While having an overly sunny outlook on life isn’t healthy, optimism bias can be self-fulfilling. Imagine the worst: It’s unhealthy to always worry about the worst, but shortlisting possible risk factors can be beneficial. Look at something from a third-person perspective: When you take an outsider’s view, you understand that not everything can be seen through rose-tinted glasses. Now let’s look at the factors that can decrease optimism bias and improve your decision-making abilities:Įxperience the event: Negative experiences are likely to minimize optimism bias If a negative event is perceived as unlikely, we undermine its likelihood of occurring (for example, a severe health disorder). We often think that we have things under control, making us believe in our skills to manage things that are beyond our control. We think that we aren’t likely to get affected because it happens so rarely (for example, natural disasters). Infrequent events influence optimism bias. Before we fast-forward to the way of minimizing them, let’s look at the factors contributing to this bias: However, it’s possible to challenge and minimize them consciously. Researchers have stated that optimism bias is hardwired into our brains, making it impossible to be absolutely bias-free. This low tolerance towards bad news is a result of optimism bias. If a project is doing badly and you communicate about the changes to the stakeholders, they are often frustrated. You’re likely to be chastised if you want to put aside some money for a rainy day or request reasonable levels of contingency funding. Many organizations believe that an open discussion on risk factors indicates that you don’t believe in your project as much. You downgrade the probability, reducing the likelihood of appropriate responses. Here are some ways in which optimism bias can put projects in harm’s way:ĭespite facing risks in the past, you’re likely to hope for the better in the future because of optimism bias. Project managers are often blinded by this neurological bias. We tend to engage in risky behavior even at the workplace. Tali Sharot, the author of The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain (2011), notes that this bias is widespread. Organizations not creating a risk management plan because they underestimate the likelihood of risksīeing confident about landing a job because you graduated from an elite educational institute Not adding money to an emergency fund because you overestimate your job security Here are some examples of optimism bias that are quite common: Having an overly sunny outlook on our lives can lead to poor decision-making. In other words, we tend to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive or pleasant events. Optimism bias is a mistaken belief that our chances of experiencing positive events are higher and chances of experiencing undesirable events are lower compared to what our peers experience. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, underestimating the probability of negative events has its side-effects. We consider ourselves to be rational beings, but there are times when we get too optimistic for our own good. Understanding The Optimism Bias PsychologyĪs humans, we tend to overestimate positive events in our life. Read on to learn more about this bittersweet cognitive bias and its impact on our daily lives. It told us that it’s okay not to feel okay sometimes.Īn overly optimistic mindset often makes way for optimism bias. Having a sunny disposition in life is much appreciated but there may be a flip side to it? Pixar’s Inside Out showed how toxic extreme optimism and positivity can be. The ‘positive vibes’ trend gained a lot of popularity in recent years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |