3 unexpected ways to push yourself to make the right decision

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Every day we stumble over our own wrong decisions or lose excellent prospects, being afraid to step forward. Circumstances, fear of change and shortsightedness play against us. It is not so easy to overcome them on your own, so you cannot do without little tricks. Here are three extraordinary, but potentially effective, ways to make more informed and independent decisions.

1. Dim the lights to calm emotions

Emotions are bad for our decisions. When a person is experiencing strong feelings, his choices tend to be too dependent on what he considers important right now. In the future, this may come back to haunt.

How to eliminate emotions when making decisions? Researchers at the University of Toronto offer a simple, elegant trick to dim the lights. Scientists conducted six experiments Alison Jing Xua, Aparna A. Labroo. …, which showed that bright lighting enhances positive and negative reactions.

During the study, two groups of test subjects were seated in two rooms: with good and bad lighting. After that, the participants expressed their wishes and impressions of several diverse things: be it spicy hot food or the sexuality of a fictional character. In a room with abundant light, reactions were more intense.

Output. If you're faced with a choice and don't want your emotions to push you toward an irrational decision, try darkening the light. On the other hand, if you're selling a product related to emotional tension, such as wedding rings, don't be greedy with light. Bright illumination will "warm up" buyers and set them up to buy.

2. Observe the rotation of objects clockwise to make it easier to decide on a new

Many people are not ready for changes in their lives. This behavioral effect is called a bias towards the status quo. This is how "" describes it:

The bias towards the status quo is one of the cognitive biases, expressed in the tendency of people to want things to remain approximately the same, that is, to maintain the status quo. The effect arises from the fact that the damage from the loss of the status quo is perceived as greater than the potential benefit from changing it to an alternative option.

Everyday situation: for many years we have not changed the tariff plan on the cell phone, and older people pay for utilities at the post office. It seems that you can do better, but too lazy to go off the beaten track.

How to get over the fear of the new? A group of German researchers from the University of Würzburg recommends a slightly strange move - to look at any object rotating clockwise.

Scientists conducted a series of experiments Sascha Topolinski, Peggy Sparenberg. … and found that observing the movement of things "in step" over time pushes people to new experiences and impressions. Conversely, subjects preferred the proven path if they followed counterclockwise movement.

In one test, people spun a tray containing a variety of sweets. If the rotation went along the clock, then the experimental ones more often chose tastes that were unusual for themselves, if counterclockwise - familiar ones.

In general, scientists have confirmed their hypothesis that the rotation of the hour hands affects the subconscious of people. The habitual direction is associated with progress and the future, while the opposite is associated with constancy and the past.

Output. Before succumbing to prejudice and staying in your own cocoon, just hold your eyes on the dial of an analog watch. This will boost your self-esteem and make you feel more open, courageous.

3. Wait until you feel like using the toilet to break the bank

Who does not risk his own reputation, he does not skim the cream! Dutch scientists from the University of Groningen found a non-standard confirmation of the old wisdom. A full bladder, they argue, encourages sound long-term planning.

Some of the participants in the Mirjam Tuk experiment. … drank 750 milliliters of water, while others just a couple of sips. 40 minutes later, the water migrated from the stomach to the bladder, after which the fun began. The subjects were offered eight business schemes, each of which assumed some kind of reward over time. For example, people could get $ 16 tomorrow or $ 30 within a month. In general, the longer the exposure, the sweeter the bonus.

It seemed that the unpleasant pressure in the bladder would hurry people to easy and quick profit. Something like the effect of "ego depletion", when a person runs out of strength for self-control, and he becomes defenseless against temptation. However, the reality turned out to be completely different: people with a "full tank" preferred a profitable long-term strategy.

Output. If you don't know how to manage your savings in blood, drink a bottle of water and wait for your natural urges to turn your brain to its fullest. This will happen automatically, unconsciously.