Psychology Archives

Common Decision-Making Biases & How to Spot Them

Are your decisions rooted in rationality? What are some of the most common biases in decision-making? You probably think of yourself as a rational and logical human being who makes decisions based on logic and sensibility. However, your decision-making may not be as logical as you’d like to believe. Logical fallacies affect everyone, are extremely difficult to avoid, and can hinder your decision-making ability. Keep reading to learn about some of the most common decision-making biases, how to recognize them, and how to work around them.

Incentives: The Psychology of Motivation

How do incentives change behavior? What is the danger in offering incentives to encourage better performance? Incentives inspire hard work and better cooperation. But there is also a dark side to incentivizing the desired behavior: People will perform the behavior, but they’ll strive for those incentives however suits them best, even if their actions contradict the principle behind the incentive. Keep reading to learn about the psychology of incentive manipulation and how to set effective incentives.

Is 10,000 Hours of Practice Enough to Master a Skill?

Can practice override talent? Is it true that to master a skill, you need to put in 10,000 hours of practice? Although we tend to think of practice as an equalizer, having the time to practice enough to master a skill is a luxury afforded only to the privileged. In fact, there are studies that show that the most masterful individuals in their fields have practiced their craft for at least 10,000 hours, which averages nearly 20 hours every week for 10 years. Here’s why practice is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to skill mastery.

Transactional Analysis: Games, Exchanges, Ego States

What is a transaction in the context of Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis? What are the three ego states? “Transactions” are Eric Berne’s “basic unit” of social interaction. We gain social recognition through transactions, and we can analyze transactions by looking at the ego states that are involved (the parent, the adult, and the child). In this article, we’ll define transactions and cover the main types of games in Transactional Analysis.

Omission Bias: Why Your Brain Favors Inaction

What is omission bias? Why does it occur? Omission bias is the tendency to choose omission (inaction) over commission (action). Omission bias occurs because you feel guilty when your action leads to negative consequences, and less guilty when inaction leads to negative consequences. Keep reading to learn about the psychology behind omission bias and why your brain tends to favor inaction over action.

Inattentional Blindness: What It Is & How to Overcome It

What is inattentional blindness? Why does this effect occur? Inattentional blindness is a tendency to zone in on certain aspects of a situation and disregard the rest. Inattentional blindness is the result of the brain’s limited cognitive capacity: it simply doesn’t have the resources to process everything. Keep reading to learn about the phenomenon of intentional blindness, why it occurs, and how to combat it.

Are We Living in the Age of False Knowledge?

Are we living in the age of false knowledge? How did the advent of the internet contribute to the spread of false knowledge? In the internet age, false knowledge is spreading like wildfire. People consider themselves experts because they have easy access to information, but they never gain a deeper understanding of it. Here’s how the advent of the internet has given rise to the age of false knowledge.

Information Overload: What It Is & Why It’s Problematic

What is information overload? What’s the problem with having too much information? The dangers of information overload have grown increasingly severe in the modern world because there’s so much information available. According to Rold Dobelli, the author of The Art of Thinking Clearly, excess information causes problems in two ways: burying basic facts and wasting time. Keep reading to learn about the dangers of information overload.

The Psychology of Money: Review & Critical Reception

Is Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money worth reading? What is the key message to take away from the book? Most of us assume financial success depends on education and intelligence. But in The Psychology of Money, finance expert Morgan Housel presents an alternate hypothesis: The key to financial success lies in understanding human behavior. Here’s our The Psychology of Money review, including background, context, and critical reception by the readers.

The 4 Steps for Developing Autonomy in Adults

How does childhood conditioning shape our behavior in adulthood? Is it possible to shake off the weight of early conditioning? Childhood conditioning often weighs on people even in their adult years. This conditioning may leave some adults feeling like they don’t have the power to make their own choices in life. Luckily, this is a behavior growth obstacle that can be overcome. Here are four steps for developing autonomy in adults, according to psychiatrist Eric Berne.