The authority bias is a cognitive bias that makes people predisposed to believe, support, and obey those that they perceive as authority figures. Most notably, the authority bias is associated with people’s tendency to obey the orders of someone that they perceive as an authority figure, even when they believe that there’s something wrong …
The platinum rule is a moral principle which denotes that you should treat others the way they want to be treated. For example, the platinum rule denotes that if someone wants you to leave them alone, then you should do that. The platinum rule can be useful in many situations, but it’s important to …
The von Restorff isolation effect (sometimes called the von Restorff effect or the isolation effect) is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember things better when they stand out from other things that they’re next to. For example, the von Restorff isolation effect means that people who are shown a color photo in …
An ingroup is a social group that a person identifies as being a part of, based on factors like nationality, race, religion, socioeconomic status, or political affiliation. An outgroup is a social group that a person does not identify with, based on similar factors as would cause that person to identify with an ingroup …
Brandolini’s law (also called the bullshit asymmetry principle), is the adage that “the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it”. This denotes that it’s generally much easier to say something without concern for things such as the truth, evidence, or logic, than it is …
My talks help the audience become more effective thinkers and doers, by helping them understand how our minds work. The talks are engaging, and filled with actionable research-based insights, which the audience can immediately start using to improve their life. About me I’m Dr. Itamar Shatz (Cambridge PhD). I help people learn about psychology and …
The post hoc fallacy (from the Latin post hoc ergo propter hoc, meaning “after this, therefore because of this”) is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone assumes that because one event occurred after another, then the second event must have been caused by the first. For example, the post hoc fallacy occurs when someone …
The law of small numbers is the incorrect belief that small samples are likely to be highly representative of the populations from which they are drawn, similarly to large samples. For example, the law of small numbers could cause someone to assume that the way one person behaves necessarily represents the way everyone from …
Crab mentality is a phenomenon where people react negatively, in terms of their thoughts, statements, or actions, to those who get ahead of them, even though they don’t expect there to be direct benefits to doing so. For example, crab mentality can cause someone to discourage or sabotage their friend who is starting to …
Reflective practice involves actively analyzing your experiences and actions, in order to help yourself improve and develop. For example, an athlete can engage in reflective practice by thinking about mistakes that they made during a training session, and figuring out ways to avoid making those mistakes in the future. Reflective practice can be beneficial …