Choiceology’s Guide to Better Decisions

Podcast: Choiceology with Katy Milkman
Episode: Guide to Better Decisions: With Guests James Korris, Carey Morewedge & Jack Soll
Date: May 20, 2024
Host: Dr. Katy Milkman
Guests: James Korris, Carey Morewedge, Jack Soll

Overview of the Episode’s Main Theme

This special episode explores how we can genuinely improve our decision-making by understanding and counteracting common cognitive biases. Dr. Katy Milkman brings together experts who have developed and tested training approaches—especially immersive video games—that help break bad thinking habits. The episode not only delves into successful real-world applications (in fields like US intelligence analysis) but also distills actionable strategies into a practical checklist for listeners to apply in their daily choices.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Serious Games in Debiasing (00:35–08:49)

• Introduction to "The Pursuit of Terry Hughes" Game

  • [00:35] The episode opens with a scene from an innovative video game used to train US intelligence agents to avoid common thinking errors while solving a fictional missing-persons case.
  • Purpose: To help analysts practice considering alternative hypotheses and not jump to conclusions.

• Game Design Strategies

  • [02:21–03:56] James Korris explains that the game’s narrative and clue-discovery mechanics are specifically designed to evoke biases—like making the player favor certain hypotheses or overlook disconfirming evidence.
  • Example: A clue about a missing suitcase versus a tipped-over chair—does the player only look for evidence supporting an abduction or also consider if the neighbor left voluntarily?

• Connection to Behavioral Research

  • [06:42–07:24] The game's structure challenges users to resist fundamental attribution error (blaming personality over situation) and to spot confirmation bias (seeking only evidence to confirm beliefs).

2. Debiasing Works: The Science and Findings (08:49–19:13)

• Carey Morewedge: Building and Testing Debiasing Games

  • [08:49] Carey Morewedge shares the backstory: He was skeptical at first about whether playing video games could reduce ingrained biases, but saw surprisingly strong results.
  • [11:24] Measurement: Developed new tools to assess individual susceptibility before, immediately after, and months after the intervention.
  • Findings: Games reduced measurable biases by ~30% initially and results persisted (~23% reduction) even after 2–3 months.

• Six Targeted Biases

  • [12:21–13:42] The program tackled:
    1. Bias blind spot (not seeing your own biases).
    2. Confirmation bias.
    3. Fundamental attribution error.
    4. Anchoring.
    5. Representativeness heuristic.
    6. Social projection.

• Why Games Outperform Passive Learning

  • [15:11] Video games provide definitions, directionality, concrete feedback, and coaching—unlike lectures, they force you to see your own errors and correct them in real time.
  • Notable Quote:

    “I think the video game basically throws the kitchen sink of what we think works for debiasing at the problem... The game actually is like, yeah, like, you showed this bias in this particular scenario, and like, here's what you would do to do that.” — Carey Morewedge [15:11–15:47]

• Reassuring Conclusion About Learning

  • [18:44]

    “For listeners who aren't in the science, I think that this suggests that doing things like listening to this podcast or reading a book or watching a talk online, those are all things that can help you improve your decision making, and it's not futile. Your biases are not all permanent. You can do something about them.” — Carey Morewedge [18:44]

3. The “Checklist” for Better Decision-Making (20:50–27:49)

• Jack Soll: Four-Point Practical Process

  • [21:09] Given that lists help lower error rates, Jack Soll offers a clear, concise, research-backed checklist:

  a. Be Decision Ready - Don’t make choices hungry, tired, rushed, or angry. Pause decisions if you’re distracted. -
  > “We often fall back on our intuition and can be biased if we are distracted, if we're tired, if we're hungry, if we're really rushed... So at those times it's best to put off the decision to another time.” — Jack Soll [21:09–22:09]

  b. Broaden the Frame - Challenge yourself to think beyond the obvious options and fully consider what you might care about in the future. > “A lot of biases actually could be attributed to thinking too narrowly, that we're only thinking about the one option that's in front of us... Sometimes what you actually ought to do is throw out all those options and invent some new ones.” — Jack Soll [22:12–23:40]

  c. Seek (Independent) Advice - Ask for advice but avoid telling people your own view first to prevent influencing their response. > “If you really want to get good advice is to get independent advice.” — Jack Soll [23:41]

  d. Experiment—Try to Prove Yourself Wrong - When possible, test your assumptions. Use tactics like A/B testing or have someone serve as a devil’s advocate. If experiments aren’t possible, get repeated or third-party judgments to reduce error. > “Try to generate disconfirmation, try to prove yourself wrong... Have somebody argue for an alternative point of view.” — Jack Soll [23:41–25:10]

• On Inconsistent Judgments

  • [27:08] Even experts are inconsistent—reviewing decisions (like grading a paper) twice or having multiple people weigh in can help control for internal “noise”.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Measuring the Impact of Training:

  “We basically see on average a reduction of their propensity to exhibit these biases of about 30% from immediately before the game to after. And then ... two or three months later, we see the game is still reducing their propensity by about 23%.” — Carey Morewedge [11:24–12:07]

• On the Promise of Education:

  “Just by learning about decision biases, you can improve your judgment...it's not futile. Your biases are not all permanent. You can do something about them.” — Dr. Katy Milkman, summarizing [18:44]

• On Feedback in Games vs. Videos:

  “There's a layer of bias blind spot to watching a video too, where you see other people commit these biases and you're like, yeah, maybe I do that, but not as much as that person... The game actually is like, yeah, you showed this bias in this particular scenario, and like, here's what you would do to do that.” — Carey Morewedge [15:47]

• Playfully Acknowledging Human Inconsistency:

  “It's like two independent perspectives. Aren't you lucky? Anyway, that's my framing trick.” — Katie Milkman (on sometimes giving her PhD students contradictory writing advice at different times) [27:32–27:37]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:35 — Introduction to the video game debiasing story
• 02:21–03:56 — Game mechanics designed to challenge biases
• 08:49 — Carey Morewedge’s research background and skepticism
• 11:24 — How effectiveness was measured; results
• 12:21–13:42 — The six targeted biases defined
• 15:11 — What makes the video game approach strong
• 18:44 — Takeaway: Biases can be changed through learning
• 21:09 — Start of Jack Soll’s practical checklist
• 22:09–23:40 — Broaden the frame, invent better options
• 23:41 — Independent advice and experimentation
• 27:08 — On inconsistencies in expert judgment

Practical Takeaways & Checklist

Summed up succinctly at [21:09–27:49]:

1. Be Decision Ready:
   Wait if emotional, distracted, hungry, or tired.
2. Broaden the Frame:
   Don’t lock in on the first solution; identify unconsidered objectives and options.
3. Seek Independent Advice:
   Ask others before sharing your view—get uncolored insights.
4. Experiment and Disconfirm:
   Run low-cost tests, have a devil’s advocate, and repeat or blind evaluations for tough judgments.

Closing Notes & Overall Tone

The tone throughout the episode is encouraging, upbeat, and practical—asserting that while cognitive biases are real and sticky, we’re not powerless against them. Both research and real-world interventions show people can learn, improve, and transfer good decision-making habits across domains.

“We’re not just stuck with these biases. And just like we can learn calculus and algebra and addition, we can learn how to make better choices.” — Dr. Katy Milkman [18:44]

The message is clear: If you’re willing to learn, reflect, and deliberately question your own thinking, smarter decisions really are within reach.