What is Unit Bias?
The hard truth is that our misguided brains are constantly looking for ways to oversimplify the world. “Unit Bias” causes our overworked brains to group things into big general categories and to ignore the subtle differences.
The times when our brain is most likely to make a bad choice
Want to up the accuracy of your decision making? Then it’s important to understand the two very different thinking systems your brain uses to make a choice.
Important Questions to Ask About Your Work Savings Plan
New research is revealing the disturbing fact that a lot of work savings plans are sucker bets. A surprising number of employers choose investments that put money in THEIR pocket, not WORKERS. Watch this short video to learn four ways you can assure that work savings is making you money, not your boss.
The Backfire Effect
They’re back, the misguided souls who delight in shoving poisonous things down their gullet. It’s a familiar little passion play: Tide Pods, cinnamon, and now “sleepy chicken.” Think of it as mutant KFC – narcotic chicken in a delightfully disgusting NyQuil marinade.
Denomination Effect
Want to spend less and save more? Start carrying big currency in your wallet.
Let’s say you’re making a $20 purchase. Here are two typical ways you could pay:
What is the Ambiguity Effect? Understanding how Ambiguity Bias affects our risk tolerance.
Unfortunately, our brain craves certainty. It desperately seeks out the sure-fire win, even if it means we win less often. We choose the low-return investment because it has a guaranteed interest rate. We pick the guaranteed return policy at Nordstrom, even though we know we’ll pay more.
Reflexive Reaction
Most of us believe our conscious brain carefully guides our path. We reassure ourselves that subconscious desires are subservient to our all powerful reason. But brain research shows it’s the exact OPPOSITE. At least 85% of our choices are completely subconscious and therefore hidden from us.
Anthropocentrism – Duck & Fish
We just can’t help it. When we see a video like this our brain instantly tends to concoct a very human story: the duck and the fish are friends, and look out for each other. We effortlessly project elaborate human motivations onto an animal that has no neocortex, and a brain that’s the size of a walnut.
The Boomerang Effect
Don’t eat bad food. It’s dangerous to eat laundry pods or inhale cinnamon. When others tell us we shouldn’t do something, we often respond with twisted, self-destructive behaviors. Our primary goal becomes rescuing our dignity and proving the other person wrong.
Illusion of Control
The illusion of control is our brain’s tendency to believe that we have more control over things than we actually do. Getting more accustom to a situation can anesthetize us to the risk of failure.