Biases, heuristics, and conceptual frameworks, each with a real example of how it applies.
Our mind decides in two modes: one fast and intuitive, the other slow and deliberate.
ReadWe don't look for the best possible decision, just a good enough one.
ReadA change in how a decision is presented, without banning any option.
ReadThe context in which a choice is presented changes what we choose.
ReadWhat contrasts with its surroundings captures our attention first.
ReadThe same information, presented differently, changes the decision.
ReadWe judge an experience by its most intense moment and how it ends.
ReadThe first number you see changes how you perceive every number after it.
ReadWe decide guided by how something makes us feel, not just its logic.
ReadWe look for information that confirms what we already believed.
ReadLosing something hurts us more than gaining the same thing pleases us.
ReadWe judge how likely something is by how easily we can recall it.
ReadWe keep investing in something just because we already invested before.
ReadWe value more highly what we helped build with our own hands.
ReadWe demand more in exchange for something that's already ours.
ReadOne positive quality makes us assume others we haven't actually seen.
ReadOnce something happens, it feels like it was predictable from the start.
ReadWe disproportionately value immediate rewards.
ReadThe less we know about something, the worse we are at gauging how much we know.
ReadWe start liking something more just because it becomes familiar.
ReadWe systematically underestimate how much time and cost a task will take.
ReadWe believe things will go better for us than for everyone else, even without evidence for it.
ReadWe ignore the background probability and get carried away by the specific case.
ReadWe believe luck "evens out" in the short run, even though each event is independent.
ReadWe overestimate how much we can influence outcomes that actually depend on chance.
ReadBad weighs more heavily on our minds than good, even at the same magnitude.
ReadWe accept vague personality descriptions as accurate if we feel they're talking about us.
ReadWhat's about to run out automatically becomes more desirable.
ReadWhen we don't know what to do, we look at what everyone else is doing.
ReadCommitting in front of others increases the odds we'll follow through.
ReadAgreeing to a small request opens the door to agreeing to a bigger one.
ReadSometimes who says it matters more than what they say.
ReadReceiving something unrequested predisposes us to return the favor.
ReadSeeing the effort behind a service makes us value it more.
ReadWe stick with whichever option comes pre-selected.
ReadFeeling like we can cancel whenever we want makes us decide with more confidence.
ReadWhat's easy to process, we like more.
ReadWe rationalize after acting against our own beliefs.
ReadFour simple questions for designing any behavioral intervention.
ReadThe friction that makes it hard to access something that's technically already yours.
ReadWe treat money in separate categories instead of as something fungible.
ReadAn inferior third option changes what we choose between the other two.
ReadToo many options reduce the likelihood of deciding at all.
ReadMotivation increases the closer we get to the goal.
ReadTying a costly activity to a pleasurable one improves follow-through.
ReadWe couldn't find any concept matching that search.