Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions

The Gambler’s Fallacy 04.07.2026 7min

Why do we believe a random event is “due” to happen just because it hasn’t happened in a while? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the gambler’s fallacy — the cognitive bias that makes us think past random outcomes influence future ones, even when every event is completely independent.Discover why streaks can fool our intuition, how our brains search for patterns in pure chance, and how recognising this bias can help you make more rational decisions in situations involving uncertainty and probability.Studies and links:The Gambler’s and Hot-Hand Fallacies: Theories and Applications | Matthew Rabin and Dimitri Vayanos | The Review of Economic Studies https://rabin.scholars.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum7721/files/rabin/files/ghfta_resf.pdfWhy do we think a random event is more or less likely to occur if it happened several times in the past? | The Decision Lab https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/gamblers-fallacyThe Gambler’s Fallacy: What It Is And How To Overcome It | Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/brycehoffman/2024/08/27/the-gamblers-fallacy-what-it-is-and-how-to-overcome-it/

The Phone in the Room Study 20.06.2026 6min

Why does having your phone nearby make it harder to think — even when you’re not using it? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Phone in the Room Study — the surprising research showing that the mere presence of a smartphone can reduce attention, working memory, and cognitive performance.Discover how your brain allocates resources to resisting distraction, why “just having it there” can drain mental capacity, and what this study reveals about the hidden cognitive costs of constant connectivity.Studies and links:Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity | Adrian F. Ward, Kristen Duke, Ayelet Gneezy, Maarten W Bos | Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315966604_Brain_Drain_The_Mere_Presence_of_One's_Own_Smartphone_Reduces_Available_Cognitive_CapacitySmartphones are distracting even when you’re not using them | The Journalist’s Resource https://journalistsresource.org/economics/smartphones-mobile-distracting-cognition-iphone/

The White Bear Suppression Study 14.06.2026 6min

Why is it that the harder we try not to think about something, the more it seems to take over our minds? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the White Bear Suppression Study — the famous experiment that revealed the paradox of thought suppression. When participants were told not to think about a white bear, they found themselves thinking about it even more.Discover why trying to suppress thoughts often backfires, how unwanted ideas can become more persistent the more we resist them, and what this surprising effect teaches us about attention, self-control, and the way our minds work.Studies and links:The White Bear Story | Daniel Wegner and David Schneider | Psychological Inquiry 2003 vol 14 no 3&4 326-329 https://dtg.sites.fas.harvard.edu/DANWEGNER/pub/White%20Bear%20Story.pdfIronic Process Theory & The White Bear Experiment | Simply Psychology https://www.simplypsychology.org/ironic-process-theory-white-bear-experiment.html

The Foot-in-the-Door Technique 30.05.2026 6min

Why do people agree to big requests after saying yes to a small one? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the foot-in-the-door technique — a powerful persuasion strategy where securing a small commitment first makes people more likely to agree to a larger request later.Discover why consistency is such a strong force in human behaviour, how marketers, salespeople, and campaigners use this technique to influence decisions, and how to recognise when a seemingly harmless first step is leading you somewhere much bigger.Studies and links:Compliance without Pressure: The foot-in-the-door technique | Jonathan L. Freedman and Scott C. Fraser | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1966, Vol. 4, No. 2, 155-202 | buildonomics.com https://www.bulidomics.com/w/images/6/6c/Freedman_fraser_footinthedoor_jpsp1966.pdfFoot-in-the-Door as a Persuasive Technique | psychologist world the foot-in-the-door technique | https://www.psychologistworld.com/behavior/compliance/strategies/foot-in-door-technique

The Curse of Knowledge 23.05.2026 6min

Why is it so difficult to remember what it’s like not to know something? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the curse of knowledge — the cognitive bias that makes informed people assume others share the same understanding, context, or perspective that they do.Discover how knowledge can unintentionally create blind spots, why experts often struggle to explain simple ideas clearly, and how this bias shapes communication, teaching, and everyday misunderstandings more than we realise.Studies and links:The Rocky Road from Actions to Intentions | Elizabeth Newton https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/cognitive-bias/illusion-of-depth/1990-newton.pdfCurse of Knowledge | The Decision Lab https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/management/curse-of-knowledge

The Scar Experiment 10.05.2026 6min

Why does what we believe about ourselves change the way other people seem to treat us? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Scar Experiment — the psychological study showing how our beliefs and insecurities can shape the way we interpret social interactions.Discover how seeing yourself as judged, weak, or victimised can subtly change the way you act and respond to the world — and how the same mechanism can work in the opposite direction. Studies and links:Invisible Scars | Psychology today https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/beyond-school-walls/202410/invisible-scarsPerceptions of the Impact of Negatively Valued Physical Characteristics on Social Interaction | Robert E. Kleck and Angelo Strenta | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | Research gate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert-Kleck/publication/232481827_Perceptions_of_the_impact_of_negatively_valued_physical_characteristics_on_social_interaction/links/56a4f54d08aeef24c58bae73/Perceptions-of-the-impact-of-negatively-valued-physical-characteristics-on-social-interaction.pdf

The Decoy Effect 02.05.2026 5min

Why do our preferences change just because a third option is added? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the decoy effect — the phenomenon where introducing a strategically inferior option makes one of the original choices more attractive.Discover how comparisons shape what we choose, why “irrelevant” options can steer decisions, and how to recognise when your preference is being nudged by the way choices are presented rather than what you truly want.Studies and links:Decoy Effect | Think Insights https://thinkinsights.net/strategy/decoy-effectThe Economist Magazine: A story of clever decoy pricing effect | The Strategy Story https://thestrategystory.com/2020/10/02/economist-magazine-a-story-of-clever-decoy-pricing/Why do we feel more strongly about one option after a third one is added? | The Decision Lab https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/decoy-effect

The Identifiable Victim Effect 25.04.2026 5min

Why do we feel a surge of compassion for one person’s story — yet stay emotionally flat when thousands are suffering? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we unpack the identifiable victim effect — our tendency to respond more strongly to a single, vivid individual than to an entire group.Explore why statistics leave us cold, how our brains are wired to care about people rather than numbers, and how recognising this pattern helps you understand why one story can move you to act when large‑scale problems barely register.Studies and links:The ‘‘Identified Victim’’ Effect: An Identified Group, or Just a Single Individual? | Tehila Kogut and Ilana Ritov | Journal of Behavioral Decision Making The "identified victim" effect: an identified group, or just a single individual?Why are we more likely to offer help to a specific individual than a vague group? | The Decision Lab Identifiable Victim Effect - The Decision Lab

Outcome Bias 18.04.2026 4min

Why do we judge decisions by how they turn out - rather than how they were made? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore outcome bias - the tendency to evaluate the quality of a decision based on its result, instead of the reasoning behind it.Discover how good decisions can lead to bad outcomes (and vice versa), how hindsight skews our judgement, and how to focus on the process rather than the result when it matters most.Studies and links:Outcome Bias in Decision Evaluation | Jonathon Baron and John C. Hershey | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1988, Vol. 54, No. 4, 569-579 outcomebias.pdfOutcome Bias: Definition, Examples and Effects | clearerthinking.org Outcome Bias: Definition, Examples and Effects

The Fundamental Attribution Error 11.04.2026 6min

Why do we blame people's haracter for their actions - but excuse our own behaviour as "just the situation"? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions. we explore the fundamental attribution error - the tendency to overestimate personal traits and underestimate situational factors when judging others.Discover how this bias shapes the way we interpret behavior, why we're quick to label others but slow to consider context, and how recognising this pattern can lead to fairer, more accurate judgements.Studies and links:The Attribution of Attitudes | Edward E. Jones and Victor A. Harris | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 3, 1-24 (1967) PII: 0022-1031(67)90034-0Fundamental Attribution Error Theory in Psychology | Simply Psychology Fundamental Attribution Error Theory in Psychology

Hindsight Bias 04.04.2026 4min

Why do events feel obvious after they've already haappened? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore hindsight bias - the tendency to see outcomes as predictable in retrospect, even when they weren't at the time. Discover how this "knew it all along" effect distorts memory, inflates confidence in our judgement, and makes us underestimate uncertainty.Studies and links:Hindsight^Foresight: The Effect of Outcome Knowledge on Judgment Under Uncertainty | Baruch Fischhoff Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 1975, Vol. 1, No. 3, 288-299 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Fischhoff_1975_Hindsight_is_not_equal_to_foresight.pdfHindsight Bias | The Decision Lab Hindsight Bias - The Decision Lab

The Pratfall Effect 28.03.2026 4min

Why does making a small mistake sometimes make someone more likeable? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the pratfall effect - the psychological phenomenon where a minor slip-up can actually increase someone's appeal, especially if they're already seen as competent. Discover how imperfection can humanise us, how confidence interacts with mistakes, and how a flaw can actually make you more relatable.Studies and links:The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness | Elliot Aronson, University of Texas | Ben Willerman, Social Science Research Council | Joanne Floyd, University of Utah | scispace.com The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness.The Pratfall Effect | Everyday PsychThe Pratfall Effect - Everyday Psych

Moral Licensing 21.03.2026 5min

Why are we more inclined to make a bad choice after doing something good? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore moral licensing - the psychological effect where past "good" behaviour subconsciously gives us permission to act less ethically or responsibly later on.Discover how small acts of virtue can quietly justify poor decisions, how we balance our actions like a mental scoreboard, and how important it is to recognise when you're using past choices to excuse present ones. Studies and links:Buying Green: Consumer Behavior | Ethics Unwrapped Buying Green: Consumer Behavior - Ethics UnwrappedDo Green Products Make Us Better People? | Nina Mazar, Chen-Bo Zhong | University of Toronto | In Press at Psychological Science Green Products Psych Sci.pdf

The False Consensus Effect 14.03.2026 5min

Why do we assume that most people think the same way we do? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the false consensus effect - the cognitive bias that leads us to overestimate how much others share our beliefs, opinions and behaviours. Discover how our own perspectives subtly become the "default" in our minds, how we expect agreement more often than reality delivers, and how recognising this bias can help you understand others more accurately and think beyond your own assumptions.Studies and links:The "False Consensus Effect": an Egocentric Bias in Social Perception and Attribution Processes | Lee Ross, David Greene and Pamela House | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 13 | bulidomics.com PII: 0022-1031(77)90049-XFalse Consensus Effect: Definition and Examples | Simply Psychology False Consensus Effect: Definition and Examples

The Spotlight Effect 07.03.2026 5min

Why do we feel like everyone is watching us - even when they probably aren't? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the spotlight effect - the cognitive bias that makes us believe our actions, mistakes and appearance are being noticed far more than they actually are. Discover how we overestimate how much attention others pay to us, how this illusion can fuel embarrassment and social anxiety, and how understanding it can help you feel freer to act without the constant fear of being judged. Studies and links:The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgment: An Egocentric Bias in Estimates of the Salience of One's Own Actions and Appearance | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2000, Vol. 78, No. 2, 211-222 | Thomas Gilovich, Victoria Husted Medvec and Kenneth Savitsky | psychologyib.com amp78020211.tifWhy do we feel like we stand out more than we really do? | Decision Lab Spotlight effect - The Decision Lab

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 21.02.2026 6min

Why do our expectations so often become our reality? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the self‑fulfilling prophecy — the psychological phenomenon where beliefs and assumptions influence behaviour until they make themselves true.Discover how expectations shape actions, why other people’s beliefs can affect your performance, and how changing your internal predictions can shift the outcomes you experience.Studies and links:Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In Psychology: Definition & Examples | Simply Psychology Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In Psychology: Definition & ExamplesPygmalion in the Classroom: Teacher Expectation and Pupils' Intellectual Development | Western Kentucky University people.wku.edu/steve.groce/RosenthalJacobson-PygmalionintheClassroom.pdf

The Halo and Devil Effect 14.02.2026 4min

Why does one good trait make someone seem completely brilliant - while one flaw makes them seem entirely flawed? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the halo effect and the devil effect - the biases that cause a single impression to shape how we judge someone's entire character.Discover how first impressions spill over into assumptions about intelligence and competence, and how to recognise when one standout trait is distorting your overall judgement.Studies and links:Reboot Foundation | Everything You Need To Know About The Halo Effect Everything You Need To Know About The Halo Effect | REBOOT FOUNDATIONIdeal Role | The Halo Effect - The power of first impressions The Halo Effect - The power of first impressions

The Zeigarnik Effect 07.02.2026 6min

Why do unfinished tasks stick in our minds long after we've stopped working on them? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Zeigarnik Effect - the psychological phenomenon where incomplete tasks are remembered more clearly than completed ones.Discover why open loops create mental tension, how unfinished work captures your attention, and how to use this effect to stay motivated.Studies and Links:The Art of Sustainable Performance: The Zeigarnik Effect | Research Gate (PDF) The Art of Sustainable Performance: The Zeigarnik EffectZeigarnik Effect Examples in Psychology | Simply Psychology Zeigarnik Effect Examples in Psychology

Loss Aversion 31.01.2026 6min

Why does losing something hurt more than gaining the same thing feels good? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore loss aversion - the psychological bias that makes losses feel more powerful, painful and important than equivalent gains.Discover how fear of loss shapes decision-making and behaviour; why we cling onto what we already have; and how to overcome this bias to get rid of old ideals and create space for improvement.Studies and Links:Why do we buy insurance? | The Decision Lab Loss Aversion - The Decision LabWhy do we value items more if they belong to us? | The Decision Lab Endowment Effect - The Decision LabWhy are we likely to continue with an investment even if it would be rational to give it up? | The Decision Lab The Sunk Cost Fallacy - The Decision LabLoss aversion in riskless choice: a reference-dependent model | Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman | Oxford University Press | UFL Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model

Temporal Discounting 24.01.2026 5min

Why do we choose short-term rewards even when we know waiting would be better? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore temporal discounting - the tendency to value immediate rewards more highly than future ones, even when the future payoff is larger or wiser.Discover how time distorts our judgement, and how understanding this bias can help you make decisions that you future self will actually thank you for.Studies and links:Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review | Shane Frederick, George Loewenstein and Ted O'Donoghue | Journal of Economic Literature Vol. XL | Carnegie Mellon University TimeDiscounting.pdf