In which Wolf opens day 18's door... Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/NDwBykrsHs4
Welcome to the Beware of Wolf Advent Calendar of Bad Thinking. To celebrate the holidays, I'm counting down the days until Christmas with a common type of bad thinking each day, described in 60 seconds. This holiday season, give the gift of good thinking by sharing these videos with your friends!
Today is Day 18: "The Egocentric Bias"
When asked to rank their driving skill, 93% of Americans said they were better than average. Obviously that can't be right: in any group, exactly half the people have to be below average. As comedian George Carlin put it: “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
What's going on here? This kind of thinking something we all do, and it's called "the egocentric bias."
Because we're the main character in our own story, and we always get to play the "good guy" we tend to fall in love with our own beliefs. Unfortunately, this means we tend to not take the perspectives of others into account, and this can lead to making decisions that are short-sighted. It can also lead to increased conflict when others don't feel that their reasonable needs are being heard and taken into account.
So when you have a decision to make, get in the habit of asking yourself: "Am I taking the perspective of others into account?" This doesn't mean you have to agree with them, but it does mean you should be willing to consider them.
Second, practice active listening. This means really listening to what the other person is saying, and not just waiting for your turn to talk.
Happy Holidays!