374. The Choice-Supportive Bias

0:00Have you ever wondered how two people could look at the exact same thing and come away with two very different opinions on what it means? Or have you been baffled how someone could believe something that, to you, is obviously untrue? This kind of thing happens all the time. But how can you be sure you're the one seeing things accurately? Hi, I'm Kathy, a homeschool mom, passionate about teaching critical thinking to the next generation, so they're propaganda proof and impossible to fool with bad arguments. And I like to have fun doing it. Welcome to the filter through a brain cell podcast. Hey, what is up, fingers Kathy? Even here? Okay, let's start off this episode by reviewing a type of media bias that we covered earlier in season two called the Elite versus Populous bias. Okay, do you want to hit pause real quick and see if you can remember what, or even just come up with an idea of what the Elite versus Populous bias might be? Okay, so the Elite versus Populous bias in media refers to the tendency of news outlets to favor either the perspectives of the societal elite or those of the general population

1:06or the normal person, so to speak. And so what do I mean by that? Well, the Elite bias would be where media coverage emphasizes the views and the experiences of influential people or influential institutions such as politicians, academics, or corporate leaders, whereas the Populous in the Populous bias, the media coverage centers more on the opinions and the experiences of everyday people often making it seem like they're in opposition to the Elite. So it's basically a way of influencing what you think about something based on whose voice you get to hear. So if you want to review or hear more about this bias, you can go back and check it out in episode 294. Okay, let's dive into today's new bias called the choice supportive bias. So the choice supportive bias is our tendency to remember the choices that we've made as being better than they really were and to focus on their positives while downplaying their negatives. In other words, once we've made a decision, our brains naturally want to convince us that

2:09we made the right one. And you guys, I have definitely experienced this one with different things that I have done, choices, and even cars that I have bought before where I convinced myself that I made the best decision at the time. And maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But let me give you a few simple examples of what this can sound like. Let's say you save up for a new bike and a few weeks later, you keep telling everyone that it's the best bike ever. Even though you've started to notice a few things about it that you don't like. Or let's say you picked one elective class over another in school. And afterwards you start thinking, oh yes, I definitely picked the better class. But how do you know you picked the better class? You don't even know what the other class was going to be like. You were just convincing yourself that the class you picked was best. Or let's say maybe your family chooses one particular campground for vacation. And even if the weather's bad, the cabins aren't really quite what you expected. And you're going to keep saying, oh, I'm so glad we picked this place.

3:10Or maybe you buy a new pair of shoes. And they're so cute that you ignore the fact that they are pinching your little toe because you don't want to admit that you could have chosen the wrong pair. So why does our brain do this? Well, our brains commit this bias because admitting we made a bad decision or a poor decision is kind of uncomfortable. We want to feel consistent. We want to feel capable and confident. And so after making a choice, our memories naturally begin to highlight the good parts of that choice while kind of minimizing the drawbacks or the downsides of it. And so what this is doing is it helps reduce the mental discomfort that comes from wondering whether another option might have been better. And yes, there was a study done on it. I don't know the year of this one. But in one study, people rated several household items, right? And they chose between two different household items that they liked equally well. And then they rated them again later. And here's the thing. After making their choice, participants consistently remembered the item that they selected as being

4:13more attractive than before and the one that they rejected as being less attractive than before. So simply by making the choice, it completely changed how they view those two options. And we have seen the choice supported by its play out. In many areas of life, including purchases, like consumer purchases, things that people buy, college decisions, and even politics. So for example, after elections, a lot of times voters will tend to remember the strengths of the candidate that they supported. And they'll remember those strengths way more vividly, but they'll start to minimize disappointments or mistakes that occur later. So it's like they'll only remember all the good things about their candidate and kind of ignore the things that they don't like about them. And so the same tendency can happen after buying a house, after choosing a career, or even picking out what phone you want to use. So how about you? Have you ever found your brain experiencing the choice supportive bias? And if so, when? And if you do, the question can ask yourself is this, can I admit both the strengths and

5:16weaknesses of the choice that I made? Let me say it again. Can I admit both the strengths and the weaknesses of the choice that I made? All right, y'all. That's it for today. Remember. We'll wrap it up automatically and will affect your ability to discern the truth. You can slow down your thinking by asking, what am I not seeing and how could my view be incomplete?