lyndonkl Cognitive Fallacies Guard
Detects visual misleads, cognitive bias exploitation, and data integrity violations in visualizations, dashboards, reports, and presentations, then prescribes the specific fix for each. It works as a three-layer scan: visual noise and perceptual distortion, bias reinforcement, and data honesty. It does not create designs, evaluate general usability, or judge aesthetics; cognitive-design and design-evaluation-audit do that.
When to Use
- The user mentions chartjunk, misleading chart, truncated axis, data integrity, visual deception, 3D chart problems, or cherry-picking data.
- A visualization, dashboard, report, or presentation must be audited for accuracy and honesty before it is published.
- Someone asks "is this chart honest?" or why readers keep misinterpreting a chart.
- A data story or dashboard framing may exploit confirmation bias, anchoring, or one-sided comparisons.
- Not for general design evaluation (
design-evaluation-audit) or cognitive foundations (cognitive-design).
Load any reference file with skill_view("cognitive-fallacies-guard", file_path="references/<file>.md"); the paths below are relative to this skill.
Overview
Visualizations are persuasive — common mistakes cause systematic misinterpretation, not just aesthetic failures. This skill scans for visual misleads (chartjunk, truncated axes, 3D distortion), checks for cognitive bias exploitation (confirmation bias reinforcement, anchoring, framing manipulation), and verifies data integrity (honest axes, complete data, fair comparisons).
Related skills: design-evaluation-audit for general design evaluation, cognitive-design for cognitive foundations, d3-visualization for creating visualizations, visual-storytelling-design for data stories.
Fallacy Audit Workflow
Time: 15-30 minutes
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
Fallacy Audit Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Scan for Visual Misleads
- [ ] Step 2: Check for Cognitive Biases
- [ ] Step 3: Verify Data Integrity
Step 1: Scan for Visual Misleads
Check for chartjunk, 3D effects, truncated axes, volume illusions, and inappropriate chart types. These are the most common and visible fallacies.
Resource: Fallacies Catalog — Sections 1-2 (Visual Noise, Perceptual Distortion)
Step 2: Check for Cognitive Biases
Look for confirmation bias reinforcement, anchoring effects, and framing manipulation. These are subtler but can significantly influence interpretation.
Resource: Fallacies Catalog — Section 3 (Cognitive Bias Exploitation)
Step 3: Verify Data Integrity
Confirm honest axes, complete data, fair comparisons, proper context, and no spurious correlations. This is the most critical layer.
Resource: Detection Patterns — Integrity Principles and Quick Scan Checklist
Path Selection Menu
Path 1: Visual Misleads Scan
Choose this when: Checking for chartjunk, 3D effects, truncated axes, and encoding problems.
→ Go to Fallacies Catalog — Sections 1-2
Path 2: Cognitive Bias Check
Choose this when: Looking for bias reinforcement in dashboard design, presentation framing, or data selection.
→ Go to Fallacies Catalog — Section 3
Path 3: Data Integrity Verification
Choose this when: Verifying completeness, honesty, and context of data presentation.
→ Go to Detection Patterns
Quick Reference
5 Integrity Principles
- Honest Axes — Bar charts start at zero; uniform scale intervals; clear labels
- Fair Comparisons — Same scale for compared items; no dual-axis manipulation
- Complete Context — Full time period shown; baselines provided; denominators clarified
- Accurate Encoding — Visual proportional to numerical; no volume illusions; 2D design
- Transparency — Data sources cited; limitations acknowledged; methodology stated
Quick Severity Guide
- CRITICAL: Integrity violations (truncated bars without disclosure, cherry-picked data, implied causation)
- HIGH: Perceptual distortions (3D effects, volume illusions, missing denominators)
- MEDIUM: Bias reinforcement (one-sided framing, anchoring order, confirmation bias layout)
- LOW: Visual noise (excessive gridlines, decorative elements, ornamental borders)
Verification
- Run the Quick Scan Checklist in full and record a result for every item, including the ones that pass.
- Report with the Reporting Template: each fallacy named, its severity, the misreading it would cause, and the specific fix.
- Score the audit against assets/evaluators/rubric_cognitive_fallacies.json (seven criteria, 1-5). An average of 3.5 or above passes; a score below 3 on Visual Mislead Detection or Data Integrity Verification requires a re-audit.
Guardrails
Scope boundaries: This skill detects visual misleads, identifies cognitive bias exploitation, verifies data integrity, and provides specific fixes for each fallacy found. It does not create designs, evaluate general usability, teach cognitive theory, or assess aesthetic quality.