FEBRUARY 15, 2023
BEN ERSING
I love a good book that challenges my assumptions about the world and pushes me to think about things differently. Even more so when the book is deeply rooted in science.
I picked this one up over the Christmas break at Barnes and Noble when I was supposed to be finding a present for my wife. I did eventually find something for her but ended up with a few more books on my bookshelf along the way.
Okay, I'll admit, I didn't actually buy it in Barnes and Noble. I saw it on the shelf, thought it was interesting, and bought it used on Amazon while standing there in the store. It arrived at my home 3 days later, at 50% of the cost. Technology is amazing, and this feels like a huge lost opportunity for brick-and-mortar bookstores. But I digress.
This is a longer-than-typical teardown, but it's worth the read. I promise you'll find more than one jewel in here that is highly applicable and actionable for you...today. The full read is even better.
So without further adieu, here are 40+ common misconceptions about how you experience the world, and the science-based truth behind it.
Misconception 1: You are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is.
Truth: You are as deluded as the rest of us, but that’s OK it keeps you sane.
Misconception 2: you know when you are lying to yourself
Truth: you are often ignorant about your true motivations and create fictional narratives to explain your decisions, emotions, and history – all without realizing it (i.e., Confabulation)
Misconception 3: your opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis
Truth: your opinions are the result of years of paying attention to the information that confirmed what you believed, while ignoring information that challenged your preconceived notions (i.e., Confirmation Bias)
Misconception 4: After you learn something new, you remember how you were once ignorant and wrong.
Truth: you often look back on the things you’ve just learned and assume you knoew them or believed them all along (i.e., hindsight bias)
Misconception 5: you take randomness into account when determining cause and effect.
Truth: you tend to ignore random chance when the results seem meaningful or when you want a random event to have a meaningful cause (i.e., Texas sharpshooter fallacy)
Misconception 6: you procrastinate because you are lazy and can’t manage your time well
Truth: procrastination is fueled by weakness in the face of impulse and a failure to think about thinking
Misconception 7: you know why you like the things you like and feel the way you feel
Truth: the origin of certain emotional states is unavailable to you, and even when pressed to explain them, you will just make something up.
Misconception 8: With the advent of mass media, you understand how the world works based on statistics and facts culled from many examples
Truth: you are far more likely to believe something is commonplace if you can find just one example of it, and you are far less likely to believe in something you’ve never seen or heard of before (i.e., the availability heuristic)
Misconception 9: when someone is hurt, people rush to their aid.
Truth: the more people who witness a person in distress, the less likely it is that any one person will help (i.e., the bystander effect)
Misconception 10: you can predict how well you would perform in any situation
Truth: you are generally pretty bad at estimating your competence and the difficulty of complex tasks (i.e., DunningKruger Effect)
Misconception 11: some coincidences are so miraculous, they must have meaning.
Truth: coincidences are a routine part of life, even the seemingly miraculous ones. Any meaning applied to them comes from your mind. (i.e., apophenia)
Misconception 12: you prefer the things you own over the things you don’t because you made rational choices when you bought them
Truth: you prefer the things you own because you rationalize your past choices to protect your sense of self (i.e., brand loyalty)
Misconception 13: you are more concerned with the validity of information than the person delivering it
Truth: the status and credentials of an individual greatly influence your perception of that individual’s message. (i.e., the argument from authority)
Misconception 14: when you argue, you try to stick to the facts
Truth: in any argument, anger will tempt you to reframe your opponent’s position (i.e., Straw Man Fallacy)
Misconception 15: if you can’t trust someone, you should ignore that person’s claims
Truth: what someone says and why they say it should be judged separately (the ad hominem fallacy)
Misconception 16: we could create a system with no regulations where everyone would contribute to the good of society, everyone would benefit, and everyone would be happy
Truth: without some form of regulation, slackers and cheaters will crash economic systems because people don’t want to feel like suckers (i.e., public goods game)
Misconception 17: you are skeptical of generalities
Truth: you are prone to believing vague statements and predictions are true, especially if they are positive and address you personally (i.e., subjective validation)
Misconception 18: you are too smart to join a cult
Truth: cults are populated by people just like you
Misconception 19: problems are easier to solve when a group of people get together to discuss solutions
Truth: the desire to reach consensus and avoid confrontation hinders progress (i.e., Groupthink)
Misconception 20: men who have sex with RealDolls are insane, and women who marry eighty-year-old billionaires are gold diggers
Truth: RealDolls and rich old sugar daddies are both supernormal releasers.
Misconception 21: you calculate what is risky or rewarding and always choose to maximize gains while minimizing losses
Truth: You depend on emotions to tell you if something is good or bad, greatly overestimate rewards, and tend to stick to your first impressions (i.e., the affect heuristic)
Misconception 22: there is a rolodex in your mind with the names and faces of everyone you’ve ever known
Truth: you can maintain relationships and keep up with only around 150 people at once (i.e., Dunbar’s Number)
Misconception 23: Both consumerism and capitalism are sustained by corporations and advertising
Truth: Both consumerism and capitalism are driven by competition among consumers for status
Misconception 24: you evaluate yourself based on past successes and defeats
Truth: you excuse your failures and see yourself as more successful, more intelligent, and more skilled than you are (i.e., self-serving bias)
Misconception 25: when you are around others, you feel as if everyone is noticing every aspect of your appearance and behavior.
Truth: people devote little attention to you unless prompted to (i.e., the spotlight effect)
Misconception 26: you believe your opinions and decisions are based on experience and facts, while those who disagree with you are falling for the lies and propaganda of sources that shouldn’t be trusted
Truth: everyone believes the people they disagree with are gullible, and everyone thinks they are far less susceptible to persuasion than they truly are (i.e., the third person effect)
Misconception 27: venting your anger is an effective way to reduce stress and prevent lashing out at friends and family
Truth: venting increases aggressive behavior over time
Misconception 28: memories are played back like recordings
Truth: memories are constructed anew each time from whatever information is currently available, which makes them higher permeable to influences from the present (i.e., the misinformation effect)
Misconception 29: you are a strong individual who doesn’t conform unless forced to
Truth: it takes little more than an authority figure or social pressure to get you to obey, because conformity is a survival instinct
Misconception 30: if you stop engaging in a bad habit, the habit will gradually diminish until it disappears from your life.
Truth: any time you quit something cold turkey, your brain will make a last-ditch effort to return you to your habit
Misconception 31: when you are joined by others in a task, you work harder and become more accomplished
Truth: once part of a group, you tend to put in less effort because you know your work will be pooled together with others
Misconception 32: when your emotions run high, people can look at you and tell what you are thinking and feeling
Truth: your subjective experience is not observable, and you overestimate how much you telegraph your inner thoughts and emotions (i.e., the illusion of transparency)
Misconception 33: if you are in a bad situation, you will do whatever you can do to escape it
Truth: if you feel you aren’t in control of your destiny, you will give up and accept whatever situations you are in (i.e., learned helplessness)
Misconception 34: your opinions of people and events are based on objective evaluation
Truth: you translate your physical world into words, and then believe those words (i.e., embodied cognition)
Misconception 35: you rationally analyze all factors before making a choice or determining value
Truth: your first perception lingers in your mind, affecting later perceptions and desires (i.e., the anchoring effect)
Misconception 36: you see everything going on before your eyes, taking in all information like a camera
Truth: you are aware only of a small amount of the total information your eyes take in, and even less is processed by your conscious mind and remembered
Misconception 37: in all you do, you strive for success
Truth: you often create conditions for failure ahead of time to protect your ego (i.e., self-handicapping)
Misconception 38: predictions about your future are subject to forces beyond your control
Truth: just believing a future event will happen can cause it to happen if the event depends on human behavior
Misconception 39: you are one person, and your happiness is based on being content with your life
Truth: you are multiple selves, and happiness is based on satisfying all of them
Misconception 40: you know how your opinions have changed over time
Truth: unless you consciously keep tabs on your progress, you assume the way you feel now is the way you have always felt. (i.e, consistency bias)
Misconception 41: knowing a person’s history makes it easier to determine what sort of person they are
Truth: you jump to conclusions based on how representative a person seems to be of a preconceived character type
Misconception 42: wine is a complicated elixir, fully of subtle flavors only an expert can truly distinguish, and experienced tasters are impervious to deception
Truth: wine experts and consumers can be fooled by altering their expectations
Misconception 43: You know how much control you have over your surroundings
Truth: you often believe you have control over outcomes that are either random or too complex to predict (i.e., illusion of control)
Misconception 44: other people’s behavior is a reflection of their personality
Truth: other people’s behavior is more the result of the situation than their disposition (i.e., fundamental attribution error)
Tags: #BookNotes #2012 #Psychology #IndividualPerformance