Out of Proportion
Non-proportional thinking, or focusing on absolute numbers rather than percentages, is just one way we get mixed up when we should be carefully calculating and comparing ratios.
First Impressions
When we judge someone, rarely do we stop to consider how their particular situation likely played a large role in guiding their actions.
Less Is More
When attempting to solve a problem, why do people tend to add something rather than subtract?
The Power of Negative Thinking
Anticipating and planning for obstacles can sometimes be more powerful than adopting a positive mindset.
The Good Fight
How can you leverage constructive conflict without feeling like disagreements are personal?
Expect the Unexpected
Despite their regularity, we don't tend to budget well for the high frequency of unexpected events that predictably arise when it comes to our time, our diet, or our money.
What's the Big Idea?
We often overestimate our abilities and the accuracy of our predictions. Is it better to have well-calibrated confidence beliefs?
Not Just Another Statistic
Why are we more motivated by individuals and their stories rather than large numbers or statistical information?
Hold That Thought
Forgetting can be a significant barrier to achievement with real consequences. How can reminders help improve our memory?
In the Face of Risk
The way we perceive the probability of rare events often changes as we acquire direct experience—but are the new perceptions more accurate?
Mindful of Mindsets
How can our expectations and mindset have a positive effect on our health and our lives?
Some Assembly Preferred
There is a real sense of satisfaction that comes with building something yourself. But can that lead to us overvaluing what we create?
If Only …
You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have at least some regrets. The trick is knowing when (and how) to let things go—and when to use regret productively.
A Successful Failure
Using a checklist—it's such a simple idea, but it's one of the best ways to bring order to complexity and achieve results.
Fair Is Fair
It's hard to be objective about fairness—because what seems fair so often depends on your reference points.
Spoiled for Choice
While having a myriad of options is a privilege consumers increasingly expect, too much choice often leads to dissatisfaction and regret.
A Bundle of Nerves
Can adverse emotional reactions be reframed to diminish their negative consequences?
A Spoonful of Sugar
Conventional wisdom is that you should just buckle down and do what's in your long-term best interest, right? It's a lot easier if you make it appealing in the short term, too.
Bidder Beware
Suppose you just won a hotly contested auction. How likely is it that you got a good deal?
A Choice Apart
Making a decision in isolation—versus in a comparison—relies on different processes and tends to produce different results.
So Close to the Prize
Whatever the goal, we often increase our level of effort when the finish line seems near. How can we make the most of this tendency?
Coping Amid the Crisis
What can behavioral science teach us about managing the emotional toll of the coronavirus pandemic?
The Simple Choice
Making the beneficial choice the easiest choice can streamline decision-making. But be aware of exactly who's benefitting.
Judge the Judges
The chance variability of human judgment is a widespread, costly problem—and one that can be measured even when the supposed correct answer isn't known.
The Price of Your Vice
Giving in to temptation is all too easy in the moment. But raising the stakes just might bolster your resistance.
Creatures of Habit
Small repeated behaviors can have an outsize impact on your success, health, and happiness.
Invisible Failures
Concentrating only on successes—the things that survive some selection process—often leads to faulty conclusions.
Not Quite Enough
A lack of resources can constrain your ability to make the best choices in life. But surprisingly, there are advantages to scarcity in some contexts.
The Lucky Loonie
Some things are simply beyond our control. And while a little luck never hurts, it’s best to understand what your behaviors can truly affect.
Best-Laid Plans
Why do we forget the lessons of past projects and underestimate the time, costs and risks of future actions?
Boxed In
One of the most common mental shortcuts we commit is making snap judgments about people and things based on limited information.
Knew It All Along
Hindsight is 20/20, the saying goes. But occurrences that appear inevitable after the fact rarely seemed so in real time.
No Harm, No Foul?
It makes some intuitive sense to judge a decision based on its results. But is it always true that a good decision leads to a good outcome, and vice versa?
Out of Focus
People overlook important information—even when it’s easily accessible or, in hindsight, downright obvious.
Love the Mug You’re With
It's a bias that’s been observed for perhaps thousands of years, a tendency to overvalue what we already possess.
Data for the Win
Where analytical models and algorithms outperform human judgment, it's still so tempting to just go with your gut.
The Mystery of Chance
We're wired to search for order in the world. It's how we learn and construct meaning. But often we see patterns in mere happenstance.
A Clean Slate
How you divide your money and time is influenced by a cognitive bias—but it's one that you can put to good use.
Everybody's Doing It
You're an independent-minded person. You make choices for yourself based on the best information available. You own your decisions, right or wrong. Right?
The Temptation of Now
Why is it so tempting to make short-sighted decisions? And what we can do to exert more self-control?
Losses Loom Large
From ethical behavior to athletic competition, the disproportionate drive not to lose can lead to major mistakes.
Choiceology Season 2
Choiceology returns with a new season and a new host—Katy Milkman. Subscribe for free today to get the first episode of season 2 when it launches October 29.
How Tomorrow Feels Today
Whether expecting joy or despair, we tend to overestimate the long-term emotional impact of life events.
A Number in Mind
Focusing on a single data point to the exclusion of other information: It's a tried-and-true negotiating strategy, and it can quickly skew your judgment.
Swimming with Sharks
News reports sometimes make it seem as if danger lurks around every corner. And while there's no doubt that risk is a part of life, do we worry more than we should?
The Devil's Advocate
In a world awash in data, you'd think it would be relatively easy to make informed, objective decisions. But not if you only see what you want to see.
Summit Fever
Imagine that you've put in effort toward a goal, but things haven't quite worked out the way you hoped. How do you know when it's time to let it go?
Small Changes, Big Impact
It's not always about life-changing decisions—sometimes small changes can make a big impact.
It's Hard to Be Humble
We can't all be above average. So why, in certain situations, do we think we're so special?
Choiceology Trailer
You're not as rational as you think. In this new podcast, bestselling author Dan Heath performs forensic analysis on decision making. You'll hear real stories, learn from top experts, and witness informal experiments that demonstrate the mistakes we too often make.