Making sense of action bias in higher education: Pedagogical insights on critical thinking

Abstract

Action bias, the cognitive tendency to favour action over inaction regardless of its necessity, has been extensively studied across domains such as behavioural economics, organizational behaviour, and policy development. However, its manifestation in educational contexts remains critically underexplored. In the digital age, with an abundance of both factual and misleading information, the persistence of action bias within education jeopardizes the cultivation of initial critical thinking capable of addressing multifaceted global challenges. This exploratory study investigates how action bias influences problem-solving behaviours within higher education. Through workshops conducted with university students ranging from undergraduate to PhD levels, participants were tasked with solving a practical yet ambiguous problem to highlight potential cognitive differences across educational stages. Despite prior training in critical thinking, participants consistently defaulted to immediate ideation, bypassing fundamental inquiries into the problem's legitimacy or broader implications. Using a sensemaking approach, this study demonstrates that reflexive actions are not interpreted as merely cognitive shortcuts, but behaviours shaped by educational systems prioritizing visible outputs over critical inquiry. The findings reveal how institutional norms foster a performative academic identity, conflating speed and compliance with intellectual competence. This research challenges traditional pedagogical models, advocating for educational reforms that emphasize the process of learning. By situating action bias within the broader framework of active learning, this study offers actionable insights for educators, policy makers and researchers to foster critical innovative thinking, essential in an increasingly digital future