Naïve Realism
We believe we perceive the world objectively and that others who disagree are uninformed, irrational, or biased.
Naïve realism is the human tendency to believe that we see the world around us objectively, and that people who disagree with us must be uninformed, irrational, or biased. The term was coined by social psychologist Lee Ross. It creates serious problems in interpersonal and political conflict: if I see the world correctly, anyone who disagrees with me must be wrong, and their wrongness must be explained by some deficiency.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Politics Partisan Media Consumption Political partisans believe their preferred news source is objective and accuse all competing sources of bias.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
Mike is sure his method for fixing the leaky faucet is correct. When his partner suggests a different approach, Mike assumes his partner just doesn't have enough DIY experience to see the right way.
You spend an hour organizing the shared garage so tools are logically grouped by use. Your housemate moves things for 'easier reach,' and you feel they're just undoing a perfectly sensible system.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
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