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decisions

  • 9 / 9
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0150

    Why the wording of a default reveals the intended answer

    A pre-selected option is not read as an arbitrary starting point. It is read as advice from whoever built the form, and usually that reading is correct.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0150

    A pre-ticked box is advice with the author removed. Reading it as a recommendation is not a mistake, it is accurate.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0149

    The reason a plan survives contact with nobody

    A plan announced publicly acquires a defender before it acquires evidence. Announcing it also delivers part of the satisfaction that completing it was meant to supply.

    Master
    The hidden part #0149

    A published plan gains a defender before it gains evidence, and the announcement already paid out part of the reward.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0148

    Why you spend more when the currency is unfamiliar

    The count of digits is processed faster than the exchange rate. A larger nominal figure feels expensive and a smaller one feels cheap, whatever it converts to.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0148

    Digit count is read before exchange rate. The conversion then corrects an impression that has already been filed.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0147

    The reason opting in twice feels safer than once

    A second confirmation adds no information about the decision. It adds a record that the decision was taken carefully, which is what the process is really producing.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0147

    The second confirmation certifies nothing about the decision. It certifies that a decision was taken, to someone who will ask later.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0146

    Why the last question of an interview decides the first impression

    A judgement formed at the end is not appended to what came before. It reorganises the whole hour into a story with that ending as its conclusion.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0146

    The ending does not get added to the hour. It rewrites the hour into a story that was heading there all along.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0145

    The reason a bundled price stops comparison

    A single figure covering several items cannot be checked line by line. Comparison requires prices for the parts, and the bundle exists to withhold them.

    Master
    The hidden part #0145

    A bundle discloses the total honestly and withholds the only prices you could have checked. Nothing is hidden at the level you can see.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0144

    Why a single reason persuades better than five

    Audiences do not total up arguments. They form an impression somewhere near the average, so a weak addition drags a strong case downwards.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0144

    You add and they average. Your fourth-best argument is not a contribution, it is a subtraction from the mean.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0143

    The reason you prefer the option you can explain

    Choices have to be defensible to somebody, often yourself. An option that comes with a sayable reason outranks a better one that does not.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0143

    Options do not compete on merit alone. They compete on whether they can hand you a sentence, and unsayable advantages lose.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0141

    The reason two-minute delays kill more purchases than price

    A small procedural cost can outweigh a large financial one, because the delay gives the decision time to be reopened and the money does not.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0141

    A delay is not priced in time. It is priced in the chance that the decision reopens, and reopened decisions rarely close the same way.

    Open file