Bias Check

Bias Check Skill

Pre-research and pre-decision bias review.

Preflight: Read target canvas file(s) before any Write/Edit

Hard rule. Before issuing Write or Edit against any .claude/canvas/*.yml, use the Read tool on that file in this session. Claude Code's Read-before-Write check requires the Read tool specifically — cat/head/grep via Bash do NOT satisfy it. Reaching for Write first produces a tool error and forces a remedial Read, which costs ~14k tokens of pure ceremony at typical canvas sizes (anti-pattern #7 instance #5, 2026-05-09).

If this skill writes to multiple canvas files, Read each one first. If unsure whether a write is needed, Read first anyway — Read is cheap, the recovery loop is not.

See CLAUDE.md Canvas writes — Read before Write for the canonical rule.

Workflow

1. Identify context: What stage (L0-L5)? What activity (research, decision, evaluation)?

2. Load stage-specific checklist from ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/harness/cognitive-biases.md for the current scale.

3. For each bias on the checklist:

   • Is this bias likely active in the current situation? (Yes/No/Maybe)
   • If Yes/Maybe: What specific mitigation will be applied?
   • Document the assessment.

4. Check agent's own biases (from ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/harness/cognitive-biases.md agent section):

   • Sycophancy: Am I agreeing with the user when evidence says otherwise?
   • Recency: Am I overweighting recent context over earlier evidence?
   • Pattern matching: Am I assuming this is like something I've seen before without checking?
   • Completionism: Am I filling gaps with speculation rather than acknowledging uncertainty?

5. Output bias briefing:

   ## Bias Check: [Activity]
   Stage: [L0-L5]
   
   ### Active Risks
   | Bias | Risk Level | Mitigation |
   |------|-----------|------------|
   | ...  | High/Med/Low | ... |
   
   ### Agent Self-Check
   - Sycophancy: [OK/Risk]
   - Recency: [OK/Risk]
   - Pattern matching: [OK/Risk]
   - Completionism: [OK/Risk]
   
   ### Proceed? [Yes / Yes with caution / Pause and address]
   

6. System-level bias diagnosis (Meza): Before attributing resistance or poor outcomes to cognitive bias, check if the "bias" is actually a rational response to a badly designed system. Ask:

   Phase	System Question	If Yes: Fix the System, Not the Person
   Awareness	Does the person know the desired behavior?	Fix communication, not cognition
   Motivation	Does the system reward the desired behavior?	Fix incentives, not mindset
   Ability	Can the person realistically do it?	Fix resources/process, not training
   Reinforcement	Is the behavior sustained by the environment?	Fix feedback loops, not habits
   Sustainability	Can it persist without ongoing intervention?	Fix structure, not willpower

   If 2+ phases point to systemic causes, the primary intervention is system redesign, not individual debiasing. Update the bias briefing output above to flag the system-level root cause.

   The 5 phases above are a systemic diagnostic inspired by behavioral design models (COM-B, Fogg Behavior Model), not a named framework. They are prompts for investigation, not rigid steps.

   Source: Robert Meza (The Bias Gap — diagnostic tool, aimforbehavior.com). Not to be confused with Thaler & Sunstein's "Nudge" theory.

When to Surface This Skill

This skill should be triggered:

• Before any research activity (interviews, surveys, data analysis)
• Before significant decisions at any diamond scale
• At L5 market transitions: Before launch tier classification and go-to-market planning, check for optimism bias (overweighting positive signals), confirmation bias (seeking validation of "ready to ship"), and anchoring (fixating on initial positioning)
• When /mycelium:diamond-progress or /mycelium:diamond-assess detects bias-related gate failures

Canvas Output

Record bias check in .claude/canvas/opportunities.yml under bias_checks section with date, biases mitigated, and research design adjustments made.

Decision Log (MANDATORY per G-P4)

APPEND a ### Bias Check entry to .claude/harness/decision-log.md with: activity assessed, active bias risks found, mitigations applied, agent self-check results.

Theory Citations

• Kahneman: Thinking, Fast and Slow (System 1/System 2)
• Shotton: The Choice Factory (behavioral biases in decision-making)
• Torres: Continuous Discovery Habits (bias in research)
• Robert Meza: The Bias Gap (systemic bias reframing -- when "bias" is a rational response to a badly designed system)