The Art of Thinking Clearly

The Art of Thinking Clearly is a full compendium of the psychological biases that once helped us survive but now only hinder us from living our best life.

The illusion of control is a bias that describes how we believe our influence extends to things that are impossible to manipulate. We do this because believing that we have the power to change our situation brings us hope. Don’t let this get you down, however, because your life isn’t fixed, you can improve many aspects of your life. Let’s examine some of the inconsequential things that we think we have control over.

One study identified just how much hope the illusion of control can provide. Researchers divided participants into two booths. In each booth, sound increased until the subjects told the researchers to stop. The difference was that one had a red “panic” button that participants could press when the noise became too loud. Even though the button didn’t do anything at all, the people with a button in their booth withstood much more noise than those without a button.

Similar, “placebo buttons” are placed throughout our world. If you’ve ever pushed a button at a crosswalk, most likely it does nothing but change your perception, making it easier for you to wait. Elevator buttons to open and close the doors are the same way.

To combat the illusion of control, be wary of your predictions. Rather than worrying about what you can’t control, focus only on what you know that you can.

Taking your more attractive friend to a club with you is a bad idea. Doing this makes you less likely to score a date. This happens because the comparison to your more attractive friend makes you appear less attractive than you really are.

Regardless of what we think, making absolute judgments doesn’t come easily to us. Instead, we rely on comparisons to make decisions. We choose the option that looks better instead of examining real pros and cons. This is called the contrast-effect and is also why product discounts work so well. If a $100 item becomes $70, we see it as better than an item that is normally just $70 only because of the comparison.

Similarly, companies use the idea of scarcity to get customers to buy. When they use phrases like “today only” or “limited time offer,” the brain sees a potential missed opportunity and resorts to making a purchase.

If you want to break through these biases of scarcity and comparison, focus on the value of items. When you see something is 30% off or “only while supplies last,” think only about the costs and benefits of purchasing the item.