Optimism Bias
We believe we are less likely to experience negative events than others.
Optimism bias is a cognitive bias that causes someone to believe that they themselves are less likely to experience a negative event. It is also known as unrealistic optimism or comparative optimism. People think they are less likely than average to be divorced, in a car accident, or to get cancer. The bias is cross-cultural and has been found in many domains of life.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Seatbelt Avoidance People who don't wear seatbelts often believe car accidents 'happen to other people', not themselves.
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.
Casey decides not to get a flu shot, thinking they have a strong immune system and won't get sick.
Pat skips their regular car maintenance, believing their vehicle is too reliable to ever break down.
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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