Projection bias: how your “emotional temperature” impacts your decisions
We constantly make decisions that will affect our lives in the future. That future can be one hour from now (what’s for lunch?) or one year from now (should I hire an assistant?). Unfortunately, the brain has a hard time imagining what our future selves will need. Instead, it takes mental shortcuts and makes choices based on how we feel right now.
The projection bias occurs when we are in a “hot” state of mind and incorrectly assume that our current needs will be the same as our future needs. The most classic example of projection bias is going food shopping while hungry. If you go to the store while hungry, you will end up buying more food than you need.
As with many cognitive biases, being aware of the projection bias is the first step in avoiding its worst effects.And don’t forget that the projection bias may affect not only your own decisions, but the decisions of people around you — including your friends, family, colleagues, and customers.