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Temporal Construal Levels: Seeing the Big Picture in Daily Choices

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Health Decisions, Performance, Academic Achievement, Procrastination, Productivity, Time Management

How does knowing about temporal construal levels help us make better choices?

An interesting but not widely known framework for dealing with self-control and daily decisions is the theory of temporal construal levels.
The theory and many subsequent research studies (here’s just one example by Fujita, Trope, Liberman, and Levin-Sagi) suggest that we think quite differently about events depending on how far in the future they are. When we think about a distant event, we represent it in a more abstract and coherent way, and we connect those future events with our goals. This would be a high-level construal. As the event gets closer, we become more concerned about the concrete and incidental details of the events and about the experience itself. This would be a low-level construal.

As an example: When I plan to hike next weekend, I’m thinking about the big picture and have goals in mind such as leading a healthy life, making beautiful memories, or enjoying good company.
In the moment of the event itself, from the alarm clock going off way too early, to the strenuous climb and descent, I am likely to focus on the specifics of the experience, including all the discomfort that comes with it.
After the event, I will likely look back at it again from the big picture perspective, happy about the memories and achievement.

Climbing a Mountain as Illustration of Temporal Construal Levels

The fact that we represent future events differently from the present has very practical implications for our decisions: it means that we often make different choices for our future selves than for our present selves.

When we’re further away from a choice, we find it easy to focus on the big picture and know what’s best for us.

For example, we know that we want to be productive, eat healthy, work out, and so on. However, as we get closer to the moment when we should actually do those things, we’re more likely to choose what feels good in the moment – for example, watch the funny video, eat the chocolate cake, and generally seek instant pleasure and avoid discomfort.

Two practical tips to deal with changing temporal construal levels:

1. Beforehand: “zoom in” to plan well

Since we tend to think about our past decisions on the same high level construal as about our future decisions, planning ahead helps us make choices that we won’t regret in the future. The more detailed your plan, the more decisions are you are making before the event, rather than during it. However, while you’re in the planning phase, remember to be kind to your future self! Try to envision difficulties ahead of time, and set your future self up for success by removing as many obstacles as possible. In that way, a realistic plan – one you’re willing to commit to – will give you a priceless advantage by freeing you from too many decisions later on.

2. In the moment: “zoom out” to reconnect with goals and values

As the event gets closer, and in the heat of the moment itself, remind yourself of the big picture and the original plan. When things get hard and uncomfortable, think about the reasons why you are doing this. Since there is no longer any temporal distance, one very good trick is to increase the psychological distance to get back into a high-level construal. For example, before deviating from your plans, think about what you would advise a friend to do in your situation. This helps you see your decision from more distance – similarly to the way you will likely judge your own decision in the future, when you look back at it.

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR


Multitasking: How Bad is it Really?

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Health Decisions, Procrastination, Productivity, Time Management

You’ve probably already been warned to stay away from multitasking. In recent years, there have been many articles, blog posts etc. dissuading us from it. Why?

  1. Multitasking doesn’t exist. Instead, when we do try to pay attention to two tasks at once, what we end up doing is switching our focus rapidly between different tasks.
  2. This kind of switching makes us less productive than if we focused on one task only, and then moved on to the other task later.
  3. People who are most likely to attempt multitasking – and who think they are good at it – have the lowest actual multi-tasking abilities.

This is all relatively uncontroversial and based on many experiments measuring task effectiveness and brain activity, and I believe it is important knowledge.

However, the implications are bigger than that.

Why multitasking is even worse than you thinkHere’s a sketch to illustrate an additional problem. The blue and green areas show brain activity that is specific to certain tasks, whereas the orange area shows roughly what extra brain activity is required just for the switching between those two specific tasks. The point of the sketch is to show how the switching itself is actually a third task that consumes a lot of brainpower. Importantly, this switch cost occurs in the frontal areas of the brain, which are involved in decision making and planning – and that are, as I discussed in a previous post, very susceptible to fatigue and glucose depletion.

In other words, by switching tasks when we are trying to multitask, we are using the part of our brain (the pre-frontal cortex) which is most easily exhausted and uses up the most resources (glucose). Developmentally speaking, the prefrontal cortex is our latest achievement: it is the last part of the brain to fully develop in young adults, but also the most recently evolved part in our history as a species, and the part of our brain that looks most radically different from the brains of other animals.

In that light, it shouldn’t be too surprising that it is the least efficient part of our brain, and not as essential for survival as the older and more established parts. However, it is also the very part that enables us to focus, exert self-control, be kind and patient, delay gratification, and just overall make smart decisions.

What I’m arguing here is that by switching tasks (by trying to multitask, or by having too many distractions instead of focusing on one thing only), we are wasting the best part of our brain power. By the end of the day (or even the hour) we will have less self-control, make more unhealthy choices, eat the wrong kinds of foods in the wrong moments, spend money that we didn’t want to spend, get angry at our loved ones — in other words, are simply being more stupid than necessary.

So, in order to remain smarter for longer (throughout our long days), we should practice focus and avoid multitasking wherever we can. (Well, and take breaks. I still stand by that too.)

Here are some small practical steps you can take to increase focus:

  • Make a conscious choice at what times of the day you want to be social. Don’t let others decide that for you by interrupting and distracting you.
  • Turn off all notifications from all apps that are not absolutely essential.
  • Close all those browser windows and programs you’re not using right now.
  • Play just as hard as you work: think of being present as a skill and a habit that you want to practice everywhere, not just at work.

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR


Selected References:
Fuster, J. M. (1988). Prefrontal Cortex. In Comparative Neuroscience and Neurobiology (pp. 107–109). Birkhäuser Boston.
Fuster, J. M. (2001). The Prefrontal Cortex-An Update – Time Is of the Essence. Neuron, 30(2), 319–333.
Gopher, D., Armony, L. & Greenspan, Y. (2000). Switching tasks and attention policies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 129, 308-229.
Meyer, D. E. & Kieras, D. E. (1997a). A computational theory of executive cognitive processes and multiple-task performance: Part 1. Basic mechanisms. Psychological Review, 104, 3-65.
Meyer, D. E. & Kieras, D. E. (1997b). A computational theory of executive cognitive processes and multiple-task performance: Part 2. Accounts of psychological refractory-period phenomena. Psychological Review, 104, 749-791.
Rubinstein, J. S., Meyer, D. E. & Evans, J. E. (2001). Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27, 763-797.
Rogers, R. & Monsell, S. (1995). The costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124, 207-231.
Sanbonmatsu, D. M., Strayer, D. L., Medeiros-Ward, N., & Watson, J. M. (2013). Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking. PLOS ONE, 8(1), e54402.

 


Effects of sleep deprivation on decision making

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Health Decisions, Neuroscience, Performance, Academic Achievement, Procrastination, Productivity, Time Management, Risk and Uncertainty, Stress Management
How does a lack of sleep affect our judgment? Does it really lead to poorer choices?

"Drowsy drivers use next exit": warning sign on Interstate 15 in Utah Unfortunately, the answer is many times yes. In my research into the topic, I’ve found at least eight ways how a lack of sleep affects different aspects of our judgment and decision making.

Sleep deprivation affects us both physically and mentally, and decision-making is a complex process that requires the orchestration of multiple neural systems, such as emotion, memory, and logical reasoning. It is therefore not too surprising that sleep deprivation would take a toll on many fronts.

Here are eight effects of sleep deprivation on decision making:

1) What’s perhaps best known is that it impairs attention and working memory, leading to slower reaction times, reduced vigilance, and more mistakes. This is why the risks of driving while sleepy are considered at least as dangerous as the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol [1]. For example, being awake for 17 hours leads to impairments equivalent to having a BAC of 0.05%, and being awake for 24 hours to having a BAC of 0.10%.

For people with ADHD, sleep deprivation leads to even more focus-related problems, such as disproportionately more errors and slower reaction times. In addition, lack of sleep decreases the effectiveness of some ADHD medications [2]. (Unfortunately, ADHD also makes it harder stick to a good sleep routine. Here are some tips on how to deal with this problem.)

2) But it also affects long-term memory. Sleep deprivation affects the brain’s ability to learn and recall information [3]. In fact, lack of sleep seems to be a risk factor for (not only correlated with) dementia, probably for a number of reasons [4; 5; 6]. For one, during REM sleep the brain processes information and consolidates memories from the previous day. Sleep also plays a large part in regulating the availability of neurotransmitters. Lastly, sleep deprivation leads to an increase in beta-amyloid. This is the protein that occurs in abnormally high levels in brains with Alzheimer’s disease, where it clumps together to form plaques that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function.

3) Logical reasoning ability also suffers. Namely, sleep deprivation increases rigid thinking, perseveration errors, and difficulties in processing and using new information [7]. In other words, complex tasks and innovative decision-making do suffer from a lack of sleep.

4) Self-awareness is another aspect of our judgment that’s essential for making smart choices. Unfortunately, self-evaluation of cognitive performance is also impaired by sleep deprivation. In one study [8], during 36 h of sleep deprivation, research participants became more confident that their answers were correct as the wakefulness continued. Confidence was even stronger when the answer was actually wrong.

5) Lack of sleep makes us more risk prone. For example, in gambling tasks, sleep deprivation led to both higher expectations of rewards for risky choices, as well as diminished responses to their losses [9].

6) In addition, many studies show that sleep deprivation leads to more impulsive behavior and a lack of inhibition [e.g., 10; 11]. Note that impulsivity is not the same issue as the risk attitude from the previous point. These two aspects of decision making are independent – you can be deliberate about taking high risks (e.g., choosing an aggressive investment portfolio), and you can be impulsive about avoiding risks (e.g., giving into irrational fears or shying away from discomfort). But of course the combination of impulsivity and risk-proneness is a particularly dangerous cocktail that can lead to reckless behavior.

7) Sleep deprivation has negative effects on many aspects of mood, such as depression, anger, and anxiety [e.g., 12 – 15]. While some studies only show correlations over time [12]., others do show a causal effect [13; 14]. One study examined the effects of sleep deprivation in healthy adolescents, comparing depression, anger, confusion, anxiety, vigor, and fatigue across days. They found that all mood states significantly worsened following one night without sleep. Female participants showed a greater vulnerability to mood deficits following sleep loss, with greater depressed mood, anxiety, and confusion [14]. Another study examined a cohort of medical residents over their first postgraduate year and found that mood disturbances, lowered empathic capacity, and burnout increased over the year, and were associated with decreases in sleep amounts and increases in sleepiness [12].

Here, too, if we keep in mind that increased impulsivity will be added to this mix of bad mood, it won’t be surprising to learn that bad behavior follows. For example, one study looked at abusive supervisory behavior in managers across a variety of industries. They showed that daily sleep quality was negatively related to leaders’ self-control, and that those who were more sleep deprived were rated as significantly more abusive and toxic in interpersonal interactions [16].

8) Finally, sleep deprivation affects our hormones and metabolism. It leads to decreased glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, increased evening concentrations of cortisol, increased levels of ghrelin, and decreased levels of leptin [17]. While cortisol is a biomarker of stress, ghrelin and leptin regulate our appetite. Ghrelin increases our appetive, while leptin decreases it. In other words, sleep deprivation leads to increased hunger and appetite on both the ghrelin and leptin fronts. Add to that again a lack of inhibition, and it becomes clear that our eating choices will be affected by a lack of sleep. Indeed, there is growing evidence both from epidemiological and laboratory studies showing an association between sleep loss and increased risk of obesity [18].

How can you get enough sleep in your busy life?

Most of all, make sleep a priority. This will most likely require some sacrifices, because it means giving up some of your waking hours. But if you’re taking into account how much better those waking hours will be if you’re fully rested, the trade-off will be well worth it.

For practical tips as to how to get into a better sleep routine, google “sleep hygiene” and follow all the advice you’ll find. As an example of that, a recent study at a boarding school found that a regular routine and no mobile devices at night helped teenagers get more sleep [19].

If your have troubles falling asleep despite good sleep hygiene, here are some interesting tips. Or, google “visualization falling sleep” and you’ll find cornucopias of techniques. I’d encourage you to try one after the other, until you find one that works for you.

All this is easier said than done of course! If you’d like to get some help along the way–from deciding how to shift and re-balance your priorities, to developing strategies, and getting support as you’re putting your priorities into practice–I’d be excited to talk to you.

"Get in Touch" Button to Schedule a phone call or coaching session with Ursina Teuscher

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR

 

Picture Credit:
Phil Konstantin. Photo released into the public domain via hhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UtahSignByPhilKonstantin.jpg

References:

[1] Powell, N. B., Schechtman, K. B., Riley, R. W., Li, K., Troell, R., & Guilleminault, C. (2001). The Road to Danger: The Comparative Risks of Driving While Sleepy. The Laryngoscope, 111(5), 887–893. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005537-200105000-00024
[2] Waldon, J., Vriend, J., Davidson, F., & Corkum, P. (2018). Sleep and Attention in Children With ADHD and Typically Developing Peers. Journal of Attention Disorders, 22(10), 933–941. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054715575064
[3] Alhola, P., & Polo-Kantola, P. (2007). Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3(5), 553–567. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19300585/
[4] Berglund, J. (2019). The Danger of Sleep Deprivation. IEEE Pulse, 10(4), 21–24. https://doi.org/10.1109/MPULS.2019.2922564
[5] Lack of sleep may be linked to risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. (2018, April 13). National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://www.nih.gov/news-events/lack-sleep-may-be-linked-risk-factor-alzheimers-disease.
[6] Lack of sleep in middle age may increase dementia risk. (2021, April 27). National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lack-sleep-middle-age-may-increase-dementia-risk.
[7] Harrison, Y., & Horne, J. A. (1999). One night of sleep loss impairs innovative thinking and flexible decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 78(2), 128–145. https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.1999.2827
[8] Harrison, Y., & Horne, J. A. (2000). Sleep loss and temporal memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A, Human Experimental Psychology, 53(1), 271–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/713755870
[9] Venkatraman, V., Chuah, Y. L., Huettel, S. A., & Chee, M. W. (2007). Sleep Deprivation Elevates Expectation of Gains and Attenuates Response to Losses Following Risky Decisions. Sleep, 30(5), 603–609. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/30.5.603
[10] Anderson, C., & Platten, C. R. (2011). Sleep deprivation lowers inhibition and enhances impulsivity to negative stimuli. Behavioural Brain Research, 217(2), 463–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2010.09.020
[11] Demos, K. E., Hart, C. N., Sweet, L. H., Mailloux, K. A., Trautvetter, J., Williams, S. E., Wing, R. R., & McCaffery, J. M. (2016). Partial sleep deprivation impacts impulsive action but not impulsive decision-making. Physiology & Behavior, 164, 214–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.06.003
[12] Rosen, I. M., Gimotty, P. A., Shea, J. A., & Bellini, L. M. (2006). Evolution of Sleep Quantity, Sleep Deprivation, Mood Disturbances, Empathy, and Burnout among Interns. Academic Medicine, 81(1), 82–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200601000-00020
[13] Scott, J. P. R., McNaughton, L. R., & Polman, R. C. J. (2006). Effects of sleep deprivation and exercise on cognitive, motor performance and mood. Physiology & Behavior, 87(2), 396–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.11.009
[14] Short, M. A., & Louca, M. (2015). Sleep deprivation leads to mood deficits in healthy adolescents. Sleep Medicine, 16(8), 987–993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2015.03.007
[15] Pires, G. N., Bezerra, A. G., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2016). Effects of acute sleep deprivation on state anxiety levels: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine, 24, 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2016.07.019
[16] Barnes, C. M., Lucianetti, L., Bhave, D. P., & Christian, M. S. (2015). “You wouldn’t like me when I’m sleepy”: Leader sleep, daily abusive supervision, and work unit engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 58(5), 1419–1437. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.1063
[17] Leproult, R., & Van Cauter, E. (2010). Role of Sleep and Sleep Loss in Hormonal Release and Metabolism. Endocrine Development, 17, 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1159/000262524
[18] Beccuti, G., & Pannain, S. (2011). Sleep and obesity. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 14(4), 402–412. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283479109
[19] Lushington, K., Reardon, A., & Agostini, A. (2022). O025 Boarding school students sleep better than day-student peers. The positive effects of bedtime routine and restricting technology use at night. Sleep Advances: A Journal of the Sleep Research Society, 3, A9–A11. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpac029.024. 


Does Positive Thinking Help You Reach Your Goals?

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Book Recommendations, Coaching Practice, Health Decisions, Performance, Academic Achievement, Procrastination, Productivity, Time Management, Relationship Decisions, Resources, tools
Can positive thinking help you reach your goals? Picture from: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/539763 (Attribution not required)

Can “positive thinking” really help you change your life for the better and reach your goals? Many motivational speakers and writers seem to believe so, but empirical studies reveal a more complicated picture.

If you want to reach your goals, positive thinking seems to come with some pitfalls.

In particular, in her research spanning decades, Gabriele Oettingen and her colleagues have discovered a powerful link between positive thinking and poor performance [e.g., 1 – 5]. Oettingen’s book “Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation” [6], and her website detail many of these findings. For example, in one study [2] they asked college students who had a crush on someone to engage in future fantasies about them and a person of their romantic interest. Six months later, the students who had engaged in positive future fantasies were less likely to have started up a romantic relationship with the person. The authors found a similar effect with academic performance: the more students engaged in positive phantasies about their performance on an upcoming exam, the poorer their performance was at the time of exams.

As her book [6] and website detail, Oettingen and her colleagues have performed such studies with participants from different demographic groups, in different countries, and with a range of personal wishes, including wishes related to health, academic and professional success, and relationships [1 – 5]. Consistently, they found correlations between positive fantasies and subsequent poor performance. The more people “think positive” and imagine themselves achieving their desired future, the less they achieve. The reason for this may be that positive thoughts and fantasies can trick your brain into feeling like you have already succeeded, thereby sapping you of the motivation necessary to work hard enough to realize your dreams [1].

So if positive thinking isn’t the best strategy to help you reach your goals, then what is?

Instead of positive thinking, Oettingen suggests “mental contrasting”. This method combines dreams and reality. As Oettingen writes in her book [6], the method brings positive thinking up against a visualization of the challenges that stand in our way. The method is explained in more detail on the website woopmylife.org.

Similarly, in her book “The Positive Power of Negative Thinking” [7], Julie Norem suggests “defensive pessimism” as a cognitive strategy. By imagining worst case scenarios, we can improve problem-solving and make our worries work for us. This can help us manage anxiety and as well as perform better.  

Does mental contrasting – instead of simple positive thinking – really help you reach your goals?

On her website, Oettingen cites a number of studies that have tested the effect of this mental exercise. This page provides a list with links to each study.

More recently, an independent group of researchers conducted a meta-analysis, including a total of 21 empirical studies. They evaluated the efficacy of mental contrasting in combination with implementation intentions for goal attainment [8]. They did find some publications bias, with published studies showing on average a larger effect size than unpublished studies. This is a phenomenon that’s often revealed by meta-analyses, and it is one reason meta-analyses are so important to consider. The authors therefore caution that the actual effect sizes may be smaller than the published studies suggest. Nonetheless, their analysis showed that overall, mental contrasting is an effective strategy for goal attainment.

Do you want to try some mental contrasting on your own goals?

If you’re ready to try this method, check out the many resources (videos, worksheets, and even a free app for Android or iOS) on Gabriele Oettingen’s website. If you think you could benefit from continuing support as you move towards your goals, let’s discuss how I might help.

Contact Ursina Teuscher for help with reaching goals

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR

Picture Credit:

[1] Photo released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0, Public Domain via https://pxhere.com/en/photo/539762

References:

[1] Kappes, H. B., & Oettingen, G. (2011). Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(4), 719–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.02.003
[2] Oettingen, G., & Mayer, D. (2002). The motivating function of thinking about the future: Expectations versus fantasies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1198–1212.
[3] Oettingen, G., & Wadden, T. A. (1991). Expectation, fantasy, and weight loss: Is the impact of positive thinking always positive? Cognitive Therapy and Research, 15(2), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173206
[4] Thinking positive is a surprisingly risky manoeuvre | Aeon Essays. (n.d.). Aeon. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://aeon.co/essays/thinking-positive-is-a-surprisingly-risky-manoeuvre
[5] Oettingen, G. (2012). Future thought and behaviour change. European Review of Social Psychology, 23(1), 1–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2011.643698
[6] Oettingen, G. (2014). Rethinking positive thinking: inside the new science of motivation. New York: Penguin Random House.
[7] Norem, J. K. (2001). The positive power of negative thinking. New York: Basic Books.
[8] Wang, G., Wang, Y., & Gai, X. (2021). A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 565202. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.565202


Improving your Habits with Choice Architecture

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Book Recommendations, Financial Decisions, Health Decisions, Performance, Academic Achievement, Procrastination, Productivity, Time Management

Choice Architecture Coaching to Improve Habits Picture credit: Ben Deavin

What is choice architecture, and how can we use it to improve our own decisions?

Choice architecture is the art and science of how to present choices to decision makers. The way a choice is presented to us has a much bigger influence on our behavior than we may realize. For example, children eat more fruit when fruit is placed in more prominent positions in a school cafeteria. Or, people are more likely to enroll in retirement savings plans if the employer makes that plan the default option – which is the option that happens when you do nothing. Similarly, people eat less when the default serving size is smaller.

Two recent books shine a light on choice architecture, and on how it affects our decisions:

Eric Johnson’s The Elements of Choice (2021) offers a guide to creating effective choice architectures. The designers of decisions need to consider all the elements involved in presenting a choice: how many options to offer, in which order to present those options, whether to organize them into categories, how much information to provide, whether to make one of them a “default”, etc. We don’t appreciate those factors enough, and we’re often unaware of just how much they influence our choices every day.

With Nudge: The Final Edition (2021, a revised version of their 2008 bestseller), Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein advocate what they call “libertarian paternalism”. This is the idea that it is both possible and desirable (in particular for public institutions, but really for any well-meaning choice architect) to affect people’s behavior for the “better”, while also respecting their freedom of choice. They argue that consumers and citizens should be nudged to help them make the kinds of choices that they would most likely also naturally prefer, if they were making “optimal” (or rational) choices for themselves. What is optimal is not the same for every individual, but I generally define it as the choice that is most aligned with the person’s values.

Both of these books are geared mostly towards “curators” of other people’s choices: for example, the staff of a school cafeteria who gets to decide where to place the fruit, or the employers who present retirement savings plans to their employees. My interest lies more in helping people improve their own choices, but the findings of both books are highly relevant for that. In fact, Eric Johnson concludes his book by advising us to apply the golden rule: “Design for others as you would like them to design for you”. Given that we actually often find it easier to make good decisions for others than for ourselves, I would like to turn this around: “Design for yourself as you would design for others.”

How can you use the tools of choice architecture to improve your own behaviors and habits?

Here are some examples of how you can apply the elements of good choice architecture to your own choices, to help you to improve your habits and change your behaviors in positive ways. It may all sound too simple, and chances are you’ve heard it all before. However, it really does make a difference – in fact, food choices seem to be particularly responsive to choice architecture interventions. Perhaps more generally, choice architecture interventions may be an effective tool for changing habits that are notoriously difficult to change.

1. Defaults:
Set defaults for yourself that reflect your long-term goals. For example: would you like to save more money? If so, enroll in an automatic savings plan, where some amount of your income will automatically be transferred to a savings account. (Increase that default amount beyond your comfort zone if you want to save more aggressively.) Would you like to eat more healthily? Stock your fridge and pantry with healthy options, and move the unhealthy options out of sight and out of easy reach. Do you want to get in the habit of going for a walk first thing in the morning? Get your walking clothes ready the night before, so that dressing in those will be your easiest option in the morning.

2. Primacy effects:
When we’re facing many options, we’re more likely to choose those we see first. How can you make this effect work in your favor? For example: would you like to eat more salads instead of other dishes when you eat at a restaurant? If so, make it a habit to always study the salad section first. You’ll be more likely to find something attractive among the things you read and imagine first.

3. Expecting errors:
Choice architecture has the most impact on vulnerable groups. You may not think of yourself as belonging to a vulnerable group. However, aren’t there times in all our lives when we’re more vulnerable to making bad choices? Maybe early in the morning, or late at night when we feel tired? Maybe after the first or second glass of wine? Be aware of what your weak moments are, and design your choices for those situations with even more care and intention.

If you would like help in applying choice architecture tools to your own live, I’d love to hear from you. I’d be excited to help you design and carry out your own interventions to make your life easier and better.

Contact Ursina Teuscher about choice architecture and coaching

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR


How to Deal with Regret

Posted on by by Posted in Book Recommendations, Health Decisions, Performance, Academic Achievement, Relationship Decisions, Risk and Uncertainty, Strategic Planning, Business Decisions, Organizational Development
Do you have deep regrets about some of your past decisions?

How to deal with regrets about your past decisionsA solid “No!” to this question should be much more concerning than a “Yes”.  Regrets make us human, as Daniel Pink argues in his new book The Power of Regret. What’s more, regrets can help us become better humans, if we learn something from them along the way.

Drawing from his own research as well as previous studies, Pink claims that people feel regret quite often. He identifies four core categories of regret:

1. Foundation regrets
“If only I’d done the work.”
These are regrets where we opt for short-term gains over long-term payoffs, like not studying hard enough in school or not saving enough money.

2. Boldness regrets
“If only I’d taken that risk.”
These are regrets of inaction, such as not starting a business, not asking someone on a date, or not going on trips. Research suggests that people regret failures to act more often than they regret actions.

3. Moral regrets
“If only I’d done the right thing.”
These often seem to hurt the most and last the longest. They involve taking what our conscience says is a wrong path, such as lying, stealing, betraying or hurting someone. I found it actually quite heartwarming to read some of the examples Pink provided, such as lasting feelings of deep shame about not standing up for a bullied classmate in school. Surely, the fact that moral regrets are the most painful regrets says something nice about the human species.

4. Connection regrets.
“If only I’d reached out.”
These regrets stem from missed or broken relationships, such as when friends lose touch with each other over the years, or families remain estranged over a falling out that happened a long time ago.

How can we make the best use of our feelings of regret?

Pink fights the common idea that it would be a good thing to have no regrets. He argues that regret fulfills an important function in motivating us to do better. He points to three benefits of regret:

  • Regret can improve future decisions. Studies have shown that when people think about what they regretted not doing in the past, they made better decisions later on.
  • Regret can boost performance. Researchers have found that even thinking about other people’s regrets led to improved test scores.
  • Regret can deepen meaning. Examining regrets can help us clarify our life’s purpose and steer toward meaning.
On the other hand – there’s a dark side to regrets

All that said, I also often see that regrets – or rather the fear of regrets – can be paralyzing. My clients often tell me the one thing that makes their decision the most difficult is the fear they might regret their choice later. This fear is often influenced by past regrets that are still painful. So what should you do if the fear of future regrets is paralyzing your current decisions?

While I agree that past regrets can be very powerful in informing our future decisions, I do want to point out that they are not always rational. We often judge our past decisions with hindsight bias. Once we know the consequences of our actions or inactions (after they happen) it’s easy to see how we should have acted differently. In the moment we had to decide, chances are we simply didn’t know all that.

How can we avoid the kind of regret that’s based on hindsight bias?
  • A “therapy” for regret is to remind yourself of what you knew at the time you made the decision. If you considered the possible consequences at the time you made the choice, and linked reasonable probabilities to them, that’s all that can be expected of anyone. In the case of extremely unlikely events, even that may be too much to expect. (If you didn’t take these things into account when you could have, that’s another matter. Then the regret you feel might be a good opportunity to start learning and practicing a more rational approach to your decisions.)
  • Even better than therapy is inoculation. You can “inoculate” yourself against future regret before you make a decision by (a) preparing yourself to live with the worst-case scenario and also (b) preparing to remind yourself of what little was known at the time you made the decision.

Fear of regret can cause decision avoidance or paralysis. These can come at a high cost in the long run. In fact, there’s a sad irony to that, given that people tend to regret inaction more often than action.

Inoculation against regret can therefore play a very important role in helping you be courageous enough to actively and rationally decide in the first place, rather than avoiding the decision and letting fate (who’s not always on our side) take over.

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR


Heuristics and Biases in Early Responses to Pandemic Uncertainties

Posted on by by Posted in Health Decisions, Leadership, Risk and Uncertainty

Decisions under uncertainties are driven to a large extent by heuristics and biases. How can policymakers take advantage of this knowledge in order to communicate more effectively?

I’m happy to share the publication of a new commentary article by Raffaella Misuraca’s team that addressed this question in depth. It’s been a pleasure to be included in this collaboration:

Heuristics and biases in early responses to pandemic uncertainties

Can We Do Better Next Time? Italians’ Response to the COVID-19 Emergency through a Heuristics and Biases Lens
by Raffaella Misuraca *, Ursina Teuscher, Costanza Scaffidi Abbate, Francesco Ceresia, Michele Roccella, Lucia Parisi, Luigi Vetri, and Silvana Miceli
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

ABSTRACT:
During the outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy, people often failed to adopt behaviors that could have stopped, or at least slowed down, the spread of the disease. We offer cognitive explanations for these decisions, based on some of the most common heuristics and biases that are known to influence human judgment and decision-making, especially under conditions of high uncertainty. Our analysis concludes with recommendations: policymakers can and should take advantage of this established science, in order to communicate more effectively and increase the likelihood that people choose responsible actions in a public health crisis. View Full-Text

Keywords: heuristics; biases; COVID-19; decision-making
Behavioral Sciences. 2022, 12(2), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12020039
View Full-Text Download PDF


Summer Reading List 2018

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Book Recommendations, Career Development, Financial Decisions, Group/Interactive Decisions, Conflict Resolution, Health Decisions, Procrastination, Productivity, Time Management, Risk and Uncertainty, Strategic Planning, Business Decisions, Organizational Development

New Summer Readings: Books on Decision Making and Goal AchievementAnother hopefully long and beautiful summer is coming up, and my intention is to spend a lot of it productively: reading. Preferably in a hammock. If you feel the same, here comes my new list of book recommendations about decision-making and goal achievement.

Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler (2017). Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter. I’ve always enjoyed Dan Ariely’s self-deprecating sense of humor, and in this collaboration he found a great match in Jeff Kreisler. Even though I was familiar with most of the concepts they discuss, this book not only kept me entertained, but also highlighted very clearly (and sometimes painfully) the irrationalities around money that I still allow into my life. Read a sample here.

Chris Guillebeau (2017). Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days. A practical step-by-step guide of how to create and launch a profitable part-time business. You can look into it here. Chris Guillebeau’s approach is very much no-nonsense, no fluff, no jargon – from brainstorming, shaping and selecting ideas, to launching, tracking and refining your game. While some steps would likely take more than his suggested hour per day, and while I’m not confident that I would have the discipline to follow all his steps in sequence, I do think it would make sense to do just that.

Bryan Dik and Ryan Duffy (2012). Make Your Job a Calling: How the Psychology of Vocation Can Change Your Life at Work. This book explores the powerful idea that almost any kind of occupation can offer any one of us a sense of purpose and thereby satisfaction. The authors define the idea of calling (both from a spiritual and secular perspective), review research on and provide tips for finding a calling at all stages of work and life. They also point out some dangers of pursuing a higher purpose. Here’s a preview.

Greg McKeown (2014). Essentialism. The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Sure, we all know the importance of prioritizing and focusing, but here Greg McKeown reminds us that living and working as an “essentialist” requires sacrifices. It requires a willingness to give up a lot to gain something of much more value. The author shows how to apply this concept in work as well as leisure and family life, with a special focus on leadership. Mostly through my clients, I know there are too many high-achieving professionals at the verge of burn-out with too many tasks to juggle. For their sake, I hope the message of this book will be heard and will find the necessary traction in our organizations. Check out the beginning here.

Glenn Livingston (2014). Never Binge Again: Reprogram Yourself to Think Like a Permanently Thin Person. Stop Overeating and Binge Eating and Stick to the Food Plan of Your Choice! While I usually recommend books that are based more on data and science, this one is different: its arguments use simple examples that are nonetheless convincing. It makes us realize there are plenty of rules we are perfectly capable of following, where we don’t think of our will-power as limited. For example: I never eat food from a stranger’s plate in a restaurant; I never shoplift; I never pick a fight with strangers. Why, then, do I think that I am powerless over certain food choices in certain situations? Powerless to say NO to the free cookies on a tray, or to the unsupervised half-empty box of donuts? According to this book, it is a simple matter of getting total clarity of what you truly want, and what you don’t want (e.g., when, and it what situations, you want to eat certain types of food), putting those rules into writing, and then sticking to them. Because you know you want to, and you know you can. Friendly rules, but no more permission to screw up, ever again.
(“Trigger foods”? We’re not guns. It’s just a metaphor, and perhaps not such a helpful one, I’ve come to think. There is no actual trigger that has the power to release an uncontrollable sequence of actions in us. At any moment, we can – and will – change our behavior, based on new information and our new preferences. So we just need to get our preferences straight.)
Here’s a preview, but it’s actually a free e-book anyway. Written by a coach, it accordingly comes with some promotion of his coaching. Read it for the message, not if you’re looking for a literary masterpiece.

Laurence Gonzales (2004). Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why.
I’m not sure how long this book had been lying on our coffee table when I heard it was the 2018 winner of the Eric Hoffer Award Montaigne Medal. I admit this was the reason I picked it up again this year with renewed interest. I found it for the most part a captivating read, although sometimes frustrating with lots of names in personal stories, which were chopped up across chapters – starting, stopping and taking up again later with no transitions, punishing me for skipping earlier parts. (That may be my problem – I resent non-fiction that forces me to read it as if it were a novel.) More importantly: I took issue with the oversimplified message of “mind over matter”, which I find cynical in the light of those who didn’t survive. Many of his conclusions also suffer from quite literal “survival bias” – not a pun, but a serious problem in his reasoning, although with this topic admittedly a difficult one to avoid. At the very least it should be acknowledged as a limitation. That said, I did learn some interesting lessons about dangers in unexpected places and how to (not) face them. Start reading here.

Brad Borkan and David Hirzel (2017). When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic.
Also a book about decision-making in extreme life-and-death situations, this one takes a more systematic approach, and offers more substantial and original content, despite being based on an older history: it takes us back to the very first expeditions of early explorer teams to the Antarctic in the early 1900’s. The authors analyze the decisions made by several competing teams and discuss fascinating questions about leadership, as well as followership, under these extreme conditions. Look into it here.

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR


How to Nurture Your Brain

Posted on by by Posted in Health Decisions, Neuroscience

I’m happy to announce the publication of a literature review from a collaboration with my colleagues Raffaella Misuraca and Silvana Miceli from the Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy:

Misuraca, R., Miceli, S., & Teuscher, U. (2017). Three effective ways to nurture our brain: physical activity, healthy nutrition, and music. A review. European Psychologist, 22 (2), 101–120.

[Full text available from ResearchGate]

How to Nurture Your Brain

ABSTRACT: A growing body of research suggests that physical activity, healthy eating, and music can, either directly or indirectly, have positive effects on our brain and cognition. More specifically, exercising and eating seem to enhance cognitive abilities, such as memory, creativity, and perception. They also improve academic performance and play a protective role from many degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Concerning music, research has shown that there exists a general positive relation between music aptitude and cognitive functioning. Furthermore, the presence of music seems to create a positive mood and a higher arousal, which translates into better performance in many cognitive tasks. This literature review provides an overview of the major empirical findings in this domain. Studies on both healthy and clinical individuals are reviewed and discussed. We conclude with suggestions for educators, policymakers, people in helping professions, and any others interested in making informed decisions about possible ways to nurture their own brain or the brain of the people they are trying to help. We also provide suggestions for additional research on this important topic.
© 2017 Hogrefe Publishing.

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR

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Valentine’s Special: Chocolate and Coaching

Posted on by by Posted in Achieving Goals, Coaching Practice, Financial Decisions, Health Decisions

I’m offering a new coaching package for couples. Could you use some help improving your shared time management, figuring out priorities, getting better organized together? If you sign up for your first exploratory Strategy Session before Valentine’s Day, you’ll receive a box of the world-famous Teuscher Champagne Truffles at our first meeting.

Read more about the couples coaching program and schedule a first session here.

Couples Coaching Valentine Special
And no, you’re not the only one wondering: people keep asking me whether I’m related to the “Chocolate Teuschers”. Sadly, not that I know of. But that won’t stop me from loving them, and from using their most delicious treats to get us all started on a sweet note.

by Ursina Teuscher (PhD), at Teuscher Decision Coaching, Portland OR


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