Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions

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 patt...

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 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. Di...

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, salespeopl...

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...

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 res...

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...

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...

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 o...

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&...

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....

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 h...

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 act...

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 reali...

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 e...

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 pre...

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 a...

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 eff...

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 b...

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 y...

Does the way information is presented change how we decide - even when the facts stay the same? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the framing effect - the cognitive bias that causes our choices to shift depending on whether something is framed as a gain or a loss. Discover how wording steers our decisions, how identical options can feel compltetely different,...

Why do people with the least experience often feel the most confident - while true expertise comes with doubt? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions , we explore the Dunning-Kruger Effect - the cognitive bias that causes people with limited knowledge or skill to overestimate their ability, while more competent individuals feel less confident. Discover how gaps in self-awarene...

Why does making even small progress feel so motivating — and why do setbacks drain us so quickly? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions , we explore the progress principle — the idea that consistent, meaningful progress is one of the strongest drivers of motivation, engagement, and well-being. When we feel like we’re moving forward, our confidence grows; when progress stalls,...

Why do we seek out information that agrees with us — and ignore what doesn’t? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions , we explore confirmation bias — the tendency to favour evidence that supports our existing beliefs while dismissing or downplaying anything that challenges them. Discover how to recognise when you’re searching for reassurance instead of truth — and how to chall...

Why do first numbers stick in our minds — even when we know they’re arbitrary? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore anchoring bias — the mental shortcut that causes us to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we encounter when making decisions. From price tags and negotiations to estimates, grades, and everyday judgments, we uncover how initial ancho...