People often feel like they have control over what they really own. In general, for example, they feel that they have a better chance of winning a lottery if they choose the numbers themselves. This fact is known as the illusion of control. The more we believe that we are able to avoid the harmful effects, thanks to our ability and the control we can exercise, the less risky we consider a substance, an activity or a technology.
It is a cognitive illusion, since people do not seem to realize that the outcome of certain events does not depend on their ability, but on chance or luck. In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about what is illusion of control bias, its consequences and some examples so that you better understand how it works.
Index
- What is the illusion of control in psychology
- Consequences of the Illusion of Control Bias
- Examples of illusion of control
What is the illusion of control in psychology.
The illusion of control in psychology is the
How the Illusion of Control Bias Works
The illusion of control bias is determined by a distorted perception of causal relationships. The results of numerous investigations carried out in the 1980s and 1990s reveal this prevalence of the illusion of control mechanism in the face of a generalized attitude of unrealistic optimism.
Consequences of the illusion of control bias.
The illusion of control bias influences situations in which the outcome is determined largely by chance and to a lesser extent by the abilities own. In these cases, when assessing the chances of success, tend to overestimate personal abilities, so it is perceived that these will determine the final result. Nothing is further from reality, since chance ends up being the factor that determines the outcome of these situations.
experience and familiarity with a certain task increase the feeling of power achieve a favorable result. These factors are associated with higher performance on skill tasks, but not on random tasks. This is an aspect that people tend to forget, even in skill-related tasks. For example, a car accident is a situation that depends mainly on chance in the sense of being in the place and at the specific time in which the event occurs.
Examples of illusion of control.
There is nothing better to understand a cognitive bias like the illusion of control to see some examples on it. Discover them below.
Example 1: Earthquake
An example that very well describes the illusion of control bias is as follows:
- A man is opening the rusty door of his garage and suddenly an earthquake is triggered, devastating the entire region.
- Maybe it's time to fix it," the man muses. This form of illusion is a overconfident appraisal of the covariation between the action that he wants to develop and the event that has just taken place.
- The earthquake is considered a product of the intention to fix the door.
Example 2: Kung Fu Panda
The Kung Fu Panda movie also contains an example of the illusion of control bias. At one point, Master Oogway tells Master Shifu, "You will never face your destiny until you give up the illusion of control."
What does that mean? It refers to the fact that we have illusion of being able to control our life. We want it to go in a certain direction and we try to steer it out of a totally rational and calculating propensity. Then, inexorably, something happens that upsets our plans, that somehow forces us to take note that this control is not possible.
Example 3: Disease
The illusion of control can be applied to everyday life and we are all victims, even Steve Jobs. As Don A says Moore, Ph. D in Organizational Behavior, when Apple's founder was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, he believed he, too, could control your disease itself. He said no to emergency surgery and chemotherapy, to cure himself with acupuncture, natural remedies and diet.
Nine months later he agreed to have the surgery, but by that time the cancer had spread beyond repair and they couldn't cure it. "Overestimating our chances of control can lead us to make tragic and costly mistakes," says Moore, how to refuse medical treatment.
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 Illusion of control bias: what it is, consequences and examples, we recommend that you enter our category of cognitive psychology.
Bibliography
- Arielli, E. (2000). Immagini dell'uomo. Introduction to social psychology. Milan: Mondadori.
- Sbattella, F., Tettamanzi, M. (et al.) (2013). Fundamenti di psychology dell'emergenza. Milan: Franco Angeli.
