Have you ever wanted to do something simply because everyone else was doing it? That instinct is surprisingly common. We naturally look to other people for clues about what to believe, buy, support, or try. Sometimes that social influence is harmless, but it can also lead us to accept an idea without stopping to ask … Read more
Do you often find yourself continuing on a path that doesn’t feel right, only because you’ve already invested so much time or money into it? You might strongly dislike what you’re doing, but you feel like you have to stay the course because you can’t imagine doing anything differently. If this sounds familiar, then you’re … Read more
How often do you find yourself racing at the last minute to meet a deadline? Do you often find that you end up finishing projects after you had promised they would be complete? Have you let people down because you didn’t have enough time to fulfill your obligations? If these questions sound familiar, then you … Read more
I used to work for a naturopathic doctor who treated patients who were usually looking for a “last resort” solution to their health problems. We had plenty of interesting conversations in the office about the dangers of common foods, and lots of judgement was passed if you didn’t own the latest and greatest water purification … Read more
Let’s say you’re walking down the sidewalk near a busy street and you see someone who is texting and not paying attention to where they’re going. There is some space between the two of you, but certainly not so much that you wouldn’t be able to stop them from walking into traffic. As you see … Read more
It starts as children when we try to please and impress our parents. That need to please follows us to school as we try to impress our teachers and coaches–and ultimately to our adult lives as we go out of our way to please our bosses. And this isn’t only true for people who tend … Read more
If you think about what the “burden of proof” means for a minute (or you look it up), it makes perfect sense. This is something that you probably face in one form or another every day. While the concept of “the burden of proof” is commonly used in law, it also plays a critical role … Read more
What would happen if you dropped a mirror and it broke? Well, aside from having to buy a new mirror, you would probably expect seven years of bad luck to be ahead of you. But, if you think back to our article on the Post Hoc Logical Fallacies, you know this popular belief stems from … Read more
One common thing I hear people say (and I tend to believe myself) is, “No news is good news.” I was recently proven wrong by this saying when I spoke with a good friend of mine for the first time in several weeks. It’s not that we had lost touch–we are just both so busy … Read more
When you’re trying to make an argument for (or against) something, you need to construct a claim to get your listeners to believe what you’re saying. And there are few better ways to do this than to say something that your listeners already believe to be true. Like other cognitive biases, we often rely on … Read more