Mind Traps
In this particular section of my blog, I have included a few reasoning errors: reasons why people believe things that are questionable or just plainly not true. There are many out there but this blog will only focus on the ones related to my myth.
I will be discussing three reasoning errors.
1. Post hoc ergo propter hoc
2. Self-serving bias
3. Confirmation bias
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To give you a deeper understanding of reasoning errors:
1. They are created by our minds.
2 They are due to our difficulty to process information and draw conclusions perfectly.
3. They are understandable conclusions we draw to further support our belief given the available evidence (Gilovich, 1991).
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Post hoc ergo propter hoc is our tendency to believe that since one event occurs before another, that one event must have caused the other, when in actuality a third factor was really the cause. In other words, if A happens right before B, A must have caused B. A good example of this can be seen when one finds a coin on the ground and, later that day, hears some good news. Now that person will claim that finding the coin brought the good news, when in actually it was just a coincidence.
This reasoning error is related to my myth because it is a easy way for us to believe the myth is really working when its not because since our mood changes right before our thoughts change we automatically concluded it was our thoughts when it was not.
A self-serving bias is a reasoning error that we used to boost and protect our self-esteem by only personally acknowledging our successes and blaming our failures on a source outside of ourselves. A good example of this can be seen when a person gets a test back. Now, if they did well - they’ll credit themselves for their good grade by saying, “I studied really hard and/or I know I could do it.” Now, if that person gets a bad grade on that same test, they might say it wasn’t their fault, “The teacher doesn’t like me” or “It was really hot in class that day; therefore, it affected my performance.”
This reasoning error is related to my myth/allowing it to be believed because its boosting our self-esteem and reduces our chances of feeling vulnerable.
A confirmation bias is a person’s tendency to focus on information that confirms their already held belief and ignore or criticize information that doesn’t. A good example of this can be seen when meeting someone new. Let’s just say a close friend introduces you to her new boyfriend. You didn’t like him from the start. Now, whenever you see or hear, about him you’re main focus is the bad things he does, ignoring any good qualities about him.
This reasoning error is also related to my myth because by it we are only noticing the days when we feel it is working and not even thinking of the days when it is not working. It's actually creating a dellusion in our minds.
In conclusion, post hoc propter hoc, self-serving bias, and confirmation bias are just some of the reasons why the belief, “When down in the dumps, thinking you happy by focusing on the positive” can occur.
Here's one that really sparks my curiosity:
ReplyDeleteCan one fall prey to a 'self fulfilling prophecy' under this myth? Can one think himself happy, then feel happier, but in reality he only fooled himself? This reasoning error would actually entirely explain the myth!
Here's one I'm curious about:
ReplyDeleteCould people take advantage of optional stopping? One could think themselves happy in insignificant situations, and conclude that it works. When a more serious situation occurred, such as a loss of job or a bad break up, one could say they chose to wallow, and thus stop their own information gathering about this in a situation when it might not work.
I was wondering if word of mouth and availability heuristic plays a part. The phrase seems pretty common or at least the idea of focusing on the positive. So, in many ways, since it is easily remembered, people mistakenly pass it onto others, perhaps often with good intentions. Thus, it relates to availability heuristic, which is the idea that if you can think of something easily, it is more available in memory and we assume its available because it happens frequency. That overestimation of frequency that is perpetuated by word of mouth truly contributes to this belief!
ReplyDelete