Judgment decision making

Most of us like to think that what we believe is accurate and that we update our beliefs accordingly when presented with evidence contradicting our beliefs. A growing body of research shows that people continue to believe in false information even when it is corrected by later information. In fact, correcting false information that is consistent with our current beliefs can often backfire and increase current misperceptions. In this talk I’ll discuss some of the reasons people readily accept information as true and strategies for making corrections more effective.

We spend most of our lives in a state of mild conflict between our immediate desires and our long-term goals: Spend now or save for later; drink beer and eat crisps now or enjoy the health benefits of abstention. I will talk about some of my research on delay discounting: the way in which having to wait for a reward – usually an amount of money – makes that reward less valuable. I will cover some of the ways in which people differ in their discounting preferences, and some of the research-supported techniques that can be used to help defer gratification.