How can we be completely convinced that something happened — even when the memory itself is false? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Lost in the Mall Study — a controversial experiment that investigated how false memories can be created.

Discover how suggestion and imagination can influence our memories, why confidence doesn’t always mean a memory is accurate, and how easily our recollections can be shaped by information from others.

Studies and links:

The Formation of False Memories | Elizabeth F. Loftus and Jacqueline Pickrell https://img3.reoveme.com/m/21e4113311781789.pdf

False Memory in Psychology | Simply Psychology https://www.simplypsychology.org/false-memory.html

Why do personality descriptions feel so accurate, even when they could apply to almost anyone? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Barnum-Forer Effect — the psychological phenomenon that makes us believe vague, general statements are uniquely tailored to us.

Discover why we are so quick to accept flattering or seemingly personal feedback, how our desire to understand ourselves can distort our judgement, and how to recognise when something feels accurate simply because it is designed to resonate with everyone.

Studies and links:

Former Effect aslysz-diagnoza.home.amu.edu.pl/diagnoza/wyklad/Barnum_ForerEffect.pdf

Why do we believe our horoscopes? | The Decision Lab https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/barnum-effect

Why do we feel like we've changed so much in the past - but assume we won't change much in the future? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the End of History Illusion - the tendency to recognise how much we have changed, while underestimating how much we will continue to change. We often see our current personality, preferences, values, and goals as the finished version of ourselves, even though our past selves once felt exactly the same.

Discover why we struggle to imagine our future selves accurately, how this illusion shapes the choices we make today, and why the person you become may surprise you.

Studies and links:

The "end of history illusion" illusion | The British Psychological Society https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/end-history-illusion-illusion

The End of History Illusion | Jordi Quoidbach, Daniel T. Gilbert, Timothy D. Wilson https://dtg.sites.fas.harvard.edu/Quoidbach%20et%20al%202013.pdf