Articles
for general educational purposes only
The dangers of thinking in black-and-white
Breaking free from all-or-nothing thinking to see the gray areas in life.
WYSIATI bias: What You See Is All There Is
We tend to base judgements and decisions solely on the information available.
The peak-end rule: The remembering self trumps the experiencing self
We tend to judge past experiences mainly based on how we felt at the emotional peak and the end.
The sunk cost fallacy: Breaking free from the grip of irrecoverable past investments
We tend to let irrecoverable past investments influence our decisions, resulting in suboptimal outcomes.
Truth bias: The dangers of uncritically taking information at face value
We tend to assume that others are telling the truth unless we have reason to doubt them.
Influence: The seven principles of persuasion
Understanding the power of persuasion principles and techniques.
The unity principle: Harnessing the power of our tribal instincts
We tend to favour those we consider to be one of us.
The consistency principle: Why you should be cautious agreeing to small requests
We tend to behave consistently with what we have said or done before.
The scarcity principle: Limited availability increases perceived value
We tend to assign more value to things that are perceived as scarce.
The fundamental attribution error: Underestimating the power of circumstances
When explaining the behaviour of others, we tend to overestimate the role of personality traits and underestimate the role of environmental influences.
Present bias: The present self trumps the future self
We tend to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of future rewards.
The authority principle: The dangers of blindly trusting authority figures
We tend to comply with requests from people in positions of authority.
The social proof principle: The influence of others on our choices
We tend to look at the actions or beliefs of others to determine what is appropriate.
The liking principle: Increasing influence through likeability
We tend to be more easily persuaded by people we like.
The reciprocity principle: Understanding the power of gifts and favours
We have a strong tendency to feel obligated to reciprocate favours received.
The contrast principle: Comparative orders magnify perceived differences
Our perception of things is significantly influenced by the context in which they are presented.
Biases: why you are not as rational as you like to think
Because of our cognitive biases we tend to make systematic errors in our thinking.
The framing effect: how language shapes your perception of reality
Our judgements, decisions and moral feelings are not based on reality, but on how reality is framed.
Loss aversion: taming the fear of loss for smarter decisions
We tend to be more driven to avoid losses than to achieve gains.
Optimism bias: navigating the pitfalls of unrealistic optimism
Optimism bias can cause us to make decisions based on unrealistically optimistic expectations.