Restraint Bias
We overestimate our ability to show restraint in the face of temptation.
Restraint bias is the tendency for people to overestimate their capacity for impulse control. This leads people to expose themselves to more temptation than they should, believing they can resist. Dieters who believe they have strong willpower allow more indulgent foods in the house and are more likely to overeat. This bias leads to overconfident risk-taking with addictions and self-control challenges.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Everyday life Dieting Overconfidence A dieter buys ice cream for 'the family,' confident they won't touch it, but ends up eating most of it — having overestimated their self-control around a known temptation.
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.
A person trying to reduce their carbon footprint starts biking to work but then feels justified flying for vacation, because the daily restraint of green commuting creates a carbon offset mentality that licenses larger environmental impacts in other areas of their life.
A person trying to reduce sugar allows themselves fruit smoothies but adds excessive honey and sweeteners, because the restraint of choosing a natural sugar source creates a sense of healthy indulgence that licenses adding concentrated sweeteners that undermine the intended sugar reduction.
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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