{"id":84738,"date":"2022-11-18T10:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=84738"},"modified":"2022-11-29T16:37:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T20:37:34","slug":"pro-con-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/pro-con-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Pro-Con List Is a Flawed Decision-Making Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the purpose of a pro-con list? Why is it a bad idea to base your decisions on the simplistic pro-con analysis? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pro-con list is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/methods-of-decision-making-crucial-conversations\/\">decision-making<\/a> strategy where you sort the advantages and disadvantages of a decision in parallel columns. The pro-con list is probably the most common decision-making tool, but it&#8217;s also the most flawed one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a look at the disadvantages of pro-con decision-making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-disadvantages-of-a-pro-con-list\"><strong>The Disadvantages of a Pro-Con List<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>pro-con list<\/em> makes it easier to see the positive and negative consequences of a decision or choice in front of you. For instance, imagine you\u2019re a lawyer deciding whether to accept a higher-paying position that would require moving away from your family. In this situation, you could draft the following pro-con list of accepting the position:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/MmahgnfT5qCw4jPFjiCCSS04XeeL774XhvFthPc9KMpXIDUEBigqXeGvAL2sVOuYsr08NQPAdEz_ythu3GUSx4CYKHmjCtFChRa6OVM8_YIeh9gKi_W5kRziBUjZpjF3D3dnBXRwktyWEAGq09CtefOaL1VCZGVNRIyGmUnnsXUCoDq1i3SB4vK3ejZwWg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Popularity notwithstanding, Weinberg and McCann argue that the pro-con list has several flaws:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. It creates a false dichotomy, since many consequences don\u2019t fit neatly as pros or cons.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The false dichotomy created by pro-con lists is an example of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/narrow-framing\/\">narrow framing<\/a><\/em>, where <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/01\/the-pros-and-cons-of-pros-and-cons-lists\">we constrain our perceptions of outcomes by forcing them into imperfect categories<\/a>. This narrow framing distorts our perception by casting outcomes as black and white, causing us to ignore nuance and subtleties that might be crucial to our decision.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. It fails to weight different pros and cons, so you focus solely on the quantity of pros and cons.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: To mitigate this problem, consider dividing pros and cons into major and minor subcategories. For example, more room for upward mobility could be a major pro, whereas an extra week of paid leave might only be a minor pro.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. The <em>grass-is-greener mentality <\/em>leads us to naturally overemphasize pros. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: While the grass-is-greener mentality inclines us toward decisions that require change, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/status-quo-bias\/\">status quo bias<\/a><\/em>\u2014the preference for our current situation over alternatives\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/stretching-theory\/202206\/is-fear-change-holding-you-back#:~:text=Human%20decision%2Dmakers%20have%20an,making%20and%20stifle%20people's%20potential.\">inclines us against making decisions which involve substantial change<\/a>. In such cases, we may be naturally predisposed to overemphasize the cons of change, rather than pros.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, while a pro-con list may work well enough for simpler decisions, Weinberg and McCann caution against using it in more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/complex-decisions-2\/\">complex decisions<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the purpose of a pro-con list? Why is it a bad idea to base your decisions on the simplistic pro-con analysis? The pro-con list is a decision-making strategy where you sort the advantages and disadvantages of a decision in parallel columns. The pro-con list is probably the most common decision-making tool, but it&#8217;s also the most flawed one. Here is a look at the disadvantages of pro-con decision-making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":54195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[813],"class_list":["post-84738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-psychology","tag-super-thinking","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why the Pro-Con List Is a Flawed Decision-Making Tool - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The pro-con list is the most basic and the most common decision-making strategy, but it&#039;s also the most flawed one. 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