Theme #2: Decisions are made in the context of an individual’s skills, knowledge, emotions, social group, complexity, and the purpose of the decision (e.g. business versus social setting). The context can bias subconsciously the decision that is being made.
Understanding how the different types of bias influence the way we make decisions can help us make better decisions by learning to avoid the traps or conversely use them to benefit the way we do business. We see the latter use often in marketing and selling tools.
During this week and in week 3, we will begin looking at influences upon our decision-making beginning with Bias.
BIAS:
EMOTIONAL BIAS
Read and View:
- Emotional Tagging Can Push Leaders to Make Bad Decisions
- The Emotional Ignorance Trap
- How to Make Hard Choices
PSYCHOLOGICAL BIAS
Read and View:
Learning Activity #2: Related to Theme 2
- Provide two examples of times when you have been influenced by an emotional or psychological trap while making a decision.
- Identify the trap and how it affected the decision. Be sure to explain the specific traps and relate it to the situations. For instance, when you go to the grocery store do you stick to a list or do you walk out with items that struck you as yummy when you saw them in the aisle or at the front of the store?
- How does this relate to Theme 2?