Strategies To Contend With Self-Enhancement Bias
We are good at conjuring illusions to protect our insecurities.
I know many of my woeful decisions were fueled by many biases, which creep about subconsciously, causing me to judge others incorrectly, draw faulty conclusions about the world, people’s motivations, and my own abilities.
These biases carry tremendous weight on our means of living, especially as they stack upon each other. I still can’t comprehend why we don’t spend more time teaching children about these biases, so that they can avoid the pitfalls so many of us splash into face-first.
The self-enhancement bias is particularly common, and describes our instinct to embrace positive evidence of our character and actions, while rejecting evidence to the contrary.
Perhaps the perfect example comes with driving. I’ve heard unending cases of friends talking about how bad other drivers are, but rarely have they acknowledged their own mishaps. A study revealed that 80% of drivers rate themselves as above average when it comes to safety and reliability.
This extends to character traits as well. Most people tend to see themselves as morally superior than the average person. Researchers call these “positive illusions” that we hold about ourselves and, paradoxically…
