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The Psychological Reasons Why Everyone Is Making Dumb Decisions About Covid
Blame our faulty brains. Luckily, there are ways to get out of the most common mental traps.
Until there’s a safe and widespread vaccine rollout, the greatest weapons we have against the pandemic are the decisions we make every day. The bad news about this is that humans are notoriously lousy decision-makers.
Why, though? Blame our faulty brains: All of us possess cognitive biases that make it difficult to think rationally when faced with questions involving risk. Should we dine at a restaurant? Is it a good idea to send our kids back to school? Can we safely visit our folks to celebrate Thanksgiving?
While our instincts may be to go with the less-than-optimal choice, we’re not helpless. Simply knowing the reasons for our cognitive laziness can help us to make better, more informed decisions. Here are five common biases to look for, along with strategies to get yourself out of these mental traps.
The framing effect
When choosing between two outcomes, our preference often depends on how the outcomes are presented. This is called the framing effect. Pretend you have two options: taking a guaranteed win of $1 or making a gamble with a 50/50 chance…
