Attribution is the process of inferring causes of events or behaviors. People make attributions daily without awareness of underlying biases. Attribution influences feelings, thinking, and relationships
Herbert Simon introduced heuristics in psychology in 1950s. Heuristics are mental shortcuts that help make quick decisions. People use heuristics to reduce cognitive effort and simplify complex choices
Behavioral economics studies psychology's impact on economic decision-making. Adam Smith noted people's overconfidence in their abilities in 18th century. Field gained prominence in 1960s with Tversky and Kahneman's information recall research
Cognitive biases distort thinking and influence daily decisions. Attention is limited, leading to reliance on mental shortcuts. Biases can be obvious or subtle, affecting both perception and behavior
Negative bias is our tendency to focus more on negative stimuli and events. We remember traumatic experiences better than positive ones. Negative information is perceived as more truthful
A prediction that becomes true due to belief or expectation. First studied by Thomas brothers in 1928. Term coined by Robert K. Merton