3
4 Comments

Do you "Project" your beliefs?

Hey IHers,

The other day I published a new post about Projection Bias in my newsletter and I am sharing it in a short brief here.

What is it?

Sometimes, we overestimate the fact that most of the people around us share the same thinking patterns, beliefs and attitudes.

Example -

“We may have learned from experience not to go to the supermarket when we are hungry – we tend to buy all kinds of junk that we don’t normally eat or want to eat, and not only is our bill higher than normal but we also end up with stuff we don’t consume or don’t want to consume. This happens because at the time of shopping we incorrectly anticipate that our future hunger will be as great as it is now.” (Wilkinson & Klaes, 2012)

Where does it occur?

Because it is a part of cognitive biases, you can observe it happening around you and the people who you talk with.

Humans, in general, will “project” their behaviour by assuming things.

Why do I need to know?

We have the inability to place ourselves in the emotional state of our future self and thus, we end up making a decision based on our current emotional state.

Projection bias becomes a problem when we let decisions made in present according to our current taste & preferences which affect our future goals and long-term habits.[1]

Like what you read? Take a look at Psych, A free, bi-weekly newsletter on Psychology.

Did you like reading about Projection Bias?
  1. Yes
  2. No
Vote
  1. 2

    Genuinely trying to help and give feedback: You wrote a lot about the problem. However, for me to take something away from this article and be able to apply it to my life, I also need to know what to do about it.

    In my opinion the flow should be:

    1. Describe the problem.
    2. Describe the solution.

    Focusing only on the problem does not provide much value to me.

    1. 2

      First of all, thank you so much for the feedback. I appreciate your input.

      The flow that you have mentioned is exactly what is followed in my newsletter. I believe having the awareness of the bias is also necessary because prevention > cure.

      In this case, however, I have not mentioned the takeaways as I do with others. You can take a look at the original newsletter post .

      I still write it here for you,

      Takeaways:-
      Assume only when you are strongly confident about the facts.
      Take your time before making decisions. Keep your long term vision in mind.

      I hope that helps. 😊

      1. 2

        Hey @vd,

        The post makes a lot more sense with the takeaways at the end. I would advise to include them in all of your future Indie Hackers posts.

        People on IH do not like posts where they can read the first few paragraphs on IH and then need to go to an external site where they can read the rest.

        However, if you genuinely provide value here, they will want to read more and subscribe.

        1. 1

          Definitely, @nikwen. I appreciate your valuable feedback. Have a good one!

Trending on Indie Hackers
How I grew a side project to 100k Unique Visitors in 7 days with 0 audience 47 comments Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 27 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments Use Your Product 13 comments How I Launched FrontendEase 13 comments