Blog – Page 2 – Effectiviology

The Psychologist’s Fallacy: Why It’s Wrong to Assume that Your Interpretation is Right

The psychologist’s fallacy is a logical fallacy which occurs when an external observer assumes that their subjective interpretation of an event represents the objective nature of that event. For example, the psychologist’s fallacy occurs when a psychologist assumes that their interpretation of why a patient acted the way that they did must be true. …

The Rhyme-as-Reason Effect: Why Rhyming Makes Your Message More Persuasive

The rhyme-as-reason effect is a cognitive bias that makes people more likely to remember, repeat, and believe statements that contain a rhyme, compared to those that do not. For example, people generally perceive the aphorism “woes unite foes” as more accurate than the aphorisms “woes unite enemies” or “misfortunes unite foes”, despite the fact that they …

Precommitment: Burning Bridges as a Strategic Decision

Precommitment is a strategy where you intentionally take actions which limit your future options, in order to enforce your commitment to a particular course of action and make your threats appear more credible to others. Precommitment can be a valuable strategy to apply in many areas of life. As such, in the following article …

Placebo: How the Placebo Effect Can Trick Your Mind into Feeling Better

A placebo is a treatment which has no inherent ability to produce a direct physiological effect, but which nevertheless has a beneficial therapeutic effect, and can cause people to experience positive physical or mental outcomes. For example, when people are given an inert sugar pill by a doctor who tells them that it’s medicine, …

The Credentials Fallacy: What It Is and How to Respond to It

The credentials fallacy is a logical fallacy which occurs when someone dismisses an argument simply because the person who made that argument doesn’t have formal credentials in the field being discussed, or doesn’t have credentials that are viewed as sufficient. For example, if someone raises concerns about a certain social issue, someone using the …

Deadlines: How Effective Time Constraints Can Boost Productivity

Deadlines are a simple but powerful time-management technique that can help you become much more productive if you know how to implement them properly. In the following article, you will first learn a bit about the concept of deadlines, and about why using them can be beneficial. Then, you will see guidelines for setting …

Net Positive: Why You Should Do More Good in Life

Net positive is a philosophy which is based on trying to maintain a positive balance in your life, by doing more good than you do harm and by contributing more than you take. For example, when it comes to your friendships, the net positive approach means that you should try to help your friends …

False Authority: When People Rely on the Wrong Experts

A false authority is an authority figure whose authority is invalid because they either have dubious credentials, irrelevant credentials, or no credentials at all. For example, an actor who has no medical training but advocates for a certain type of alternative medicine is considered a false authority with no credentials. An appeal to false …