Cognitive Biases

Human Factory Settings: The Psychology of Conviction and Influence 1 Human Factory Settings - Part 1: The Chemistry of Conviction: Why We Are Wired to Be Swindled 2 Human Factory Settings - Part 2: Your Mind's Blind Spots: The Illusion of Rational Choice 3 Human Factory Settings - Part 3: The Charisma Algorithm: The Six Pillars of Influence ← Series Home The Algorithm of Desire: Why We Are Wired to Be Swindled Imagine that you have just made a major decision—say, choosing an expensive new car or committing to a particular investment portfolio. After the choice is finalized, you feel a distinct surge of certainty; your belief in the correctness of the decision improves significantly, irrespective of any new evidence. This visceral conviction, which often flies in the face of objective facts or sound reason, presents a profound psychological paradox. Why does the human mind, ostensibly dedicated to logic and truth, so often prioritize emotional comfort and self-justification when assessing reality? The answer lies in recognizing that our deepest convictions are not born of pure thought but are rather the computational output of ancient, powerful biochemical systems. These systems evolved not to find truth in the abstract but to ensure survival by guiding the organism toward agreeable states and away from danger. When reason and feeling clash, the emotional engine of the mind invariably wins, making the brain highly receptive to emotional manipulation and persuasion. ...

The Architecture of Choice ← Series Home The Scarcity of Attention The world of our hunter-gatherer ancestors was brutal, yet in one critical aspect, it was elegantly simple: survival left little room for contemplation of myriad options. When they ran out of game, they hunted; they ate whatever they could gather before it spoiled; and the extraordinarily violent nature of their environment meant few individuals worried about future careers or retirement savings. Their lives, though harsh, put relatively few cognitive demands on their brains. ...

The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer 1 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 1: How Cognitive Biases Undermine Rational Choice 2 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 2: Persuasion as a Science: Navigating the Elaboration Likelihood Model 3 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 3: Anchors, Decoys, and Dissonance: The Psychology of Price and Loyalty 4 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 4: Beyond Utility: Status, Identity, and the Allure of Luxury Goods 5 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 5: Digital Identity and Social Proof: Building Trust in the Online Ecosystem 6 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 6: Ideological Consumption: When Political Values Dictate Brand Preference 7 The Strategic Mind of the Modern Consumer – Part 7: Tomorrow's Terrain: Forecasting Crises, Sustainability, and Technological Shifts ← Series Home The Illusion of Logic in the Marketplace The contemporary marketplace often assumes that consumers are thoughtful decision-makers who systematically weigh options to maximize their personal well-being. This foundational belief in rationality is rooted in the traditional Economic Model of Consumer Behavior. According to this classic paradigm, consumers evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of various offerings, such as features, quality, and cost-effectiveness, before arriving at a choice. Marketing professionals, therefore, conventionally structured their propositions to appeal to this supposed logical evaluation process. ...

Human Factory Settings: The Psychology of Conviction and Influence 1 Human Factory Settings - Part 1: The Chemistry of Conviction: Why We Are Wired to Be Swindled 2 Human Factory Settings - Part 2: Your Mind's Blind Spots: The Illusion of Rational Choice 3 Human Factory Settings - Part 3: The Charisma Algorithm: The Six Pillars of Influence ← Series Home The Illusion of Omniscient Choice The traditional economic view posits the ideal decision-maker—Homo economicus (Econ)—as a dispassionate, objective actor who makes faultless forecasts and rational choices, unfailingly optimizing outcomes by diligently weighing all evidence. This model, which often shapes policy prescriptions, assumes that if citizens are simply given the widest possible range of choices, they will naturally select the best possible outcome for themselves. Yet, decades of evidence demonstrate that this vision is a profound fiction. Humans are routinely fooled by visual illusions and predictable cognitive biases, confirming that our subjective reality diverges sharply and systematically from flawless calculation. ...

The Bounded Mind ← Series Home The Burden of Self-Certainty The modern leader is expected to embody determination and consistent decisiveness. Yet, in a rapidly shifting business landscape, rigidity is a liability, and strategic success often hinges on the courage to abandon a previously held conviction. The process of changing one’s mind, however, is not a simple, rational recalculation; it is a profound psychological struggle, as deeply held beliefs serve as psychological anchors. In fact, being efficient in the wrong direction—continuing to push a strategy that is fundamentally flawed—is more dangerous than inefficiency, and the sooner a leader can change their mind and correct the course, the better. The challenge lies in combating the insidious cognitive mechanisms that conspire to lock us into false assumptions and beliefs. ...

Audit Your Instincts: The Playbook for Engineering Unbiased Decisions The Hidden Trap in Your Brain Every day, you make countless decisions—from what to eat for lunch to which job offer to accept. For the most part, your brain uses a phenomenal shortcut system, which Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman called System 1. This system is fast, intuitive, and runs on gut feeling. It’s efficient, but it’s also the source of predictable errors known as cognitive biases. ...