Mental Habits: Taking the Shortcut (Part 7)

Obey! Believe!

Doing What You’re Told

Picture this. You are a nurse working at the pediatric ward in a hospital. You care for children. The phone rings at the nursing station and you answer. A self-assured man identifies himself as a doctor. He tells you to get some medication that is not authorized. You do not believe it is in stock, but you check for it. It is in stock. You find this confusing, but you return to the phone with the medication in hand. The man instructs you to give an overdose of the medication to one of the children. What would you do? Giving medication to a patient without a signed order from a doctor is against the rules. Besides, the medication is not authorized and the dose is too high. Would you set aside the medication and file a report about the call? Perhaps. But if you were 21 of the 22 nurses who were put in this very situation, you would have started on your way to the child’s room to give the medication! You would have been stopped from doing it by one of the people studying you, though. And the medication was a sugar pill (just to be safe).

The study I just told you about is in no way meant to characterize nurses. They do a job that I could never do and I am thankful that they do it so well. To be sure, their behaviour in the study looks awful. But we all obey authority, with little or no question, much of the time. We just follow our mental shortcut that says that a person in authority should be obeyed.

To emphasize my point, I will tell you about another study. This study took place on a city street. In one version of the study, an experimenter would approach someone waiting for a bus. The bus rider was standing beside a pole. The experimenter ordered the person to stand on the other side of the pole. Of course, the order does not make any sense. Would you obey this silly order? Before you answer, read on. Sometimes the experimenter was dressed in regular clothes. When he was dressed like that, 20% of the people obeyed the order. Maybe you would be one of the people who moved and maybe you wouldn’t. Other times, though, the experimenter wore a security guard uniform. In that case, 56% of the people obeyed the order. In another version of the study, the experimenter told people to give someone else a dime for a parking meter that was about to expire. Only 33% of people did it when the experimenter was normally dressed. When he was dressed in a uniform, though, 89% of people started looking for a dime.

It is probably a good thing that we usually obey authority figures with little or no question. After all, they are in their positions to protect our welfare. Imagine the confusion, not to mention damage, which would occur if drivers ignored a cop directing traffic. And it is probably a good idea, most of the time, to follow the directions of your immediate supervisor. Not only because you might get fired. And you might. Your supervisor probably got her job because she is good at what she does. So, her orders should be sensible most of the time. But remember, the defense “I was just following orders” is not a good one. Next time you are ordered to do something that does not seem sensible, do something sensible. Ask a question. If you don’t like the answer, refuse.

We do what we are told when we are given orders by people in authority. A uniformed person tells us to move our car and we move it. A doctor, with white coat and stethoscope, tells us to take a pill and we take it. But the power of authority affects more than our actions.

Believing What You Are Told

People in authority influence what we believe. Sometimes, this influence is good. Let’s say that a trusted meteorologist appears on television and tells us that global warming is a serious threat. It would be wise to believe her. If, let’s say, a professor of psychology tells you that people take mental shortcuts, you should probably believe him…

The “believing people in authority” shortcut should be followed a good amount of the time. I can only imagine how much busier my life would be if I ignored people in authority. I would need to be my own doctor, lawyer, and nutritionist. Not to mention travel agent, accountant… But there are circumstances in which believing a person in authority is a bad idea. Here is a good tip: Make sure that the person in authority is giving an opinion about which he or she is an expert. If a celebrity is advising you about the direction of the stock market, feel free to ignore him!

Denial (Diary of a Habit Changer, Part 11)

This post is one of a series in which Nyssa, a pseudonym for an anonymous woman, updates My Bad Habits readers about her progress as she changes her exercise habits. Habit Guy comments on her progress and provides insight. For previous posts in the series, please see the collection of links on the sidebar.

Dear Habit Guy,

I haven't written because, well, I guess I have been in denial. There have been times over the last two months that I didn’t even think about exercising. My weight is at an all time high. When I do think about exercising it tends to be at the beginning of the week; but mid-way through I have lost my will. Exercising regularly is a lot tougher than I ever thought it. Thirty minutes three times a week—it seems so reasonable but somehow so unachievable.

Nyssa

Well it’s been a long time since we heard from Nyssa, and now we know the reason why:

Denial.

It ain’t just a river in Egypt.

Nyssa has somehow managed to excuse herself from exercising for the past while. Nyssa probably distracted herself with other matters, trivialized ("Exercising isn't that important to me"), and rationalized ("I'll exercise when I'm not as busy").

Of course, the fact that Nyssa has written about being in denial means that she is coming out of it. She knows there is something wrong and she wants to do something about it.

So, what’s the problem?

Nyssa talks about having lost her will. See here and here for two of my earlier posts on will-power. In a nutshell, we only have so much will-power and it looks as though Nyssa might be using her will-power for other things. Perhaps Nyssa’s life is just too busy for her to expend the will-power required to exercise 30 minutes three times a week. It doesn’t sound like much, but it all depends on how busy one’s life happens to be.

I have two suggestions for Nyssa:

1. Set a lower goal. There is no point in aiming at three times per week if you can’t exercise that often. Remember, any little bit of exercise is good, and it is certainly better than none.
   
   
2. Make it easier to exercise. Perhaps it’s time to revisit my advice about mini-plans. And, remember, finding a buddy is a great way to make things happen.

Those of you who have followed Nyssa’s journey these past few months have seen her at high points and low points. Things are discouraging for Nyssa right now. They will get better.

But I am caused to reflect on Nyssa’s progress. I do not see the “ups” and “downs” as a bad thing. Rather, I think that Nyssa’s experiences are typical of what everybody goes through when they try to change a big part of their lives. Nyssa will find a “new groove” and things will get better.

Best of luck Nyssa!

Mental Habits: Taking the Shortcut (Part 6)

Reciprocity: You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours

My wife and I follow the rule of reciprocity. She makes dinner, I clean up. I watch the kids so that she can get out for some time by herself, she watches them so that I can go mountain biking. This kind of give-and-take happens a lot in marriage. My children also follow the rule of reciprocity. If the older child gives a toy to the younger, the younger will give a toy to the older. Sometimes.

Try this as an exercise. Count the number of times in a day that you reciprocate someone’s good deed by doing something for him or her. You could also count the number of times that your good deeds are reciprocated. Reciprocation can occur over a longer time period. For example, we all know couples who take turns furthering their educations. While the wife goes to law school, the husband works in the factory to pay the bills. Then the new lawyer works so that the husband can get an MBA. And then he manages the factory!

The reciprocity rule is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that we use the rule as a mental shortcut. Someone does something for us, we do something for him. We reciprocate without giving the matter much thought. As with the scarcity rule, though, there is good reason to be wary. Salespeople take advantage of reciprocity all the time.

I am sure this has happened to you. I am at the grocery store. There is a table set up at the end of an aisle. As I wheel my cart by, a smiling server offers me a sample of food. I taste the sample and make a polite remark about it. Then, the server says, “And we have these anchovy cookies on sale right now for $4.99. Would you like to take some home?” I buy a package of the cookies. I would like to think I bought the fish cookies because I like them. But I suspect that reciprocity was a big part of it. I was given a sample, so I felt obligated to return the favour. Go figure. A large corporation spends 2 cents and I shell out $5!

The reciprocity rule is powerful and it is powerful for good reason. If people did not follow the rule, things would not run efficiently. Let’s say that I do something for a co-worker and that co-worker does not return the favor. Why would I do her a favour ever again? And if I don’t return anybody’s favours, how could I expect any in return? The reciprocity rule is so powerful that psychologists call it a “social norm.”

It may be a social norm but, before you take the reciprocity shortcut, ask yourself some questions. Is this a fair trade? Is this person taking advantage of the reciprocity rule? Doing so should help you avoid “giving back” in situations where you did not take much of value to begin with. Together, we can rid the world of anchovy cookies!

Mental Habits: Taking the Shortcut (Part 5)

The Influencers and How They Do It

Everyday, we are asked to buy goods and services. The number of times that this occurs might surprise you. Try this: Go through a regular day and count the number of times that you are asked by a person/sign/commercial/newspaper ad to buy something. On one day, I counted dozens of commercials and ads. And I don’t have cable television!

Right now, thousands of people are coming up with ways to get you to buy their product, volunteer your time, or give to their charity. Salespeople in car lots, jewelry stores, and travel offices are “working sales” as we speak. Oh, and your boss wants you to come in this weekend.

The Influencers are sneaky! They rely on the fact that we often take mental shortcuts when we consider their requests. I will tell you about two mental shortcuts. I will also show you how the Influencers take advantage of those shortcuts.

Scarcity: What is Rare or Fleeting is Precious

Let us consider what we value and what we do not:

• In “Gentleman Prefer Blondes,” Marilyn Monroe sings, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” She does not sing, “Television Reruns Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

• I do not mean to leave out the boys. Many men would sell their own grandmother to own a ’57 Chevy. Owning a modern car is just part of everyday life.

• If someone gives you a copy of the first comic book featuring “Superman,” you should thank him. You are at least $300,000 richer. A current issue is worth the asking price.

• At your local grocery store, rarer foods (old cheddar, escargots) are more expensive than are more common foods (bananas, potatoes).

• Parents know that it is important to treasure every moment with a child. Because kids really do grow up too fast. Our experience of children is fleeting, and then we are left only with our memories.
  
  
• There is a wonderful scene in the movie “Shadowlands.” C. S. Lewis (played by Anthony Hopkins) has taken Joy Gresham (played by Debra Winger) to the “Golden Valley.” As they look at the natural splendor, Joy remarks to Lewis that the beauty will not last. Then, they agree that being there is a great experience because the beauty will not last.

These examples show that we place high value on things and events that are rare or fleeting. There is a lot of research that shows the same thing. We use a scarcity shortcut when deciding on something’s value. A lot of the time, using the scarcity shortcut will not lead you into trouble.

But beware! The shortcut can lead you astray.

We have all seen ads that say things like, “This is a one-time offer. This price never to be repeated.” “Come down to the store right away. At these prices, they won’t last long!” I don’t know about you, but when I hear or read such things I sit up and take notice. I feel a sense of urgency. Sometimes I feel it even though I neither need nor want the product being advertised!

Those Influencers know what they are doing. They are taking advantage of our scarcity shortcut. To give you a sense of how this sales technique works, consider how you would respond to an ad that said, “We have lots of these televisions at this price and they will be on at this price for a long time. Come down to the store right away.” If you are like me, you may doubt the quality of the television. And your sense of urgency is probably gone. That is the scarcity shortcut in action. We value what is rare or fleeting. We devalue what is common and available.

In my next post, I’ll tell you about another mental shortcut of which the Influencers make use: Reciprocity.

Mental Habits: Taking the Shortcut (Part 4)

In this series of posts, I consider thinking habits that I call “mental shortcuts.” It's probably a good idea to read the previous three posts before reading this one (see links on sidebar).

Hold on a Second! (Again!)

Why I am showing you how shortcuts can lead to errors when they are supposed to help you get through life?

The Role of Demonstrations

That is how researchers prove that we use mental shortcuts. They set up demonstrations. The demonstrations are set up so that formal reasoning produces one answer and a mental shortcut produces another. In this way, researchers can show that we often use mental shortcuts and not formal reasoning. I am not saying that we never use formal reasoning. We do. I will have more to say about the use of formal reasoning in a future post.

Let’s consider the die-rolling example. If you were using formal reasoning you would see that that Sequence Two (GRGRRR) contains Sequence One (RGRRR). And so you would rate Sequence One as more likely than Sequence Two. But Sequence Two is more representative of randomness. So, if you were using the representativeness shortcut, you would rate Sequence Two as more likely than Sequence One. And that is what you did. The same goes for the “Linda Problem.” If you were using formal reasoning, you would see that Linda being a bank teller is more likely than Linda being a feminist bank teller. But, if you were using the representativeness shortcut, you would think that the feminist bank teller option is more likely. The same goes for the availability shortcut. The shark attack and “r” problems are set up so that the shortcut leads to the wrong answer.

I demonstrated how the shortcuts work by using carefully crafted examples that made you make mistakes. But the shortcuts do not always lead to errors. In fact, we use them a lot of the time because they work a lot of the time.

Let’s consider the representativeness shortcut. It allows us to make decision based on appearances. That is good because appearances are often all that we have. Here are a couple of examples:

1. Let’s say that you just bought a cup of tea from a “high end” tea shop. The tea’s colour is normal and it smells great. You cannot be certain that the tea will taste good. It might taste awful. But, it is a good bet that it will be an enjoyable refreshment experience. On the other hand, if you bought the tea from the local greasy spoon and it has an odd colour, you are probably right to throw it away without taking a sip. In the first instance, but not in the second, the characteristics of the tea were representative of a good cup of tea.
   
   
2. You are out for your morning walk in the park. You see a large tree split in two with scorch marks on it. You know that there was a thunderstorm last night. You would not be out of your mind to conclude that a lightning strike caused the damage. After all, the damage looks like the damage that a lightning hit would cause. In other words, the damage is representative of a lightning strike. You might be wrong. Maybe somebody had an axe and some matches. But how likely is that?

Now consider the availability shortcut: I always seem to be in a hurry when I am at the video store. So, my viewing decisions are often made quickly. Let’s say that I am trying to decide which of two DVDs to rent. One has the actor Newby in it and the other has the actor Clark in it. What to do? I use my availability shortcut! I recall times that I enjoyed Newby’s movies and times that I enjoyed Clark’s movies. If it is easier for me to think of enjoyable Newby movies, then renting the Newby movie is a good idea. To be sure, I might be wrong. I certainly have been burned in the past. Sometimes Newby is in a real clunker. But I use the availability shortcut because it gives me decent answers enough of the time.

Forewarned is Forearmed

There is another reason that I used those demonstrations. It is good for you to know that using mental shortcuts can lead to bad decisions. Bad decisions can mean lost time, lost money, and a lower quality of life. So, next time you are making an important decision, take some time to reflect. Is representativeness or availability influencing you? You might decide to go with the shortcut. But it would probably be a good idea to spend some time thinking things through.

Maybe I should take my own advice. Let’s return to my car rental insurance example. I needed to make my decision quickly, so I used the availability shortcut. I quickly reflected on how safe the roads had been in the past few weeks. For some reason, images of crumpled side-panels and damaged bumpers leapt into my head. This ease of thought made me think that car accidents were extremely common. I took the insurance. Of course, I did not get into an accident. Score one for the rental company!

Mental Habits: Taking the Shortcut (Part 3)

In this third installment, I consider the a mental shortcut called "availability."

Let us now meditate on sharks, airplane parts, and the letters of the alphabet.

Are you more likely to be killed by a falling airplane part or by an attacking shark? If you are like most people, you would say that a shark attack is the more likely way to die. But, it is approximately 30 times (!) more likely that you will be killed by a falling airplane part.

Are there more words in the English language that begin with the letter “r” or that have the letter “r” in the third position? If you were to bother to do the counting you would discover that there are more words with “r” in the third position. But most people say that there are more words with “r” in the first position. Why do most people get it wrong?

Those two problems look rather different. But they have something in common. In both, people use a mental shortcut called availability to solve them. When people use the availability shortcut, they pay attention to how easy it is to think of examples. In other words, they pay attention to how available the examples are. Let’s consider the shark attack/airplane part problem. When a person is asked that question, she probably tries to think of recent examples of falling airplane part deaths and shark attack deaths. If she is anything like me, it is somewhat hard to think of airplane part deaths and easier to think of shark attack deaths. Examples of shark attack deaths are more available to her than are airplane part deaths. And so she decides that death by shark is more likely.

The same kind of thing happened in the “r” problem. It is far easier to think of words that begin with “r” than it is to think of words that have “r” in the third position. After all, we do not tend to remember words according to what letter they have in the third position. So, people come to the conclusion that there are more words that begin with “r.”

Be Assertive

Some researchers conducted a simple experiment that shows the availability shortcut in action. Students volunteered for the study. Half of the students were asked to remember times they acted assertively. Those students were in the assertive condition.

The other half of the students were asked to remember times they had not acted assertively. Those students were in the unassertive condition. After that, all of the students were asked three questions about their assertiveness. The answers to those three questions were averaged. Each student had an assertiveness score. Scores could range from 1 (low assertiveness) to 10 (high assertiveness). Students with a high average score thought of themselves as assertive. Students with a low average score thought of themselves as unassertive.

But there is a twist that you need to know about. Half of the students in the assertive condition were asked to remember six times that they behaved assertively and the other half were asked to remember twelve times. The same thing happened in the unassertive condition. Half of those students remembered six times that they did not behave assertively and the other half of the students remembered twelve times.

Why six times or twelve times? Before they ran the study, the researchers found out that thinking of six assertive or unassertive behaviours is rather easy. But thinking of twelve behaviours is rather difficult. This fact is highly important. Here are the results of the experiment:

For now, only look at the left side of the graph. Those are the two conditions in which the students thought of assertive behaviours. Remember that thinking of six assertive behaviours is easier than thinking of twelve. The students who thought of six behaviours had a rather easy time. The six behaviours were easily available to them. And so they decided that they were rather assertive. The students who had to recall twelve assertive behaviours had a rather difficult time. The twelve behaviours were not easily available to them. And so they decided that they were not terribly assertive. The right side of the graph shows the opposite pattern. But this is only because those students were asked to think of times that they had behaved unassertively. The same thing was going on. The students who had to recall six unassertive behaviours had an easy time doing so. In other words, the six unassertive behaviours were easily available to them. And so they decided that they were rather unassertive. The students who had to recall twelve unassertive behaviours had difficulty. And so they decided that they were not all that unassertive.

Hold on a Second! (Again!)

In my next post, I’ll return to an object I raised in Part II. Why did I show you how shortcuts can lead to errors when they are supposed to help you get through life? Stay tuned…

Are We There Yet? Five Habits for Effective Day-Tripping with Young Children

From time to time, I give advice about good habits in a particular area of life. This is the second of such posts.

I love being a parent. It brings me many joys and it gives me lots of memories for the coming long winter days in the nursing home. Among some of my most favorite memories so far: family day trips. My memories are a pastiche of sunshine, laughing, and splashing.

That being said, my wife and I have learned some hard lessons about how to get the most out of day trips with the kids. And so here are my top five habits for enjoyable day tripping with young children.

1. Arrive Early

From amusement park, to museum, to beach, to hiking trail, to farmers’ market—especially a farmers' market—early arrival means more enjoyment. The workers are fresh, there are no crowds, and the kids aren’t tired yet.

2. Go in the Middle of the Week

If you can, and if the venue is open, go on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. A lot of people take Fridays off and there are many holiday Mondays. So, if you want low crowds, the middle of the week is your best bet. This practice is especially beneficial on a Tuesday just after a holiday Monday. The staff are happy to be working at a more relaxed pace; they are more likely to chat with the kids and help them feel welcome and appreciated.

3. Take Your Lunch

This one is more about eating good food than it is about cost-saving, though it never hurts to save money. My wife and I are amazed at some of the absolutely awful food served at, gasp, educational venues. Is there not some inconsistency in learning about the workings of the human body and then lining up for deep fried offerings? Remember, you can always “treat” your kids by buying one item of questionable nutritional value.

4. Leave at the First Sign of Tired

Kids have a tremendous capacity to push themselves when they are having fun. So, when you see that first yawn, eye-rub, or tantrum, it’s a good sign that they’ve been pushing themselves for a while and it’s time to get out of Dodge. I know. I know. You’ve only been there for three hours and it’s a two-hour round trip. It’s time to remind yourself that the entrance fee, and whatever other costs you’ve incurred, are sunk costs. If you choose to stay, you’re doing the equivalent of staying up past your bedtime to see the end of a really bad movie. And you know how this movie will end.

5. Research, Research, Research

I must admit that my wife does the lion’s share on this count. And I am grateful. The more you know, the better. Find out when the park opens. Do they allow outside food? Some places don’t. Are there special events coming up? What do they offer for very small children? You don’t want your one year old to be bored out of his or her tree. Researching the venue also gives your older child or children the opportunity to learn along with you. If you have a child who is anxious about new situations (very common), this will give him or her a chance to gain some control advance knowledge.

Whether you are planning a day at the beach, the ski hill, the local scream park, or something more ambitious, keep these five day-tripping habits in mind and you should have a great time. Happy tripping!