Author: Amanda Penn

What are System 1 and System 2 thinking? How do they work in concert, and when should you rely on one or the other? System 1 and System 2 thinking are two systems of thinking defined by Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow. Generally, System 1 thinking is fast and System 2 thinking is slow. We’ll cover how System 1 and System 2 thinking work together and when you should use one or the other.

What is the peak-end rule? What does it have to do with happiness? The peak-end rule is the theory that the overall rating is determined by the peak intensity of the experience and the end of the experience. It does not care much about the averages throughout the experience. Learn how the peak-end rule applies to happiness and how it alters the way you remember experiences.

What is Daniel Kahneman’s happiness theory? How does it involve the two selves, and what does it have to do with memory? Daniel Kahneman’s happiness theory is the idea that we have two selves, the experiencing self and the remembering self, and that the remembering self influences our overall happiness more than the experiencing self. This theory was introduced in Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow. We’ll cover why happiness depends more on memory of experiences than on the experiences themselves and how this knowledge can help you be happier.

What is overconfidence bias? How do you avoid it? Overconfidence bias is when a person feels more confident in the accuracy of his or her judgment than objective standards would indicate. Overconfidence bias can lead to bad decisions and faulty predictions. Learn what overconfidence bias is, see examples of different types of overconfidence bias, and learn how to avoid the overconfidence effect.

What is “System 2 thinking?” When should you use it? And why can it be more effective than System 1 thinking? System 2 thinking is thinking that allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. It’s often associated with the subjective experience of agency, choice and concentration. We’ll cover the properties of System 2 thinking and how to use it to make better decisions.

What are framing effects in psychology? How do framing effects affect decision making? The framing effect is a cognitive bias in which people make decisions based on whether the options are “framed,” or presented, as losses or gains. An outcome presented as a gain is much more favorable as the same outcome framed as a loss. We’ll cover how framing effects impact your decision making and look at framing effect examples.

What is narrative fallacy? When and why do you make this fallacy, and how can you avoid it? The narrative fallacy is the tendency to create a story with cause-and-effect explanations out of random details and events. We fall victim to the narrative fallacy because our brains want to make sense of a random world. Learn why your brain is so prone to falling for the narrative fallacy and how to counter it.

What is “System 1 Thinking,” from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow? When should I use it, and when shouldn’t I? System 1 thinking is thinking that operates automatically and quickly. It takes little or no effort, and no sense of voluntary control. We’ll cover how Kahneman’s System 1 thinking is involved in making judgments and what biases System 1 thinking leaves you susceptible to.

What is the endowment effect? Am I affected by it? How does it function in my everyday life? The endowment effect is the theory that people keep an object and value it more highly once they own it. In essence, the endowment effect causes people to overvalue their belongings. We’ll look at three examples of the endowment effect and how you’re susceptible to it.