why do we make wrong decisions? (contd..)
(Emotional Management for Personal & Professional Growth Series)
As we have discussed some of the thinking traps that affect our decision-making ability, the next one in this thinking trap series is "looking for confirmation -evidence for our original thought."
What is meant by looking for confirmation evidence for our thought?
We biased our decision-making towards our initial thought even though there are contradictory views or data against our views. We seek people who favor our thinking and even interpret any information according to our thought.
For example,
you would like to purchase an electric vehicle and almost decided to go ahead with an electric type than IC engine. However, you are seeking information from your colleagues. Most of them are against electric vehicles at this moment, citing logical apprehensions like lack of adequate charging facilities, lack of knowledge on maintenance, service support and cost.
Since you have already fixed your mind towards the electric vehicle, you would not listen to any opinion against the electric type or look for a favorable response in line with your initial thought. That is the trap of looking only for confirming evidence for our original thought.
Sometimes we tend to interpret the information according to our initial thought.
There is an old story that goes like this.
In a classroom, a teacher wanted to give a message to the students that consuming alcohol is not good for their health. He demonstrated by taking a glass of alcohol and then putting some insects inside the glass, and eventually, insects died. He said to the students," Look, the alcohol kills the insects; hence it is not suitable for our health.One student stood and said," Sir, I have some insect trouble in my stomach, so by consuming alcohol, i can come out of the trouble, hence consuming alcohol is good for health!".
That is looking for confirmation by interpreting the message as one likes.
The key line, what you want to hear, you will listen to that, and even we distort the information according to our thought. That is the thinking trap.
In the organization setup, we always seek information or go to the people who would like to endorse our views or decision, which may affect the decision-making quality.
How can we overcome this thinking trap?
Let us discuss other thinking traps next week.
Have a great week ahead!
What is meant by looking for confirmation evidence for our thought?
We biased our decision-making towards our initial thought even though there are contradictory views or data against our views. We seek people who favor our thinking and even interpret any information according to our thought.
For example,
you would like to purchase an electric vehicle and almost decided to go ahead with an electric type than IC engine. However, you are seeking information from your colleagues. Most of them are against electric vehicles at this moment, citing logical apprehensions like lack of adequate charging facilities, lack of knowledge on maintenance, service support and cost.
Since you have already fixed your mind towards the electric vehicle, you would not listen to any opinion against the electric type or look for a favorable response in line with your initial thought. That is the trap of looking only for confirming evidence for our original thought.
Sometimes we tend to interpret the information according to our initial thought.
There is an old story that goes like this.
In a classroom, a teacher wanted to give a message to the students that consuming alcohol is not good for their health. He demonstrated by taking a glass of alcohol and then putting some insects inside the glass, and eventually, insects died. He said to the students," Look, the alcohol kills the insects; hence it is not suitable for our health.One student stood and said," Sir, I have some insect trouble in my stomach, so by consuming alcohol, i can come out of the trouble, hence consuming alcohol is good for health!".
That is looking for confirmation by interpreting the message as one likes.
The key line, what you want to hear, you will listen to that, and even we distort the information according to our thought. That is the thinking trap.
In the organization setup, we always seek information or go to the people who would like to endorse our views or decision, which may affect the decision-making quality.
How can we overcome this thinking trap?
- We need to ensure whether we give all the options equal weightage or give high weightage for our initial option as ultimate. Awareness of emotions and rationality is key.
- We can weigh our options with many pros and cons than confining with one option; for example, In the electric vehicle purchase case, just i want to buy to be trendy and be open to other pros and cons of purchasing. That openness and flexibility will help to make the right decisions.
Let us discuss other thinking traps next week.
Have a great week ahead!
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