The Benjamin Franklin effect is a psychological phenomenon that causes people to like someone more after they do that person a favor. For example, the Ben Franklin effect could cause someone to start liking a person that they previously hated, if they do that person a small favor, such as loan them a book. …
Read moreThe Benjamin Franklin Effect: How to Build Rapport by Asking for Favors
The overkill backfire effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to reject arguments that they think are too complex, in favor of arguments that are easy for them to understand. For example, the overkill effect could cause someone to reject a complex scientific explanation for a certain phenomenon, because a certain myth that …
Read moreThe Overkill Backfire Effect: on the Danger of Presenting Too Much Evidence
The authority bias is the tendency to obey the orders of an authority figure, even when you strongly believe that there is something wrong with those orders. Experiments show that this tendency is much more powerful than most people assume, and in the following article you will learn how this bias affects people, and …
Read moreAuthority Bias: What We Can Learn from the Milgram Obedience Experiments
The handicap principle suggests that in many situations which involve communication, the reliability of a signal is directly tied to any potential costs that are associated with making and maintaining it. A classic example of the handicap principle has to do with the flashy tail that male peacocks have. From a practical perspective, this tail serves …
Read moreThe Handicap Principle: Why Accepting a Disadvantage Can Be a Signal of Strength
The halo effect is a cognitive bias that causes our impression of someone or something in one domain to influence our impression of them in other domains. For example, the halo effect can cause people to assume that someone will have an interesting personality, simply because they find that person to be physically attractive. The halo …
Read moreThe Halo Effect: Why People Often Judge a Book by Its Cover
In a perfectly rational world, people who encounter evidence which challenges their beliefs would first evaluate this evidence, and then adjust their beliefs accordingly. However, in reality this is seldom the case. Instead, when people encounter evidence that should cause them to doubt their beliefs, they often reject this evidence, and strengthen their support for their …
Read moreThe Backfire Effect: Why Facts Don’t Always Change Minds
The spotlight effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to think that they are being observed and noticed by others more than they actually are. People experience this bias because they naturally see everything from their own point of view first, so they struggle to imagine how they look through other people’s perspective. …
Read moreThe Spotlight Effect: How to Stop Being Self Conscious
The illusion of transparency is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the degree to which other people can read their emotional state. This cognitive bias is attributed to our inability to properly adjust from the anchor of our own point of view when attempting to see ourselves from another person’s perspective. Essentially, since …
Read moreThe Illusion of Transparency: Why You’re Not as Obvious as You Think You Are