John Bargh at The Edge: “If all these things are going on without my knowledge, then I don’t really know why I’m doing what I’m doing, and I don’t really know myself that well apparently. So how can I make the right decisions or make the right choices for myself when all these biases are throwing my decisions all over the place?”
How do you square this with Bryan's doubts about the existence of fundamental attribution error? It seems that if you accept the premise laid out by John Bargh above, then you do not share Bryan's sentiments. Do I understand that correctly?
But nobody wants to look so needy for validation or so unsure of who they are that they ask their friends. It is a good way to scare off some otherwise good people.
Robin, this post and yesterday's post seem contradictory to me.
Will friends (or other people who know us well) tell us the truth or just tell us what shallow signals they would like us to signal? Such as going to Stanford.
Another approach is to ask: WWTAPD? ("What would the average person do?") Since we tend to see ourselves as more different from others than we actually are, one way to try to short circuit this bias is using "the average person" as our surrogate in the decision-making process. (see Stumbling on Happiness, hardcover p. 229+)
I second Hrishi Mittal, hearing many of your friends tell you what they think you will do will influence your behavior.
We would need a study that polls a persons friends without the person knowing the results, or asking for any advice they normally would not.
Robin,
How do you square this with Bryan's doubts about the existence of fundamental attribution error? It seems that if you accept the premise laid out by John Bargh above, then you do not share Bryan's sentiments. Do I understand that correctly?
Hrishi, in the story above what your friends know, and you may not know, is that you want the shallow signal just as much as they do.
Yes, what we need it is a good standard list of questions to ask your friends, so that your in particular asking them signals less about you.
But nobody wants to look so needy for validation or so unsure of who they are that they ask their friends. It is a good way to scare off some otherwise good people.
Robin, this post and yesterday's post seem contradictory to me.
Will friends (or other people who know us well) tell us the truth or just tell us what shallow signals they would like us to signal? Such as going to Stanford.
Another approach is to ask: WWTAPD? ("What would the average person do?") Since we tend to see ourselves as more different from others than we actually are, one way to try to short circuit this bias is using "the average person" as our surrogate in the decision-making process. (see Stumbling on Happiness, hardcover p. 229+)