Posted on Sep 15, 2022
3 common thinking traps and how to avoid them, according to a Yale psychologist : Life Kit
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https://www.npr.org/2022/09/13/ [login to see] /3-common-thinking-traps-and-how-to-avoid-them-according-to-a-yale-psychologist
The mind is a tricky thing. It can lead us to believe that we can confidently sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" at karaoke even though we haven't heard the song in years, or that one terrible review on Yelp is reason enough not to go to a 4-star rated restaurant.
These thinking errors are what people in the psychology community call cognitive biases. And that's the focus of a new book out this month, Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better, by Yale psychology professor Woo-kyoung Ahn. In the book, Ahn highlights some of the most pernicious cognitive slip-ups we make — and how biases can cloud our judgment and affect the people around us.
The mind is a tricky thing. It can lead us to believe that we can confidently sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" at karaoke even though we haven't heard the song in years, or that one terrible review on Yelp is reason enough not to go to a 4-star rated restaurant.
These thinking errors are what people in the psychology community call cognitive biases. And that's the focus of a new book out this month, Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better, by Yale psychology professor Woo-kyoung Ahn. In the book, Ahn highlights some of the most pernicious cognitive slip-ups we make — and how biases can cloud our judgment and affect the people around us.
3 common thinking traps and how to avoid them, according to a Yale psychologist : Life Kit
Posted from npr.org
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Psychology
Yale University
Posted >1 y ago
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To an extent all of our perceptions are subjective to varying degrees as we all view the world from an egocentric perspective.
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Rich
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."How to counteract it: Allow yourself to examine all possible explanations before you make a judgment. For example, if an actor landed a part but her parents were also in the entertainment business, many of us might attribute her employment to nepotism. Since we've seen many examples of parents giving their kids a leg up in business or politics, another example of a child benefiting from their parents' success would fit that theory.
But could it also be true that she gave the best audition? By looking at the issue from many different viewpoints – not just your own – it challenges your confirmation bias. And you might realize that perhaps there is another side to the story."
..."How to counteract it: Allow yourself to examine all possible explanations before you make a judgment. For example, if an actor landed a part but her parents were also in the entertainment business, many of us might attribute her employment to nepotism. Since we've seen many examples of parents giving their kids a leg up in business or politics, another example of a child benefiting from their parents' success would fit that theory.
But could it also be true that she gave the best audition? By looking at the issue from many different viewpoints – not just your own – it challenges your confirmation bias. And you might realize that perhaps there is another side to the story."
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