In all kinds of games of chance, the chances of winning a prize are very remote, while the chances of losing are much greater than the chances of winning. Therefore, it seems paradoxical that, despite knowing these statistics and these probabilities, many People are still driven to invest a lot of money in the game, under the illusion that they can win the game. luck.
Among the psychological theories that attempt to explain this behavior is the optimism bias, highlighted by the American psychologist Neil Weinstein in 1980. In this Psychology-Online article, we will explain what is the optimistic bias in psychology with some examples that will allow you to understand it better.
Index
- What is the optimistic bias in psychology
- Why do we tend to be optimistic?
- Risks of the optimistic bias
- Examples of the optimistic bias in psychology
What is the optimistic bias in psychology.
The results of Neil Weinstein's studies showed that most people tend to believe that we have
In short, the optimistic bias in psychology is the explanation of why everyone is convinced that the future and luck will be on their side and that certain things only happen to others. Thus, it is a cognitive bias that induces a person to believe that she is less exposed to negative events What others. If this belief involves risk or leads to error, then it is called unrealistic optimism.
Why do we tend to be optimistic?
When asked why we are so optimistically oriented, experts answer that our brains have been designed to see the glass as half full. The factors that lead to the optimistic bias can be classified into four different groups:
- Desired End States of the Comparative Judgment: Many explanations for the optimistic bias in psychology come from the idea of stated goals and expected outcomes. People tend to consider their risk lower than that of others because of the image they want to project. These explanations include factors such as the self-esteem and perceived control.
- Cognitive mechanisms: The excessive optimism bias can also be affected by three cognitive mechanisms that guide judgments and decision-making processes: representativeness heuristic, focus on an individual subject, and interpersonal distance.
- Information about oneself in relation to a target: People know much more about themselves than about others. As a result, they tend to draw specific conclusions about their own risks, but have more difficulty drawing conclusions about the risks of others. This produces differences in judgments and conclusions about personal risks compared to the risks of others.
- underlying conditions: Research has shown that people show a less optimistic bias when they are in a bad mood and an optimistic bias when they are in a good mood.
Risks of the optimistic bias.
In order to safeguard our well-being, the brain emphasizes the triumph of hope over realism, which explains why this bias is widespread in all cultures of the world. If we are asked to indicate the possibility of getting sick, dying in an accident or losing a job, we will undoubtedly underestimate the probability that these events can affect our lives.
In this sense, it is important to be aware of the risks of the optimistic bias so that it does not harm us. We show them below:
- illusion of invulnerability: Too sunny a view of our lives can undermine the quality of our decision-making process. Feeling invulnerable does not allow us to see reality as it is.
- unrealistic optimism: for example, you mistakenly believe that you are less likely to have an accident or need extra money, so sometimes there is a tendency not to wear a seatbelt or not to reserve savings for emergencies.
- Altered perception of events catastrophic: For example, during the pandemic some people have refused to wear masks, have organized parties and have not respected the basic rules to prevent contagion.
Examples of the optimistic bias in psychology.
As we have seen in the previous section, the optimism bias carries risks that it is important to take into account. If you want to learn how to identify this cognitive bias, do not miss these examples:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: The optimistic bias encourages children to drive under the influence of alcohol or some other drug. In practice, they think they are more intelligent, good, attentive and lucky, so they feel that nothing will happen to them if they do. Precisely, in this article you will find information about the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system.
- spend a lot of money on vacation: the fact of spending all the land on a trip without taking into account that on the way back it will be necessary to have savings for the cats that may come.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is the optimistic bias in psychology, we recommend that you enter our category of cognitive psychology.
Bibliography
- Boncinelli, E. (2021). What abbiamo nella testa thing? Il camino accidentato della ragione. Il Saggiatore.
