#2 - Understanding Distinction Bias in decision making
- James
- Dec 11, 2018
- 2 min read
Hi!
This week I share an article touching on my favourite topics - cognitive biases and behavioural economics. I found this article helpful in understanding my own limitations in decision making.
Distinction bias is the tendency to over-estimate the effects of quantitative differences when comparing options side-by-side. Despite these differences, each option may give the same utility when experienced individually. This could cause us to unwittingly trade off important qualitative aspects for what would be an inconsequential quantitative upgrade, failing to maximize happiness.
"When making a choice, we are in comparison mode — sensitive to small differences between options, like me choosing a television. But when we live out our decisions, we are in experience mode — there are no other options to compare our experience to."
How often do we look through reviews with scorecards, side-by-side comparisons of specifications, or percentages of good reviews, and spend energy playing "spot the difference" in trying to make a "perfect decision". At other times, for small savings in money, it seems worthwhile to endure a considerable inconvenience (An image that comes to my mind is the money changer, where the differences in queue time is never proportional to the differences in rates offered). A person close to me once considered taking up a job she knew she would hate over one she was initially aiming for because the former offered a better starting salary.
I am reminded by this to experience life in that singularity that it is, rather than in a state of side-by-side comparison. Akin to how comparing differences when choosing between options may not lead to actual benefit, quantitative differences between separately experienced lives are unlikely to be indicators of greater happiness or success in either. Comparison leads to dissatisfaction as one can always find a different option that is better in some aspect. Personally, when I examine my own life in isolation, I start to find I have much to be grateful and happy about.
Hope you have a great week ahead!
James
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