Three reasons why clever people

do silly things

Are

you

a

cleverperson?

Of course you are!

Yet sometimes

you

do

silly things

Why is that?

We are such a clever species

Keep reading to find out more

Blessing or curse?

A bit of both. Let’s see how it plays out now…

Our quick decision making kept us alive

8

Deciding quickly is a hardwired response…

but it can also trip you up!

The physiology of our brain has not changed since our

hunting and gathering days!

And we now know more!90% of what we know about the brain, and hardwired responses,

have only been discovered in the last seven years!

Thanks to neuroimaging technology, like fMRI, we have insights into how the

brain processes new information and responds to change.

So based on our hardwired behaviour

There are three key reasons why we trip up

1 We avoid loss

1 We avoid loss

This means that we:

• persist, even when we know the odds

are against us, eg. gambling

• chase sunk costs and persevere with

failing projects

• bid furiously on eBay for items we

don’t need or want

• resist change

Any loss meant potential loss of life or resources,

threatening our survival.

142 We go into threat mode

2 We go into threat mode

When in threat, this means:

• Emotion overrides logic

• We have tantrums,

often called an ‘amygdala hijack’

• We hear bad news first and loudest

• Our neural energy is taking

care of our emotions, so there’s little left

for rational thinking

Change and new information provoke threat.

When in threat, we respond with flight, fight or freeze.

3 We size people up quickly

3 We size people up quickly

This means that we:

• are hardwired to feel safe with people like us

• classify people as ‘friend’ or ‘foe’

• have a built in unconscious bias

Survival relied on safety. We felt safe with our own clan,

meaning anyone outside our group could be a threat.

With primal responses, it’s no wonder we do silly things!

Now you know about this…

You can pause and label your responseThis helps you calm down and take some time to think

20

If we had more timewe could explore many more biases that influence our decisions

These are just three reasons

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1 We avoid loss

2 We go into threat mode

3 We size people up quickly

So those three reasons

22

ab

ou

t m

e

If you enjoyed this presentation,

please share it or like it, or both!

Lena Ross MBA

@LenaEmelyRoss

https://au.linkedin.com/in/lenaross