemic vigilance” (trainable alertness, not paranoia)

  • Aim for a state where you notice when your thinking is getting biased.
  • The goal is not to eliminate instinct or become indecisive—avoid paralysis. Instead, learn when to trust vs. pause.

• Understand bias as a modifiable process (you’re more trainable than told)

  • The video challenges the view that cognitive biases can’t be eliminated through training.
  • It emphasizes that bias-reduction training can significantly reduce biased decisions after relatively brief interventions.

• Build a reflexive “think about your own thinking” habit

  • Before concluding, ask yourself:
    • What’s the first piece of information I latched onto? (possible anchoring)
    • What evidence would make me change my mind?
    • How certain am I? Is that confidence justified?
  • Core idea: practice catching yourself mid-process, consistently.

• Target the specific bias cycle

  • Anchoring: early information (first impression, first offer, first diagnosis idea) disproportionately shapes later judgment.
  • Confirmation bias: searching for/interpreting evidence to fit what you already believe—often without awareness, especially when confident.
  • Overconfidence: believing you know more than you do; can become more rigid when paired with anchoring.
  • The described loop: anchor early → become overconfident → filter new evidence through confirmation bias.

• Recognize “action bias” (the urge to jump to solutions)

  • Watch for reflexive behavior that skips core questions about whether the problem is valid or what it truly implies.
  • Ask whether urgency is driven by real reasoning or by conditioning from systems that reward speed/results.

• Use bias-reduction training methods (two approaches)

  • Approach 1: Bias reduction training
    • Learn what biases look like.
    • Practice detecting them in realistic scenarios.
    • Over time, your recognition threshold lowers (you notice bias sooner).
  • Approach 2: Physical activity to support cognitive control
    • Physical activity improves cognitive control and reduces emotional reactivity, rumination, and worry.
    • The video frames fitness as a physiological contributor to critical thinking—not just general wellness.
    • Best results are suggested when exercise is combined with psychological coaching.

• Don’t rely on intelligence/experience as protection

  • The video claims there’s no clear relationship between intelligence and susceptibility to biases.
  • Even trained people can fall into the same traps—protection comes from the habit of interrupting biased thinking repeatedly, not one-time insight.

• Practical “productivity” behaviors embedded in the method

  • Slow down at decision points where instincts demand immediate action.
  • Name biases out loud (helpful for attention and recall), e.g., anchoring, confirmation bias, action bias.

Studies / sources mentioned in the subtitles (presenters and sources)

• Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (cognitive bias framework; 1970s)
• HEC Paris (field study; 290 postgraduate business students; published in Psychological Science)
• Cross Carey (researcher mentioned regarding the number of biases in clinical decision-making)
• A study involving 92 fifth-grade students (12-week intervention; improved outcomes)
• A study on physical activity and cognitive control (exercise + coaching reducing negative thinking patterns; described as research-supported)
• Ayanokoji’s approach (the method referenced in the video title; no real-world presenter name given in subtitles)