15 powerful concepts I wish I knew earlier
A thread...
A thread...
Rhyme as a reason effect
We are more likely to believe statements that contain a rhyme, compared to statements that don't
"Woes unite foes"
"Woes unite enemies"
"Misfortune unites enemies"
Which seems more believable? Be wary of this in advertising or persuasion
We are more likely to believe statements that contain a rhyme, compared to statements that don't
"Woes unite foes"
"Woes unite enemies"
"Misfortune unites enemies"
Which seems more believable? Be wary of this in advertising or persuasion
Selective perception
The tendency not to notice and more quickly forget stimuli that cause emotional discomfort and contradict our prior beliefs
Can cause issues when you allow small problems to become bigger problems through a lack of appropriate attention
The tendency not to notice and more quickly forget stimuli that cause emotional discomfort and contradict our prior beliefs
Can cause issues when you allow small problems to become bigger problems through a lack of appropriate attention
Social comparison bias
The tendency to have feelings of dislike and competitiveness with someone seen as physically or mentally better than oneself
Remember: We are only competing against our past selves—be better than you were yesterday
The tendency to have feelings of dislike and competitiveness with someone seen as physically or mentally better than oneself
Remember: We are only competing against our past selves—be better than you were yesterday
Subadditivity effect
The tendency to judge the probability of the whole to be less than the probabilities of the parts
When assigning probabilities to questions or problems, decomposition into small parts to ensure probabilities and risks are understood at a more granular level
The tendency to judge the probability of the whole to be less than the probabilities of the parts
When assigning probabilities to questions or problems, decomposition into small parts to ensure probabilities and risks are understood at a more granular level
Subjective Validation
Believing or accepting an idea or statement if it presents to you in a personal and positive way
Example: you enjoy eating bacon and come across an article that talks about bacon as healthy, you'll believe it more because this "validates" eating more bacon
Believing or accepting an idea or statement if it presents to you in a personal and positive way
Example: you enjoy eating bacon and come across an article that talks about bacon as healthy, you'll believe it more because this "validates" eating more bacon
Time-saving bias
Misestimating the time that could be saved (or lost) when increasing (or decreasing) speed
Not limited to driving, can also apply in areas like healthcare, where we misestimate the effect of adding or subtracting physicians on waiting times
Misestimating the time that could be saved (or lost) when increasing (or decreasing) speed
Not limited to driving, can also apply in areas like healthcare, where we misestimate the effect of adding or subtracting physicians on waiting times
Road well-travelled effect
Where travellers (or commuters) estimate the time taken to traverse routes differently depending on their familiarity with the route
Frequently travelled routes are assessed as taking a shorter time than unfamiliar routes
Where travellers (or commuters) estimate the time taken to traverse routes differently depending on their familiarity with the route
Frequently travelled routes are assessed as taking a shorter time than unfamiliar routes
Unit Bias
The tendency to think of a unit (rather than a fraction or %) of something as the appropriate or optimal amount
If you’ve ever felt you should finish the chapter of the book you were reading before placing it on the nightstand, then you’ve felt the nudge of unit bias
The tendency to think of a unit (rather than a fraction or %) of something as the appropriate or optimal amount
If you’ve ever felt you should finish the chapter of the book you were reading before placing it on the nightstand, then you’ve felt the nudge of unit bias
Zero-sum heuristic
Judging a situation to be zero-sum (i.e., person A's gain is person B's loss) when it is actually non-zero-sum (both parties can gain together)
"There’s a false notion that poor countries are poor because rich countries are rich."
- Michael Miller
Judging a situation to be zero-sum (i.e., person A's gain is person B's loss) when it is actually non-zero-sum (both parties can gain together)
"There’s a false notion that poor countries are poor because rich countries are rich."
- Michael Miller
Egocentric bias
The tendency to rely too heavily on your own point of view when examining events or trying to see things from other people’s perspective
Example: You overestimate the amount of work that you contributed to a group project
The tendency to rely too heavily on your own point of view when examining events or trying to see things from other people’s perspective
Example: You overestimate the amount of work that you contributed to a group project
Extrinsic incentive bias
The tendency to attribute other people's motives to extrinsic incentives, such as job security or high wages, rather than intrinsic ones, such as learning new things or building a new skill
The tendency to attribute other people's motives to extrinsic incentives, such as job security or high wages, rather than intrinsic ones, such as learning new things or building a new skill
Illusion of transparency
The tendency for people to overestimate the degree to which their personal mental state is known by others
Also applies to overestimating how well we understand others personal mental states
The tendency for people to overestimate the degree to which their personal mental state is known by others
Also applies to overestimating how well we understand others personal mental states
Illusion of external agency
The false belief that good and positive things happen because of external influences rather than personal effort.
For example, you get good grades in school and attribute that to external variables ("The teacher likes me" or "I got lucky")
The false belief that good and positive things happen because of external influences rather than personal effort.
For example, you get good grades in school and attribute that to external variables ("The teacher likes me" or "I got lucky")
Illusory superiority
The tendency to overestimate your positive qualities and abilities and to underestimate negative qualities, relative to others
Applies to intelligence, performance on tasks, and the possession of desirable characteristics or personality traits
The tendency to overestimate your positive qualities and abilities and to underestimate negative qualities, relative to others
Applies to intelligence, performance on tasks, and the possession of desirable characteristics or personality traits
Projection bias
A self-forecasting error, where we overestimate how much our future selves will share the same beliefs, values and behaviours as our current selves, causing us to make short-sighted decisions
A self-forecasting error, where we overestimate how much our future selves will share the same beliefs, values and behaviours as our current selves, causing us to make short-sighted decisions
That's a wrap!
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