COGNITIVE ILLUSIONS ....... ( Article by Professor Hu Chi Ku Chi )

Cognitive illusions occur when the flawed , irrational thinking individuals still choose to hold onto their erroneous beliefs , even though evidence can be produced to show that the premise on which those beliefs were founded lacked any credibility whatsoever. 
Psychological experiments have shown time and time again that a belief founded on original knowledge known to be false still exerts a lingering influence on all subsequent decisions and judgements. It is impossible for the flawed , irrational individual to hit the reset button. A poisoned mind unfortunately remains poisoned, since there are no known antidotes to cure cognitive illusions. 
Jurors provide a wonderful example of people renown for succumbing to cognitive illusions. Lawyers know this human trait all too well , as they set out to plant the seeds of a false belief in the minds of such gullible people. Once the jury adopt a view or belief about the accused , then the outcome almost becomes a foregone conclusion. Objections by the opposing counsel will no doubt be lodge , and judges will ask the jury to disregard the " these last statements ", but to no avail. The poisonous seeds once planted will leave a permanent impression on the minds of the jurors. So even when compelling evidence is introduced later on by the opposing counsel , it is completely ignored. The erroneous belief is firmly in place and with it a predetermined verdict which refuses to be dislodged.
So in the context of a bridge club's disciplinary process , the committee are obliged to act as both judge and jurors. However , the fact that they all hold subjective opinions about the accused member, whether positive or negative , does not bode well for justice. If he/she has already been labelled as a " bad apple " , the incident complained of can never be looked at in an impartial and objective way. 
Committee members will come to the meeting ( or hearing ) with a set belief , and even when evidence is produced to discredit , undermine or disprove that belief , pre-judgements based on that belief have already been made. Many will have invested a significant amount of cognitive effort in making sure that belief is consistent with the psychological feelings they have towards the accused member. Therefore feelings of loathing and hatred fly in the face of fairness and justice , as the committee will be extremely persistent and resistant to change. The cognitive illusion forbids such change , and so an insidious errors of judgement will be made.
The Human Condition is such that we all to a lesser or large extent suffer from a multitude of failings and shortcomings. But the real tragedy is that each one of us remains blissfully unaware of the construction of our beliefs , and the mental processes that lead to them. Belief perseverance is in itself the reason why so much injustice occurs. People only believe what they want to believe in , and reject anything they choose not to believe in. Cognitive illusions , like optical illusions , distort what we see , or believe to be seeing . Indeed, cognitive illusions completely undermine the individual's ability to look at things with an open mind.