Decision Hygiene: My Top Ten List
Test prep isn’t just about learning math, reading, and grammar — it’s about making good decisions, too. We all mistakes under pressure. What are the most common ones, and how can we avoid them?
I’ve listed ten concepts below that have been useful to me and my students. Most of these ideas come from two books: Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman) and Noise (Kahneman, Sibony & Sunstein).
1. System One & System Two
Daniel Kahneman describes two modes of thought: System One is “fast, intuitive, confident, and effortless”; System Two is “slow, analytical, doubtful, and effortful.” Many test prep strategies emphasize the importance of System Two, but both are important. What is the right balance?
2. Substitution
We often respond to hard questions by answering easier ones. When needing to know, “Is this surgeon competent?” we instead answer, “Does this person speak with confidence?”
3. The Halo Effect
Sometimes one element of an experience is so powerful that it produces a sort of halo that blinds you to other relevant elements in the experience.
4. Availability Bias
We remember what’s recent, and we decide based on what we remember. But what if our memories aren’t capturing the full picture?
5. The Internal Feeling of Completion
This is the little reward we give ourselves when we get to the end of a decision-making process…once you have that feeling of being correct, new information is unwelcome.
6. Overconfidence
Feeling right isn’t the same as being right. But once you feel right, will you question it? Students aren’t alone here: mutual fund managers, radiologist, and drivers struggle with this one, too.
7. Confirmation Bias
When System Two goes rogue! It’s not just seeing what you want to see — it’s actively gathering pieces of evidence that support the conclusion you like.
8. Loss Aversion
We hate to give up a sure thing, and we’ll pay to make the risk go away. What are students paying, and is it worth the cost?
9. Decision Hygiene
I like this phrase because it captures both the importance and irritation of healthy routines. Here I describe one particularly effective form of decision hygiene: the checklist.
10. Tutor Traps
Decision hygiene isn’t just for students….
