Applied Rationality

Applied Rationality Workshop
November 2013
Bailey Farms, Ossining, NY
Table of Contents
Rationality Checklist.............................................................................................................................3
Annotated Schedule...............................................................................................................................9
What is Applied Rationality?..............................................................................................................13
Getting the Most out of the Workshop................................................................................................1
!rediction Markets..............................................................................................................................19
"pening Session # $urther Resources.................................................................................................%%
$riday # &o' to (se )our *rain..............................................................................................................%
*uilding *ayesian &a+its....................................................................................................................%
)our ,nner Si-ulator............................................................................................................................%
/-otional Re0Association...................................................................................................................1
Goal $actoring.....................................................................................................................................2
Attention..............................................................................................................................................31
Saturday # 4ry 4hings..............................................................................................................................3%
A5ersion $actoring and Cali+ration.....................................................................................................3%
Againstness..........................................................................................................................................93
,-ple-entation ,ntentions...................................................................................................................92
Curating )our /-otional 6i+rary......................................................................................................111
Co-fort 7one /8pansion 9Co7/:.....................................................................................................11;
Sunday # Co-pound Returns.................................................................................................................113
<elegating to )ourself.......................................................................................................................113
!ropagating (rges.............................................................................................................................113
"ffline &a+it 4raining.......................................................................................................................13.
4ur+ocharging 4raining.....................................................................................................................1;3
=alue of ,nfor-ation.........................................................................................................................1.%
>a-es and $aces? Staff.....................................................................................................................11
>a-es and $aces? =olunteers............................................................................................................1.
>a-es and $aces? !articipants..........................................................................................................13
Contact ,nfo.......................................................................................................................................12
%
Rationality Checklist
4his checklist is -eant for your personal use so you can ha5e a 'ish0list of rationality ha+its@ and so
that you can see if youAre acBuiring good ha+its o5er the ne8t yearC'eAre not using it to decide ho'
rational you are at the start of the progra-.
1. Reacting to evidence / surprises / arguments you haven't heard before; flagging beliefs for
examination.
a) When , see so-ething odd 0 so-ething that doesnAt fit 'ith 'hat ,Ad ordinarily
e8pect@ gi5en -y other +eliefs 0 , successfully notice@ pro-ote it to conscious
attention and think D, notice that , a- confusedD or so-e eBui5alent thereof.
9Example: You think that your flight is scheduled to depart on Thursday. On
Tuesday, you get an email from Travelocity advising you to prepare for your
flight tomorrow, which seems wrong. !o you successfully raise this
anomaly to the level of conscious attention" 9#ased on the experience of an
actual $%er who failed to notice confusion at this point and missed their plane
flight.::
<ate of last e8a-ple?
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
*efore the last year
b) When so-e+ody says so-ething that isnAt Buite clear enough for -e to
5isualiFe@ , notice this and ask for e8a-ples. 9&ecent example from Elie'er: (
mathematics student said they were studying )stacks). * asked for an example
of a stack. They said that the integers could form a stack. * asked for an
example of something that was not a stack.: 9&ecent example from (nna: +at
said that her ,oyfriend was very competitive. * asked her for an example of
)very competitive.) -he said that when he.s driving and the person next to him
revs their engine, he must ,e the one to leave the intersection first/and when
he.s the passenger he gets mad at the driver when they don.t react similarly.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
c) , notice 'hen -y -ind is arguing for a side 9instead of e5aluating 'hich side to
choose:@ and flag this as an error -ode. 9&ecent example from (nna: 0oticed
myself explaining to myself why outsourcing my clothes shopping does make
sense, rather than evaluating whether to do it.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
d) , notice -y -ind flinching a'ay fro- a thoughtG and 'hen , notice@ , flag that
area as reBuiring -ore deli+erate e8ploration. 9&ecent example from (nna: *
have a failure mode where, when * feel socially uncomforta,le, * try to make
others feel mistaken so that * will feel less vulnera,le. 1utting this thought
into words re2uired repeated conscious effort, as my mind kept wanting to 3ust
drop the su,3ect.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
3
e) , consciously atte-pt to 'elco-e +ad ne's@ or at least not push it a'ay.
9&ecent example from Elie'er: (t a ,rainstorming session for future
-ingularity -ummits, one issue raised was that we hadn4t really ,een asking
for money at previous ones. 5y ,rain was offering resistance, so * applied the
),ad news is good news) pattern to rephrase this as, )This point doesn4t
change the fixed amount of money we raised in past years, so it is good news
,ecause it implies that we can fix the strategy and do ,etter next year.):
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
. !uestioning and analy"ing beliefs #after they come to your attention$.
a) , notice 'hen ,A- not +eing curious. 9&ecent example from (nna: %henever
someone critici'es me, * usually find myself thinking defensively at first, and
have to visuali'e the world in which the criticism is true, and the world in
which it4s false, to convince myself that * actually want to know. 6or example,
someone critici'ed us for providing inade2uate prior info on what statistics
we4d gather for the &ationality 5inicamp7 and * had to visuali'e the
conse2uences of 8explaining to myself, internally, why * couldn.t have done
any ,etter given everything else * had to do9, vs. the possi,le conse2uences of
8visuali'ing how it might4ve ,een done ,etter, so as to update my action:
patterns for next time9, to snap my ,rain out of defensive:mode and into
should:we:do:that:differently mode.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
b) , look for the actual@ historical causes of -y +eliefs@ e-otions@ and ha+itsG and
'hen doing so@ , can suppress -y -indAs search for Hustifications@ or set aside
Hustifications that 'erenAt the actual@ historical causes of -y thoughts. 9&ecent
example from (nna: %hen it turned out that we couldn4t rent the 5inicamp
location * thought * was going to get, * found lots and lots of reasons to ,lame
the person who was supposed to get it7 ,ut reali'ed that most of my emotion
came from the fear of ,eing ,lamed myself for a cost overrun.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
c) , try to think of a concrete e8a-ple that , can use to follo' a+stract argu-ents
or proof steps. 9+lassic example: &ichard 6eynman ,eing distur,ed that
#ra'ilian physics students didn4t know that a )material with an index) meant a
material such as water. *f someone talks a,out a proof over all integers, do
you try it with the num,er ;<" *f your thoughts are circling around your
roommate ,eing messy, do you try checking your reasoning against the
specifics of a particular occasion when they were messy":
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
;
d) When ,A- trying to distinguish +et'een t'o 9or -ore: hypotheses using a piece
of e5idence@ , 5isualiFe the 'orld 'here hypothesis I1 holds@ and try to
consider the prior pro+a+ility ,Ad ha5e assigned to the e5idence in that 'orld@
then 5isualiFe the 'orld 'here hypothesis I% holdsG and see if the e5idence
see-s -ore likely or -ore specifically predicted in one 'orld than the other
9=istorical example: !uring the (manda >nox murder case, after many hours
of police interrogation, (manda >nox turned some cartwheels in her cell. The
prosecutor argued that she was cele,rating the murder. %ould you, confronted
with this argument, try to come up with a way to make the same evidence fit
her innocence" Or would you first try visuali'ing an innocent detainee, then a
guilty detainee, to ask with what fre2uency you think such people turn
cartwheels during detention, to see if the likelihoods were skewed in one
direction or the other":
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
e) , try to consciously assess prior pro+a+ilities and co-pare the- to the apparent
strength of e5idence. 9&ecent example from Elie'er: ?sed it in a conversation
a,out apparent evidence for parapsychology, saying that for this * wanted p @
A.AAA;, like they use in physics, rather than p @ A.AB, ,efore * started paying
attention at all.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
f) When , encounter e5idence thatAs insufficient to -ake -e Dchange -y -indD
9su+stantially change +eliefsEpolicies:@ +ut is still -ore likely to occur in 'orld
J than 'orld )@ , try to update -y pro+a+ilities at least a little. 9&ecent
example from (nna: &eali'ed * should somewhat update my ,eliefs a,out
,eing a good driver after someone else knocked off my side mirror, even
though it was legally and pro,a,ly actually their fault/even so, the accident
is still more likely to occur in worlds where my ,ad:driver parameter is
higher.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
%. &andling inner conflicts; 'hen different parts of you are pulling in different directions( you 'ant
different things that seem incompatible; responses to stress.
a) , notice 'hen , and -y +rain see- to +elie5e different things 9a +elief05s0
anticipation di5ergence:@ and 'hen this happens , pause and ask 'hich of us is
right. 9&ecent example from (nna: Cumping off the -tratosphere =otel in $as
Degas in a wire:guided fall. * knew it was safe ,ased on EA,AAA data points of
people doing it without significant in3ury, ,ut to persuade my ,rain * had to
visuali'e F times the population of my college 3umping off and surviving. (lso,
my ,rain sometimes seems much more pessimistic, especially a,out social
things, than * am, and is almost always wrong.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
.
b) When facing a difficult decision@ , try to refra-e it in a 'ay that 'ill reduce@ or
at least s'itch around@ the +iases that -ight +e influencing it. 9&ecent example
from (nna4s ,rother: Trying to decide whether to move to -ilicon Dalley and
look for a higher:paying programming 3o,, he tried a reframe to avoid the
status 2uo ,ias: *f he was living in -ilicon Dalley already, would he accept a
G<A> pay cut to move to -anta #ar,ara with his college friends" 9(nswer:
0o.::
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
c) When facing a difficult decision@ , check 'hich considerations are
conseBuentialist 0 'hich considerations are actually a+out future conseBuences.
9&ecent example from Elie'er: * ,ought a G;EAA mattress in my 2uest for
sleep, over the *nternet, and hence much cheaper than the mattress * tried in
the store, ,ut non:returna,le. %hen the new mattress didn4t seem to work too
well once * actually tried sleeping nights on it, this was making me reluctant to
spend even more money trying another mattress. * reminded myself that the
G;EAA was a sunk cost rather than a future conse2uence, and didn4t change the
importance and scope of future ,etter sleep at stake 9occurring once per day
and a large effect si'e each day:.
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
). *hat you do 'hen you find your thoughts( or an argument( going in circles or not getting any'here.
a) , try to find a concrete prediction that the different +eliefs@ or different people@
definitely disagree a+out@ Hust to -ake sure the disagree-ent is realEe-pirical.
9&ecent example from 5ichael -mith: -omeone was worried that rationality
training might ,e )fake), and * asked if they could think of a particular
prediction they4d make a,out the results of running the rationality units, that
was different from mine, given that it was )fake).:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
b) , try to co-e up 'ith an e8peri-ental test@ 'hose possi+le results 'ould either
satisfy -e 9if itAs an internal argu-ent: or that -y friends can agree on 9if itAs a
group discussion:. 9This is how we settled the running argument over what to
call the +enter for (pplied &ationality/Culia went out and tested alternate
names on around ;FA people.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
c) ,f , find -y thoughts circling around a particular 'ord@ , try to ta+oo the 'ord@
i.e.@ think 'ithout using that 'ord or any of its synony-s or eBui5alent
concepts. 9/.g. 'ondering 'hether youAre Ds-art enoughD@ 'hether your
partner is DinconsiderateD@ or if youAre Dtrying to do the right thingD.: 9&ecent
example from (nna: (dvised someone to stop spending so much time
wondering if they or other people were 3ustified7 was told that they were trying
to do the right thing7 and asked them to ta,oo the word 4trying4 and talk a,out
how their thought:patterns were actually ,ehaving.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
+. ,oticing and flagging behaviors #habits( strategies$ for revie' and revision.
a) , consciously think a+out infor-ation05alue 'hen deciding 'hether to try
so-ething ne'@ or in5estigate so-ething that ,A- dou+tful a+out. 9&ecent
example from Elie'er: Ordering a GFA exercise ,all to see if sitting on it would
improve my alertness andHor ,ack muscle strain.I J0on:recent example from
Elie'er: (fter several months of procrastination, and due to (nna nagging me
a,out the value of information, finally trying out what happens when * write
with a paired partner7 and finding that my writing productivity went up ,y a
factor of four, literally, measured in words per day.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
b) , Buantify conseBuencesCho' often@ ho' long@ ho' intense. 9&ecent example
from (nna: %hen we had Culia take on the task of figuring out the +enter4s
name, * worried that a certain person would ,e offended ,y not ,eing in
control of the loop, and had to consciously evaluate how impro,a,le this was,
how little he4d pro,a,ly ,e offended, and how short the offense would pro,a,ly
last, to get my ,rain to stop worrying.: 91lus K real cases we4ve o,served in
the last year: -omeone switching careers is afraid of what a parent will think,
and has to consciously evaluate how much emotional pain the parent will
experience, for how long ,efore they acclimate, to reali'e that this shouldn4t ,e
a dominant consideration.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
-. Revising strategies( forming ne' habits( implementing ne' behavior patterns
a) , notice 'hen so-ething is negati5ely reinforcing a +eha5ior , 'ant to repeat.
9&ecent example from (nna: * noticed that every time * hit 4-end4 on an email,
* was visuali'ing all the ways the recipient might respond poorly or something
else might go wrong, negatively reinforcing the ,ehavior of sending emails.
*4ve JaI stopped doing that J,I installed a ha,it of smiling each time * hit 4-end4
9which provides my ,rain a 3olt of positive reinforcement:. This has resulted
in strongly reduced procrastination a,out emails.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
b) , talk to -y friends or deli+erately use other social co--it-ent -echanis-s
on -yself. 9&ecent example from (nna: ?sing grapefruit 3uice to keep up
,rain glucose, * had some 3uice left over when work was done. * looked at
5ichael -mith and 3okingly said, )#ut if * don4t drink this now, it will have
,een wastedL) to prevent the sunk cost fallacy.: 9Example from Elie'er: %hen
* was having trou,le getting to sleep, * JaI talked to (nna a,out the dum,
reasoning my ,rain was using for staying up later, and J,I set up a system with
$uke where * put a M in my daily work log every night * showered ,y my target
time for getting to sleep on schedule, and a / every time * didn4t.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
2
c) 4o esta+lish a ne' ha+it@ , re'ard -y inner pigeon for e8ecuting the ha+it.
9Example from Elie'er: 5ultiple o,servers reported a long:term increase in
my warmth H niceness several months after... K repeats of E:hour writing
sessions during which, in passing, * was rewarded with an 5N5 Jand smilesI
each time * complimented someone, i.e., remem,ered to say out loud a nice
thing * thought.: 9&ecent example from (nna: Yesterday * rewarded myself
using a smile and happy gesture for noticing that * was doing a string of low:
priority tasks without doing the metacognition for putting the top priorities on
top. 0oticing a mistake is a good ha,it, which *.ve ,een training myself to
reward, instead of 3ust feeling ,ad.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
d) , try not to treat -yself as if , ha5e -agic free 'illG , try to set up influences
9ha+its@ situations@ etc.: on the 'ay , +eha5e@ not Hust rely on -y 'ill to -ake
it so. 9Example from (licorn: * avoid learning politicians. positions on gun
control, ,ecause * have strong emotional reactions to the su,3ect which * don.t
endorse.: 9&ecent example from (nna: * ,ri,ed +arl to get me to write in my
3ournal every night.:
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
e) , use the outside 5ie' on -yself. 9&ecent example from (nna: * like to call
my parents once per week, ,ut hadn4t done it in a couple of weeks. 5y ,rain
said, )* shouldn4t call now ,ecause *4m ,usy today.) 5y other ,rain replied,
)Outside view, is this really an unusually ,usy day and will we actually ,e less
,usy tomorrow"):
>e5er
4odayEyesterday
6ast 'eek
6ast -onth
6ast year
3
.nnotated /chedule
0riday 1 &o' to 2se 3our 4rain
On the first day of the workshop, you.ll learn a,out the ,asic ,uilding ,locks of human reasoning Jand
some of the ,iases that turn up when they.re misappliedI. You.ll learn how to draw on your ,est ha,its
and heuristics more often, and start adding to your arsenal of cognitive tools.
5pening /ession
What does it -ean to +e rational? !opular culture sho's us a Spock0like figure # a narro' po'erhouse@
una+le to deal 'ith nuance or e-otion. At C$AR@ 'e train thinkers 'ho 'ork 'ell across -any
do-ains@ as ready to use Buick and dirty heuristics as careful@ deli+erate reasoning.
WeKll also co5er the logistics for the 'eekend? introducing the instructors@ ho' to get the -ost out of
classes and con5ersations@ and the +etting ga-e that runs during the 'orkshop.
4uilding 4ayesian &abits
!ro+a+ility theory sho's us ho' to +est update our picture of e5eryday reality in response to e5idence.
So ho' can you re-e-+er ho' to do that in e5eryday life? 6earn the ha+its and heuristics to apply
*ayesian reasoning to e5erything fro- Bualitati5e data 9L, had a good feeling a+out that inter5ie'M: to
infor-ation that see-s too s-all0scale for statistics 9LMy friend liked this +ook@ should , read it?M:.
3our 6nner /imulator
)ou can trust your refle8es to dodge a thro'n +all@ +ut 'hen else is your intuition likely to +e relia+le?
&o' can you fra-e pro+le-s in the language and i-ages you +rain is -ost prepared to parse? )ou
-ight use Lpre0hindsightM as you i-agine a -essage fro- the future saying a proHect has failed@ and
'atching as your +rain instincti5ely fills in L,t didnKt 'ork +ecauseNM
7motional Re1.ssociation
"ur e-otions distill data Buickly@ po'erfully@ unrelia+ly@ and often in strange 'ays. WeKll teach you
ho' you can use our understanding of neuroscience to learn fro- your instincti5e@ e-otional reactions
and ho' to change e-otional gears 9e.g. if youKre in a situation 'here it 'ould +e -ore useful to +e
curious than angry:.
8oal 0actoring
<o you e5er find yourself saying@ L(nfortunately@ , ha5e toN J?M Goal factoring teaches you to
syste-atically +reak do'n e5erything o+5ious and non0o+5ious youKre acco-plishing@ and ask a+out
'ays you could achie5e those factors separately and -ore effecti5ely # a ne' perspecti5e on
e5erything fro- reading ha+its to e-ail etiBuette to outings 'ith friends.
.ttention
What pulls your concentration a'ay fro- 'ork youAd like to do@ or e8periences youAd like to enHoy?
&o' can you -aintain your focus and e5en e8pand the a-ount of attention you can place on your
e8perience 'hen youAre at your +est.
9
/aturday 1 Try Things9
On day one, we taught you a,out how you think and reason, and gave some tips on exploiting this
knowledge to achieve your goals. On day two, we shift into exploration mode so you can start
expanding your a,ility to act, imagine, and create. Overcome aversions, try out a new internal story,
and find valua,le opportunities to step outside your comfort 'one.
.version 0actoring and Calibration
We daily shy a'ay fro- risks and opportunities that arenKt really har-ful. What are so-e possi+ly0
5alua+le things youK5e Lne5er gotten aroundM to trying? Would it really +e that painful to try the-?
"rder ne' foods@ +reak your co--ute routine@ speak to an inti-idating co'orker@ and learn not to take
One5erK for an ans'er.
.gainstness
4ensing up can 'in a physical fight@ +ut it 'onKt 'in a de+ate or -ake a good life decision. 6earn to
notice and control your +odyKs instincti5e fight0or0flight responseG in stressful situations@ re-ain cal-
and open to ne' infor-ation. (se your understanding of your +ody to +e a+le to redirect an unhelpful
kneeHerk reaction.
6mplementation 6ntentions
,f you could -ake only one change to your planning ha+its@ 'hat 'ould you e8pect 'ould ha5e the
largest effect? Gi5e yourself the chance to follo' through on plans -ore successfully and increase
your sense of ha5ing opportunities to seiFe as you go through your day.
Curating 3our 7motional :ibrary
A piece of art@ 'hether high+ro' or lo'@ can transfi8 us. 6earn to -ake deli+erate use of i-ages@
audio@ places@ and people that ha5e a strong e-otional effect on you@ so you can change your
disposition or Hust e8perience life -ore richly.
Comfort ;one 7xpansion #Co;7$
,tKs te-pting to stick to the ha+its you trust. And itKs hard to esti-ate the cost of the opportunities you
-iss. ,n this class@ figure out ho' to e8peri-ent socially and see 'here your fear is li-iting your fun.
4his class is follo'ed +y a real life practicu- in a pu+lic shopping -all@ 'here you can practice 'ith
real@ li5e people. (se i-pro5 e8ercises to get so-e practice thinking on your feet and e8peri-enting
'ith ne' ideas under pressure.
11
/unday 1 Compound Returns
=ow will you make use of your new skills and ha,its" On the final day of classes, learn how to make a
new ,ehavior routine, stick to plans, a2uire skills efficiently and other tools for helping you get the
most out of what you know faster.
<elegating to 3ourself
&o' can you -ake plans 9fro- the e5eryday to the a-+itious: that you can trust yourself to carry out?
6o'er your strain +y thinking socially 'hen you plan@ so you keep yourself accounta+le in the future
'ithout +eco-ing a hectoring task-aster.
WeKll also teach you a 'ay to +atch process the 'ay you learn fro- e8perience@ so you can recursi5ely
i-pro5e your strategy for planning or anything else you 'ant to adHust.
=ropagating 2rges
(se so-e of the +est0tested principles in e8peri-ental psychology to connect the inter-ediate steps
to'ard your goal to your natural enthusias- for the result. ,nstead of acti5ely reinforcing the +eha5iors
you 'ant to 'ant@ learn ho' to run that reinforce-ent on autopilot@ using your +rainKs natural facility
for shaping +eha5iors.
5ffline &abit Training
<o you 'ant to re-e-+er to plug in your cellphone each ti-e you get ho-e for 'ork@ or stop yourself
fro- interrupting others? 6earn ho' to use 5isualiFation@ associations@ and practice to +reak destructi5e
ha+its and create +eneficial ones. Pick the ha+it of checking e-ail in +ed +y setting aside fi5e -inutes
to practice your ideal -orning routine.
Turbocharging Training
)ouKre pro+a+ly 'ondering ho' to +udget ti-e to practice and internaliFe all these 'onderful ne'
techniBues. Gain ne' skills -uch faster +y understanding ho' you learn and find the -ost effecti5e
'ays of e8panding your co-petencies.
>alue of 6nformation
Quantify the e8pected 5alue of ne' infor-ation and re5a-p your guesses a+out the relati5e i-portance
of e5idence you can gather and predictions you can test. 6earn to try the easy and afforda+le
e8peri-ents that Opro+a+ly 'onKt 'orkK and search for R%1 e8penditures that might return R%@111 of
5alue. $inding a 'ay to sa5e 11 -inutes on one leg of your co--ute +uys you fi5e e8tra days per year@
and thatKs 'orth a -inute to consider carefully or half an hour to test.
Closing
Attendees and instructors gather to share their reflections on ho' it all fits together and 'hat they plan
to do 'hen they get ho-e to start -aking use of these tools.
=arty
!lay rationality ga-es@ 'rite satiric songs@ or Hust hang out 'ith your fello' attendees as you un'ind.
Attendees of past 'orkshops 'ill stop +y to 'elco-e you to the C$AR alu-ni net'ork of people@
+usinesses and ideas.
11
?onday @ =ractice/Troubleshooting
"n Monday@ youKll start rotating through discussion groups to identify and e8tend the underlying and
unifying the-es of the classes. After the recap@ you can -eet 'ith instructors one on one or in s-all
groups to practice the techniBues youK5e +een learning andEor to get ad5ice on ho' to use these ne'
tools for a specific pro+le- or proHect in your life.
1%
*hat is .pplied RationalityA
#=art 6$
4he sphex is a s-all digger 'asp that see-s to e8hi+it co-plicated@ deli+erate +eha5ior. When it
catches a cricket@ it drags the +ody +ack to the entrance of its +urro'@ lea5es the cricket outside@ goes
into the +urro' to -akes sure there are no lurking ene-ies@ and then drags the cricket inside and lays
eggs.
*ut@ it turns out thereKs a funny 'ay to interfere 'ith the sphe8Ks routine. While the sphe8 is inspecting
the +urro'@ if you pull the cricket an inch or t'o to the left@ then@ 'hen the sphe8 co-es out@ it pulls the
cricket +ack to the entrance@ and then goes in and inspects the +urro' all o5er again. And if you -o5e
the cricket again@ the sphe8 'ill tug it +ack into position and then go inspect the +urro' a third ti-e.
/ssentially@ you can keep running a sphe8 through its loop indefinitely@ 'ithout it e5er noticing that it
should +reak the pattern. 4hat inspired <ouglas &ofstadter to coin the 'ord sphexish.
Sphexish Jad3I O following patterns ,y rote, even when maladapted to the situation at hand.
Although the 'ord is inspired +y a 'asp@ its applications are unfortunately +road. When hu-ans stay
stuck in a loop@ 'eKre +eha5ing like the sphe8. &ere are so-e loops that so-e of us get stuck in?
1. Read so-ething 'rong on the internet S 'rite reply
%. !arent +rings up touchy su+Hect S gi5e the sa-e cached response as in the last fight
3. Sit do'n at co-puter S open face+ook
4he opposite of +eing sphexish is +eing agenty. An agent is an ideal at the other end of the spectru-?
so-eone 'ho could analyFe +eliefs@ ha+its@ and repeated +eha5iors and choose 'hich ones to reinforce
and 'hich ones to drop.
,n order to -ake those choices@ 'eKre going to gi5e you a +etter 5ie' of your inner 'orkings. )ouKll
get a clearer sense of ho' your -ind 'orks and 'hat heuristics it uses. 4hat 'ay you can notice 'hat
your ha+its are@ re5ise the-@ or add ne' ones.
*eco-ing -ore agenty doesnKt happen all at once. Making a s-all a-ount of progress can -ake it
easier to keep going and i-pro5ing. )ou can +ootstrap larger changes fro- s-all ones.
4he -ore you practice applied rationality@ the -ore like an agent you can +e # using auto-atic and
analytic processes deli+erately@ and +eing a+le to course0correct 'hen an old strategy no longer 'orks.
13
#=art 66$
When 'e -ake analyFe infor-ation or -ake decisions@ 'e tend to talk in ter-s of t'o -odes of
thought. ,n his +ook Thinking 6ast and -low@ >o+el !riFe 'inner <aniel Pahne-an descri+ed the- as
/ystem 1 and /ystem .
/ystem 1 /ystem
Co-es first in e5olutionary history <e5eloped later@ -ore uniBue to hu-ans
!rocesses infor-ation Buickly !rocesses infor-ation slo'ly
So-eti-es called OintuitionK So-eti-es called Oanalytic thinkingK
!rocess of thinking is not transparent "ften a 5er+al -ode of thinking
<oesnKt use up 'orking -e-ory 6i-ited +y a5aila+le 'orking -e-ory

>either syste- is perfect. Syste- 1 can fail +y -aking the 'rong connections # if a ne' acBuaintance
rese-+les an old ene-y@ you -ay find yourself feeling an8ious 'ithout kno'ing 'hy. Syste- % can
fail +y li-iting the infor-ation you tag as rele5ant # if you canKt put a feeling of unease into 'ords@
you -ay +e te-pted to lea5e it out of your calculations.
So-eti-es@ people think applied rationality is the process of -uting Syste- 1 and Hust relying on
Syste- %. After all@ the Syste- % parts are the +its that are -ost uniBue to hu-ansG 'ouldnKt it +e great
to do our +est thinking all the ti-e?
Applied rationality is a+out using the +est tools at hand to achie5e your goals@ and turning off the +ulk
of your +rain is seldo- helpful. ,n the classes at this 'orkshop@ 'eKll talk a+out ho' to +etter
understand Syste- 1 and Syste- %@ so you can play to their strengths and +e -ore efficient. 4he ai- is
to -ake deli+erate@ thoughtful use of all the skills you ha5e@ not to only use the skill of thinking slo'ly
and deli+erately.
1;
#=art 666$
)ou can i-agine all possi+le actions you could take +eing laid out according to 98@y@F: coordinates@
-apped out according to three di-ensions?
&o' -uch you enHoy the action
&o' 'ell the action ser5es your goals
&o' often you take the action
So you -ight find ,reathing at so-ething like 9not 5ery -uch fun@ enor-ously necessary@ constantly
doing:@ +ecause you donAt particularly enHoy +reathing@ +ut must do it to achie5e any other goal@ and are
al'ays doing it.
*ro'sing through your RSS reader -ight +e a +it -ore like 9-oderately fun@ relati5ely unneeded@
freBuently doing: if you like checking your reader@ +ut donAt feel 5ery strongly@ tend not to -ake -uch
use of 'hat youAre reading@ +ut keep finding yourself hitting refresh.
)ou can i-agine all of your possi+le actions +eing graphed 'ithin so-e kind of agency cu+e@ that
represented graphically all the 'ays youAre currently choosing to spend your ti-e.
)ou can think of this cu+e as ha5ing t'o 5ery 5alua+le regions. $irst@ thereAs the corner 9on top in the
i-age a+o5e: 'here you are doing useful@ pleasura+le things freBuently. And then thereAs the
dia-etrically opposed corner 'here you don4t do things that you hate and that frustrate your goals.
!art of applied rationality is trying to concentrate your possi+le actions as densely as possi+le in these
to corners@ so youAre doing the -ost of 'hatAs +est for you@ and the least of 'hatAs har-ful.
1.
8etting the ?ost out of the *orkshop
<igestion
As a child@ you -ight ha5e thought that 'hen you ate food@ it Hust +eca-e part of you 'ithout
alteration. /at a hotdog@ and there 'ould +e little tiny pieces of hot dog studded throughout your +ody.
/5entually@ 'e learned that food isnKt Hust incorporated into us@ itKs digested. We +reak it do'n into
so-ething 'e can use@ that -ay look 5ery different than 'hat 'e originally ingested@ e5en if it has the
sa-e nutrients.
,n a si-ilar 'ay@ 'hen 'e learn@ 'e donKt Hust take up the instructorKs opinions and -aterial 'holesale.
We adapt it and process it and try to e8tract 'hat 'e need -ost. So it doesnKt help too -uch to Hust
-e-oriFe 'hat you hear in class. 4he goal is to internaliFe it and -ake it your o'n.
When you digest food@ you use sto-ach enFy-es to +reak it do'n into +uilding +locks that you can use
to +eco-e stronger. When you digest content and ideas@ you ha5e a nu-+er of tools to +reak do'n
'hat youKre hearing?
!araphrase the instructor@ -ake sure you can put the idea in your o'n 'ords
4ry teaching the -aterial to a friend
6ook for ne' applications for the -aterial 9especially in your o'n life:
6ook for predictions@ if this theory is true@ 'hat 'ould you o+ser5e
Ask Buestions
4alk a+out the content 'ith others
...and -any -ore
"5er the course of the 'orkshop@ look for opportunities to digest the -aterial in the classes@ so it
+eco-es a part of you@ not Hust so-ething you can descri+e ha5ing happened to you. <eli+erately
digesting content helps you get the -ost useful@ personal -aterial out of a lesson@ and the infor-ation
'ill +e a lot easier to retain.
1
Try Things9
When youKre e8ploring ne' ideas and ha+its@ trying the- out is a great 'ay to gather data. ,t can +e
faster and si-pler to Hust try out a ne' practice and see 'hether it 'orks for you than to spend a lot of
ti-e trying to anticipate 'hether or not youKll find it useful.
When you try so-ething out@ and it 'orks@ you get to keep doing it@ 'hich can +e really 5alua+le o5er
the long run. $or e8a-ple@ if friends kept in5iting you to ok0to0-ediocre0sounding leisure acti5ities@
you -ight keep declining their offers. *ut 'hat if you agreed to try the- out? May+e your list of
atte-pts 'ould look so-ething like this?
Acti5ity 41 4% 43 4; 4. 4 42 43 49
)oga J
(lti-ate
$ris+ee
J
Meditation
Classes
T T T T T T T T T
Salsa J

4he failed trials 9represented +y J: are -ore than counter+alanced +y the sustained run of a no'
successful ha+it 9sho'n 'ith T:. So it can +e 'orth your ti-e to try out a nu-+er of lo'er pro+a+ility
trials@ as long as a couple pay off as long0ter- ha+its.
So 'hen you listen and participate in class@ look for 'ays to turn lessons into actions that you can try
out and test dri5e. 4he act of turning class content into practical acti5ities is a great 'ay to digest
-aterial 9youKre paraphrasing theory into practice: and helps you decide 'hich -aterial you 'ant to
prioritiFe 'hen you return fro- the 'orkshop.
12
Capture
At the end of the 'orkshop@ 'hat 'ill you re-e-+er? What 'ill you need to +e a+le to take action?
&o' do you -ake sure you retain the lessons that are the -ost 5alua+le to you?
4here are t'o co--on failure -odes 'hen taking notes or trying to retain infor-ation?
3ou might trust your brain too much. *ecause so-ething feels i-portant in the -o-ent@ you
figure youKll retain it. &as this strategy 'orked in the past? &o' -any i-portant0feeling
things can you +e e8posed to +efore your 'orking -e-ory is strained?
3ou might Bust try transcription. ,nstead of e8periencing and digesting the class@ you -ight
put -ost of your -ental energy into Hust capturing everything. 4his -eans youKll still ha5e to
filter the useful infor-ation later@ and you 'onKt ha5e access to the instructor or the other
participants 'hile you do it.
We try to preser5e the +asic -aterial of each class in the 'ork+ook@ so you donKt ha5e to 'orry a+out
transcription. ,nstead@ try capturing the actions and insights that pertain to you@ that arenKt already in
the 'ork+ook.
When it co-es to these ideas@ err on the side of inclusion. 4his are the content you 'onKt +e a+le to
find any'here else@ +ecause youKre the one 'ho created it.
WeK5e included a capture strip at the +otto- of each page in the 'ork+ook@ so itKs easy to retrie5e 'hat
you captured. ,f you already ha5e a 'orking capture syste- for idea@ plans@ and actions@ you -ay 'ant
to use it instead.
<onKt forget@ you 'onKt only think of interesting things in classU &a5e a plan to capture i-portant
actions and insights in con5ersation or during digestion of -aterial. Why not 'rite that plan do'n in
the OActionK section at the +otto- of this page? Make the co--it-ent effect 'ork for youU
*ut donKt let capture dri5e you craFy. )ouKre storing up notes for you 'hole post0'orkshop life 00 donKt
panic a+out trying to put e5erything into practice the 'eek or the -onth after you get ho-e. ,f you Hust
-ake one s-all change 9using po-odoros@ doing a fe' =", calculations@ etc: youKre -aking it easier
to +ootstrap to other changes in the future.
13
=rediction ?arkets
5vervie'
Scattered throughout the ca-p on 5arious 'alls@ youKll see large sticky sheets 'ith predictions@
pro+a+ilities@ and ti-es on the-. 4hese are prediction markets@ and they offer a playful 'ay to help
refine your predicati5e accuracy. 4o play in a -arket@ Hust pick up a pen@ 'rite a pro+a+ility +elo' the
last one already 'ritten@ and 'rite your na-e and the ti-e ne8t to your pro+a+ility.
When the prediction is settled@ you 'ill recei5e a 9possi+ly negati5e: nu-+er of points 0 called
centi,its@ or hundredths of a +it 0 according to one of t'o rules. $or the sake of descri+ing the rules@
letKs say your +et is JV and the one +efore yours is )V. ,f the clai- turns out to +e true@ then the
nu-+er of centi+its you recei5e 'ill +e?
,f the clai- turns out to +e false@ ho'e5er@ the nu-+er of centi+its you recei5e 'ill +e?
4he &ouse 9i.e.@ an assigned staff -e-+er: 'ill keep track of ho' -any points you ha5e. At the end of
the ca-p@ there 'ill +e a lottery for priFes and your chance of 'inning 'ill +e proportional to the
nu-+er of points youA5e 'on in the +etting -arketsU 9*ut the real point of this is to engage in the
practice of putting your degree of confidence on the ta+le. 4he point is the process@ not the productU:
7xample
Suppose thereKs a -arket 'ith the clai-@ C6t 'ill be raining on ?onday at noon.D At noon on
Monday the -arket is auto-atically closed@ at 'hich point the follo'ing +ets ha5e +een -ade?
!9true: !9false:
Sun 1%p- .1V .1V &ouse
Sun 9p- ;1V 1V Alice
Mon 11a- 91V 11V *o+
Mon 11a- ..V ;.V Alice
19
At noon on Monday@ letKs suppose that it is in fact raining. 4hat -eans 'e use the first colu-n to
calculate the payoffs? those 'ere the pro+a+ilities the players 'ere assigning to the true state of the
'orld. Alice 'ould lose so-e centi+its for causing the -arket to update in the 'rong direction on t'o
occasions. Specifically@ she 'ould LgainM 03% centi+its for her first +et?

and LgainM 021 centi+its for her second +et?
*o+@ on the other hand@ 'ould gain 112 centi+its@ reflecting that he caused the -arket to update
strongly in the correct direction?
$or contrast@ letKs pretend that it turns out that itKs not raining on Monday at noon. 4hat -eans 'e use
the second colu-n of nu-+ers to calculate the payoffs? those 'ere the pro+a+ilities the players 'ere
assigning to the true state of the 'orld. &ere@ Alice 'ould +e re'arded %W%12 centi+its for causing
the -arket to update in the correct direction on t'o occasions?
*o+ 'ould lose %.9 centi+its for his significant o5erconfidence in causing the -arket to update in the
'rong direction?
6n /um
4he follo'ing theore- su--ariFes ga-e play?
When you +et@ your score is the a-ount of infor-ation@ in hundredths of a +it@ that your
pro+a+ilities ha5e pro5ided as an update to the pre5ious pro+a+ility.
3our best strategy is to honestly report your credence at any ti-e. 4hat is@ at any -o-ent@ if
your credence is not exactly the same as the last credence 'ritten on the +oard@ then you e8pect
to win centi,its +y 'riting up your o'n.
"5er ti-e@ +eing +etter cali+rated 9+eing right JV of the ti-e that youAre JV sure: 'ill -ake
you +etter at the ga-e.
9$or an e8planation of 'hy 'e use this scoring rule@ look up /lieFer )udko'skyKs online essay LA
4echnical /8planation of 4echnical /8planation.M:
=roposing betting markets
Anyone can propose a +etting -arket. &o'e5er@ the &ouse -ay choose to ignore any gi5en -arket that
they did not put up the-sel5es. 9WeKll a5oid ignoring -arkets this 'ay as -uch as possi+le. 4his is in
%1
place pri-arily to a5oid +reaking the syste- 'ith o5erly cle5er -arkets.: Also@ the &ouse has to kno'
a+out a -arket for it to count.
/5ery proposed -arket should ha5e?
a state-ent 'hose truth or falsity can +e and 'ill +e deter-ined to e5eryoneKs satisfaction
during the ca-p@
a condition for closing 9ideally one that happens auto-atically:@ and
an initial +et assigned to the creator of the -arket.
*ell1formed bets
4he &ouse 'ill ignore any +et of 111V or 1V 'hen calculating points@ treating such lines as though
they 'ere ne5er 'ritten. 94his is to pre5ent you fro- losing infinitely -any points@ or fro- allo'ing
the person follo'ing your +et to potentially gain infinitely -any points.:
)ou need to specify a percentage that the &ouseKs co-puter can score. =aria+le notation like L
M 'ill cause the line in Buestion to +e co-pletely ignored 'hen calculating points. ,f you
'ant to specify a 5ery large or 5ery s-all pro+a+ility@ use so-ething fairly standard like scientific
notation. Cle5er uses of unusual notation like tetration 9e.g.@ 1E93XXX3:: -ight force the &ouse to ignore
your +et@ unless you care to e8plain ho' to enter your +et into the co-puter 9and offer to 'rite the
progra- if entering the score reBuires progra--ingU:.
*ear in -ind that you donKt gain all that -uch +y +eing e8tre-ely confident and correct@ +ut you can
lose an ar+itrary nu-+er of centi+its for +eing o5erconfident and wrong. ,f you offer a se5erely
o5erconfident +et and lose huge nu-+ers of centi+its@ you are in effect paying those centi+its to
'ho-e5er follo's your +et 'ith anything -ore reasona+le. 9*ut if you actually@ honestly ha5e a
gargantuan a-ount of confidence@ your e8pected score is still -a8i-iFed +y correctly stating your
confidenceU:
%1
5pening /ession @ 0urther Resources
/phexishness and .gency
,n a 193% -cientific (merican article 9later reprinted in his +ook 5etamagical ThemasI@ <ouglas
&ofstadter coined the ter- Lsphe8ishM to refer to repetiti5e@ pre0progra--ed +eha5ioral patterns@ and
identified the a+ility to reflect on oneKs o'n patterns as essential to +reaking out of these loops.
&ofstadter@ <. R. 9193.:. L"n the see-ing parado8 of -echaniFing creati5ity.M ,n 5etamagical
Themas, .%.0.;.
http?EEa-Fn.co-E1;.1;.9
,n his +ook The &o,ot.s &e,ellion@ cogniti5e scientist Peith Stano5ich 9%11;: connects the issue of
sphe8ishness to recent psychology research on hu-an Hudg-ent and decision -aking.
Stano5ich@ Peith. 9%11;:. The &o,ot4s &e,ellion: 6inding 5eaning in the (ge of !arwin.
http?EEa-Fn.co-E119.3;11;2
/ystem 1 and /ystem
!sychologists distinguish +et'een LSyste- 1M cogniti5e processes 9'hich are fast@ intuiti5e@
associati5e@ and parallel: and LSyste- %M cogniti5e processes 9'hich are slo'@ reflecti5e@ deli+erate@
and serial:. <aniel Pahne-anKs 9%111: +ook@ Thinking, 6ast and -low@ ela+orates on this distinction
9and the field of Hudg-ent and decision -aking research 'hich he co0founded: in depthG Pahne-anKs
9%113: re5ie' article pro5ides a +riefer su--ary.
Pahne-an@ <. 9%111:. Thinking, 6ast and -low.
http?EEgoo.glE.Y1FH
Pahne-an@ <. 9%113:. A perspecti5e on Hudg-ent and choice? Mapping +ounded rationality.
(merican 1sychologist@ BP@ 9202%1.
http?EEtinyurl.co-Ekahne-an%113
Syste- 1 processes share -any si-ilarities to the hu-an perceptual syste-. When they are
functioning 'ell@ they can dra' on a large +ody of lo'0le5el data to identify patterns@ 'hich co-e to
-ind readily 'ithout any e8planation attached. &o'e5er@ there is a risk that the 5aria+le 'hich Syste-
1 reports 'ill +e su+tly different fro- the one 'hich you are atte-pting to assess. 4his type of error
9called Lattri+ute su+stitutionM: is analogous to a 5isual illusion 'here you atte-pt to assess the t'o0
di-ensional siFe of a dra'ing on paper@ +ut your perceptual syste- reports the three0di-ensional siFe
%%
that the depicted o+Hect 'ould ha5e 9Pahne-an@ %113G %111:.
8etting the most out of the 'orkshop
/ducation research e-phasiFes that students learn -ore 'hen they engage 'ith the -aterial in a 'ay
that goes +eyond si-ply listening to the 'ords in a lecture or reading the 'ords in a +ook. Acti5e
learning focuses on getting students in5ol5ed in acti5ities 'hich lead the- to think through and -ake
use of the -aterial that they are learning a+out.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEActi5eZlearning
A re5ie' article of research on the +enefits of acti5e learning?
!rince@ M. 9%11;:. <oes acti5e learning 'ork? A re5ie' of the research. Cournal of Engineering
Education@ QK@ %%30%31.
http?EEgoo.glEo-&uY
Cogniti5e scientist Roger Schank 9199.: argues that people ha5e a set of learned LscriptsM for ho' to
interact 'ith the 'orld@ such as a script for ho' to order food at a restaurant. <oing ne' things allo's
a person to learn ne' scripts 9or 5ariations on the scripts that they already kno':@ 'hich increases the
opportunities a5aila+le to the- and reduces their sphe8ishness.
Schank@ R. C. 9199.:. What 'e learn 'hen 'e learn +y doing. 94echnical Report >o. 1:.
>orth'estern (ni5ersity@ ,nstitute for 6earning Sciences.
http?EEcogprints.orgE32E1E6earn+y<oingZSchank.ht-l
Capture is the first step of <a5id AllenKs LGetting 4hings <oneM organiFation syste-. Capture in5ol5es
'riting things do'n 9in particular@ things that you 'ant to do: and putting the- into your syste-.
&a5ing a functioning capture syste- ensures that this infor-ation 'ill co-e +ack to your attention
later on 'hen you ha5e ti-e to process it and act on it@ and frees your attention in the -o-ent to do
so-ething other than -e-oriFing things0to0do.
Allen@ <a5id 9%111:. Retting Things !one: The (rt of -tress:6ree 1roductivity.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEGettingZ4hingsZ<one
Pno'ledge tends to decay o5er ti-e@ as people gradually forget infor-ation that they ha5e learned.
Regularly accessing kno'ledge helps a person retain it. $or a gi5en a-ount of studying@ a person is
-ore likely to retain long0ter- -e-ories of the -aterial if the studying is spread out o5er ti-e rather
than condensed into a single session of Lcra--ingM@ a pheno-enon kno'n as the spacing effect
9although cra--ing is effecti5e at for-ing short0ter- -e-ories:. 4hese disco5eries a+out -e-ory
date +ack to research +y &er-ann /++inghaus in the 19th century@ and ha5e +een repeatedly replicated
%3
+y -ore recent studies 9e.g.@ Cepeda et al.@ %11:.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiESpacingZeffect
Spaced repetition soft'are is designed to help people retain long0ter- -e-ories +y pro5iding re5ie's
that are ti-ed efficiently +ased on the hu-an forgetting cur5e. !rogra-s such as Anki and Super-e-o
use a flashcard0+ased -odel that repeats a gi5en flashcard less and less often o5er ti-e as long as you
re-e-+er it@ so that you are re-inded of the infor-ation +efore you forget it +ut do not spend -uch
ti-e re5ie'ing infor-ation that you already kno' 'ell.
An in0depth re5ie' of research on spaced repetition@ including su--aries of pu+lished research as 'ell
as ad5ice on ho' to use spaced repetition soft'are?
G'ern. LSpaced repetition.M
http?EE'''.g'ern.netESpacedV%1repetition
An online article 'ith tips on ho' to design spaced0repetition cards effecti5ely?
WoFniak@ !iotr. L4he %1 rules of for-ulating kno'ledge in learning.M
http?EE'''.super-e-o.co-EarticlesE%1rules.ht-
A -eta0analysis@ pro5iding a Buantitati5e re5ie' of research on the spacing effect 9also kno'n as
Ldistri+uted practiceM:?
Cepeda@ >. Y.@ !ashler@ &.@ =ul@ /.@ Wi8ted@ Y. 4.@ [ Rohrer@ <. 9%11:. <istri+uted practice in
5er+al recall tasks? A re5ie' and Buantitati5e synthesis. 1sychological #ulletin@ ;KF@ 3.;0331.
http?EEgoo.glEPg!1n
%;
=redictions
!eopleKs intuiti5e sense of pro+a+ility tends not to +e properly cali+ratedG a-ong e5ents that so-eone
thinks are 31V sure to happen@ typically only 1V actually take place 9Russo [ Schoe-aker@ 199%:.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE"5erconfidenceZeffect
Repeated rounds of prediction and feed+ack allo' a person to cali+rate their e8pectations to reality.
Sufficient training and e8perience in a do-ain 'ith clear feed+ack 9like 'eather forecasting: can lead
to -ore accurate@ un+iased esti-ates in that do-ain 9Pahne-an [ Plein@ %119:. Cali+ration practice
can also lead to less +iased esti-ates across -any do-ains 9Russo [ Schoe-aker@ 199%:.
A re5ie' article of research on e8pertise@ 'ith an e-phasis on 'hich areas of su+Hect -atter allo'
people to de5elop e8pertise and 'hich do not?
Pahne-an@ <.@ [ Plein@ G. 9%119:. Conditions for intuiti5e e8pertise. (merican 1sychologist@
SE@ .1.0.%.
http?EEgoo.glElG,!7
A re5ie' article of research on cali+ration and cali+ration training?
Russo@ Y. /.@ [ Schoe-aker@ !. Y. &. 9199%:. Managing o5erconfidence. -loan 5anagement
&eview@ KK@ 2012.
http?EEgoo.glEC93as
A 'e+site 'here you can -ake@ share@ and track pro+a+ilistic predictions a+out any e5ent?
http?EEprediction+ook.co-E
4he Credence Ga-e@ de5eloped +y C$AR@ pro5ides cali+ration training +y gi5ing you i--ediate
feed+ack on pro+a+ilistic Hudg-ents.
http?EE'''.acritch.co-Ecredence0ga-eE
%.
$riday # &o' to (se )our *rain
4uilding 4ayesian &abits
4uilding 4ayesian &abits 1 5vervie'
(sing *ayesA 4heore- to update your +eliefs in5ol5es four steps?
1. <eter-ine the hypothesis +eing considered and 'hat the alternati5e hypothesis is
%. <eter-ine your prior
3. <eter-ine the strength of the e5idence youKre considering
;. Co-+ine the prior and the strength of e5idence to produce a conclusion 9LposteriorM:
/ach of these steps has a -athe-atical for-alis-. $or instance@ the strength of e5idence is technically
defined to +e a ratio of t'o conditional pro+a+ilities that are related in a particular 'ay. &o'e5er@ 'e
'ill also practice so-e DBuick0and0dirtyD heuristics to engage parts of your intuition 9like your Dinner
si-ulatorD: that donAt really operate in ter-s of nu-+ers.
<epending on ho' i-portant a decision is@ there are 5arying a-ounts of ti-e you can spend using
*ayes Rule in 5arious 'ays to update your +eliefs?
1E1minute 4ayes 000 <oing careful research into priors and strength of e5idence@ spanning
-inutes to hours. (seful for?
&igh1stakes decisions 000 ,n situations 'here itAs 'orth taking so-e ti-e to think and
in5estigate@ *ayes Rule can help you e5aluate conflicting sources of e5idence@ and identify
useful Buestions to ask ne8t.
/ettling disagreements 000 *ayes can help you na5igate a disagree-ent 'ith so-eone@ +y
isolating 'hether you ha5e different +ackground kno'ledge or ha5e differing i-pressions
of 'hat e5idence -eans.
1E1second 4ayes 000 A Buick0and0dirty -athe-atical esti-ate@ taking around .0%1 seconds.
(seful for?
7motional situations 111 Sanity0checking your Hudg-ents 'hen you feel tired@ stressed out@
or other'ise e-otionally co-pro-ised.
Confusing situations 000 'hen you notice your pre5ious e8perience is at odds 'ith
so-ething youAre seeing or that so-eone is saying.
11second 4ayes 000 4hinking in ter-s of cali+rated intuitions instead of nu-+ers@ 'hich takes
around 103 seconds.
0ollo'ing arguments 000 <eciding fro- -o-ent to -o-ent 'hether an argu-ent or
reasoning process -akes sense@ as it is +eing presented.
4his last 10second 5ersion reBuires ha5ing D*ayesian ha+itsD installed as auto-atic -ental refle8es@
taking al-ost no conscious reflection ti-e at all. 4his -eans training your DSyste- 1D as Pahne-an or
Stano5ich 'ould say. 4he types of e8ercises 'e 'ill focus on are designed to help you hone and
accelerate those refle8es.
. note on engaging in exercisesF
%
Many e8ercises 'ill in5ol5e reading a clai- 9e.g. L4his restaurant canKt +e good@ or it 'ould +e -ore
cro'dedM: and then reasoning a+out it. Rather than reasoning 5er+ally a+out the clai-@ please -ake up
and imagine Ji.e. mental simulateI a specific scenario fitting the description@ and ans'er the clai-
a+out the scenario you -ade up. 94his 'ill causes our ans'ers to +e different@ +ut ensures you are
practicing so-ething closer to a real0life decision.:
%2
4uilding 4ayesian &abits @ <rill GE
.ccessing .nticipations
)ou ha5e an inner si-ulator that lets you check ho' surprising so-ething 'ould feel if it happened.
,tKs a 'ay to Buery your Syste- "ne -ind 'ith a specific useful Buestion 'ritten up +y Syste- 4'o.
$or e8a-ple@ i-agine a friend of -ine had RS=!Kd LyesM to a party +ut didnKt sho' up. ,f , i-agine
ho' , 'ould feel if this happened@ , 'ould +e@ at least@ a +it surprised # itKs not 'hat , anticipated
happening that night. *ut -y surprise falls along a spectru- # , -ight +e a good deal more surprised if
she sho'ed up on ti-e +ut had sha5ed off her hair.
And , can categoriFe those e8periences as Bualitati5ely different +efore either happens. , can use -y
surprise as a crude -easure of ho' likely , e8pect so-ething to occur@ and get a clearer intuiti5e
ans'er than if , i--ediately try to ascri+e a nu-erical pro+a+ility to it.
*hen to use .ccessing .nticipationsF
A Buestion or decision is high stakes.
)ou ha5e a lot of e-otional +ias clouding your response.
)ouKre in a disagree-ent.
&o' to use .ccessing .nticipationsF
,-agine the situation as 5i5idly as possi+le.
*e specific@ donKt Hust i-agine a 5ague friend@ think of a particular one.
4hink a+out 'here your surprise falls on a spectru-.
<onKt argue 'ith your Syste- 1 until you ackno'ledge its ans'er.
4hen feel free to pro+e at any disco-fort or confusion a+out ho' surprised you 'ere and decide
'hich part you 'ant to adHust.
>otice if Syste- 1 'as responding to data you hadnKt consciously factored in.
)ou can try to translate +ack and forth fro- intuitions to pro+a+ilities to tune cali+ration. Are
your surprise reactions synched up to ho' unlikely so-ething actually is? Can you use so-e
kno'n e5ents as -arkers on your surprise ther-o-eter?
%3
=racticing .ccessing .nticipationsF
Try to imagine each of these experiences vividly7 notice how surprising it seems. Then, you can try and
place it along a spectrum of experiences. You can use the letters for each example to la,el the
spectrum, with more surpising Jless likelyI things near the ,ottom.
A. )our friend doesnKt turn up for a party sEhe RS=!Kd for.
*. )ou do +adly on an e8a- that you felt good a+out 'hile taking.
C. 4he cashier greets you +y na-e at the grocery store.
<. )ou recei5e a parking ticket in the -ail.
/. )our parent dyes herEhis hair purple.
$. )ou find a +ear cu+ in your li5ing roo-.
G. )ou 'ake up naked in the 'oods.
&. A sunny day turns to rain.
,. )ou recei5e a su--ons for Hury duty.
Y. )our na-e is -isspelled on your reissued dri5erKs license.
P. )our +ookcase is -issing@ +ut all the +ooks are neatly piled on the floor.
6. )our +ookcase and +ooks are +oth -issing.
M. )ou turn a corner 'ith a friend in a city and -eet a tiger.
>. )ou canKt find your car keys in the usual spot.
". ,t sno's on Christ-as <ay@ 'here you li5e.
!. So-eone you -eet at a party has the sa-e +irthday as you.
%9
( thought experiment:
*magine, while walking across a large pu,lic university.s campus, you meet a guy named Tom who
seems very reserved and introverted. %ould you guess that Tom is a ,usiness ma3or or a math ma3or"
31
4uilding 4ayesian &abits @ <rill GE
=arsing hypotheses and evidence
,t takes effort and practice to change casual speech into 'ord pro+le-s. ,n a con5ersation 9or an
argu-ent:@ your interlocutor -ay not clearly identify 'hat e5idence sheKs considering and 'hat
hypothesis she intendeds it to support.
4he Buickest 'ay to ensure 'e -ean the sa-e thing +y DhypothesesD and De5idenceD 'ill +e to 'ork
through so-e e8a-ples +elo'.
7videnceF 4his is 'hat you o,serve to +e true.
&ypothesisF )our guess a+out 'hat is true@ often +ased on so-e e5idence. ,t -ay +e a prediction@
or a speculation for 'hat could ha5e caused or explained the e5idence you sa'.
2seful times to parse colloHuial language into hypotheses and evidenceF
When you hear any of these phrases 9or si-ilar ones: co-e out of your -outh or so-eone elseKs?
\ LJ happened +ecause of ).M
\ L, +elie5e J +ecause ) happened.M
\ LWell@ , kno' )@ +ecause JUM
\ L) is another reason to +elie5e J.M
\ LJ canKt +e true +ecause of )UM
7xercises / examples of parsing casual language into hypotheses and evidenceF
1ut a circle around the evidence Jo,servationI the speaker is presenting and a ,ox around the
hypothesis Jprediction or speculationI she4s using it to support. Then, as a precursor to using #ayes
later, give a short name or )handle) for the hypothesis, an alternative hypothesis, and the evidence.
0ote: There may ,e extraneous data andHor ,ackground information.
1. 4his restaurant canKt +e good@ or it 'ould +e -ore cro'ded.
&ypothesis? D+adD Alternate hypothesis? DgoodD
/5idence? Dnot cro'dedD
%. A 5olunteer fro- the ca-paign 5isited -eG so theyAre pro+a+ly 'ell organiFed.
&ypothesis? Alternate hypothesis?
/5idence?
31
3. ,K- 5ery good at this su+Hect@ so -y lo' test score -ust -ean there 'as a Scantron error.
/5idence?
;. My car keys are -issing@ +ecause -y kids hid the-.
/5idence?
.. , +elie5e sheKs telling the truth@ +ecause she didnKt look a'ay 'hen she told -e.
/5idence?
. My friend hasnKt -entioned the fight again@ so heKs not angry.
/5idence?
2. 4his candidate graduated fro- an ,5y 6eague schoolG sheKs pro+a+ly Bualified for the Ho+.
/5idence?
3. 4his candidate stu-+led o5er a Buestion in the inter5ie'G sheKs pro+a+ly not Bualified.
/5idence?
9. 4his candidate has pre5iously 'orked in this fieldG sheKs pro+a+ly Bualified for the Ho+.
/5idence?
3%
4uilding 4ayesian &abits @ <rill G1
.nchoring off the =rior
Many studies ha5e sho'n that people tend to syste-atically neglect their o'n +ackground infor-ation
'hen presented 'ith e5idence@ especially if the +ackground infor-ation is less salient in their intuition
or DSyste- 1D. So@ +efore you start to -ake sense of a ne' piece of e5idence@ itKs i-portant to check
your +aseline assu-ptions a+out the possi+le e8planations? that is@ 'hat you 'ould ha5e e8pected
+efore seeing the e5idence. 4his is called your prior.
Our ,rains do not do this automatically. 4his pheno-enon is called *ase Rate >eglect@ or !rior
,nsensiti5ity. When your prior is lopsided in fa5or of a particular hypothesis@ it needs to +e
intentionally 'eighed in against ne' e5idence@ other'ise your +rain is lia+le to ignore it. 4o do this@
you can anchor on your prior@ and use e5idence to ad3ust a'ay fro- it. When your prior doesnAt fa5or
any hypothesis in particular@ this step is less i-portant@ as the ne' e5idence alone is enough to
deter-ine your ne' +elief.
*hen to .nchor on your the =riorF
0ot that oftenL "nly if thereKs a +ig disparity +et'een the t'o options.
When you see strong e5idence fa5oring a theory and 'ant to check if you should shift your
+elief sharply.
>ote? )ou donKt al'ays ha5e to co-e up 'ith a plausi+le prior yourself@ if Googling is faster.
&o' to use your /urprisometer to check 'hether a prior is lopsidedF
\ ,-agine sa-pling fro- a +ag of outco-es 000 'hat do you e8pect to pull out?
\ &o' -any people do you think youKd need to sur5ey to find fi5e people in 'hate5er category
youKre talking a+out?
\ ,n a +ig city 9say@ >)C # 3 -illion people:@ ho' -any people do you e8pect to fall into this
category?
Calibrating your sense of confidence
http?EEacritch.co-EcredenceE 000 4his is a si-ple ga-e to gi5e you practice assigning pro+a+ilities to
your guesses and getting feed+ack a+out your actual success rate. After playing for a 'hile@ you can
de5elop the property that 'hen you say you are 21V sure@ you are actually correct 21V of the ti-e...
for -ost people@ this is not true +y defaultU
33
=racticing using your /urprisometer to construct a prior odds ratioF
,n each of these e8a-ples@ 'rite do'n a short na-e for the hypothesis +eing considered and an
alternati5e@ as in <rill I1. )our prior is 'hat you 'ould ha5e e8pected +efore seeing the e5idence@ and
'hat odds youAd gi5e to that e8pectation. )ou -ay use the techniBues listed a+o5e to help you decide
your prior.
1. Example: 4he restaurant canKt +e good@ or it 'ould +e -ore cro'ded.
# good F not good $
=rior odds I #% F 1$
9This means you think that good restaurants are a,out K times more common than ,ad ones.:
%. ]A specific friend^ enHoyed this +ook@ therefore , 'ill@ too.
!rior odds _
3. A 5olunteer fro- the ca-paign 5isited -eG thatKs e5idence that theyKre 'ell0organiFed.
!rior odds _
;. ,K- 5ery good at this su+Hect@ so -y lo' test score -ust -ean there 'as a Scantron error.
!rior odds _
.. My car keys are -issing@ +ecause -y kids hid the-.
!rior odds _
. , +elie5e sheKs telling the truth@ +ecause she didnKt look a'ay 'hen she told -e.
!rior odds _
2. My friend hasnKt -entioned the fight again@ so heKs not angry.
!rior odds _
!rior odds _
3;
4uilding 4ayesian &abits @ <rill G
/trength of 7vidence
)ou can use your Surpriso-eter to help check 'hether e5idence actually supports a gi5en hypothesis@
and to gauge ho' strongly it supports that theory.
/5idence supporting a gi5en e8planation J -eans that itKs -ore likely to occur in a 'orld 'here J is
true than 'here J is false. ,t doesnKt -ean that J is necessarily the most plausi+le cause of 'hate5er
youK5e o+ser5ed.
TechniHues for using your /urprisometer to Budge /trength of 7vidence as a likelihood ratioF
,-agine the sa-e situation repeats a nu-+er of ti-es 9e.g. you go on %1 Ho+ inter5ie's@ 11 of 'hich
youKre a good -atch for and 11 of 'hich are a reach:. ,n ho' -any of the inter5ie's for 'hich youKre
'ell Bualified do you e8pect to stu-+le o5er at least one Buestion? &o' -any of the 11 for 'hich
youKre a little less Bualified?
)our internal si-ulator should flag so-e results as -ore surprising than others. So you can ho-e in on
a fuFFy esti-ate of an odds ratio 9e.g. ];0.^ ? ]02^:@ 'hich can gi5e you a sense of ho' strongly the
e5idence 9flu++ed a Buestion: supports a gi5en hypothesis 9can do this Ho+ capa+ly:
5ther tipsF
)ouKre trying to trigger a strong intuiti5e@ Syste- "ne reaction@ so re-e-+er to +e vivid and specific.
/sti-ates can +e helpful@ e5en if theyKre fuFFy. )ou can use ranges here@ Hust as you used orders of
-agnitude 'hen esti-ating priors.
,f thereKs a large disparity +et'een your tallies in the t'o cases@ the e5idence is strongG if theyKre close
to e5en@ the e5idence is 'eak 9B.5. the section on *ayes 'ithout nu-+ers:.
3.
=racticing using your /urprisometer to Budge /trength of 7vidence as a likelihood ratioF
Ro ,ack over the list of propositions, and try to estimate an odds ratio ,y checking how often you
expect to see this piece of evidence appear when the hypothesis is true and when it.s false. (fter you
finish the list, compare to the previous page to see if the magnitude of your ratings varied, depending
what method you used.
/5idence? Lnot cro'dedM
Qualitati5e strength
of e5idence? 'eak@ for Lnot goodM "R
9 good ? not good:
6ikelihood ratio _ 91V ? 31V:
_ 93 ? ;:

2. ]A specific friend^ enHoyed this +ook@ therefore , 'ill@ too.
3
32
4uilding 4ayesian &abits @ <rill G%
4ayes( altogether
6inally, we put the first two steps of #ayes together ::: the prior and the likelihood ratio ::: for form
our new ,elief, called the posterior.
9 good ? not good:
!rior odds? _ 93 ? 1:
/5idence? Dnot cro'dedD
6ikelihood ratio _ 91V ? 31V:
_ 93 ? ;:
!osterior? _ 93`3 ? 1`;:
_ 99 ? ;:
a 9% ? 1:
33
39
5ptionalF 2sing your /urprisometer for 4ayes 'ithout numbers
Surprise +eha5es a lot like the logarith- of pro+a+ility. 4he ad5antage of thinking entirely in ter-s of
surprise affects is that this process can +eco-e 5ery instincti5e and take on the order of a second or so.
4his is the kind of 11second 4ayes discussed in the outline. &ereAs 'hat the steps look like 'hen
co-+ined@ for the restaurant e8a-ple a+o5e?
;1
Without the instructions 'ritten in@ the thought process looks a +it si-pler?
;1
=racticing using your /urprisometer to construct a prior as a surprisal differenceF
,n each of the follo'ing e8a-ples@ 'rite do'n a short na-e for the hypothesis +eing considered and an
alternati5e@ as in <rill I1. )our prior is that you 'ould ha5e e8pected +efore seeing the e5idence@ and
'hat odds youAd gi5e to that e8pectation )ou -ay use the techniBues listed a+o5e to help you decide
your prior.
9This means your -urprisometer thinks good restaurants are more
common than ,ad ones.:
%. A 5olunteer fro- the ca-paign 5isited -eG thatKs e5idence that theyKre 'ell0organiFed.
3. ,K- 5ery good at this su+Hect@ so -y lo' test score -ust -ean there 'as a Scantron error.
;. My car keys are -issing@ +ecause -y kids hid the-.
;%
.. , +elie5e sheKs telling the truth@ +ecause she didnKt look a'ay 'hen she told -e.
. My friend hasnKt -entioned the fight again@ so heKs not angry.
;3
&o' to use your /urprisometer to Budge /trength of 7vidence as a surprisal difference
1 ,-agine you knew that your hypothesis 'as true 9you like the +ook:. Would it +e surprising to find out
that you sa' the e5idence that you o+ser5ed 9that your friend liked it@ too:?
2 ,-agine you knew that your hypothesis 'as false 9you donKt like the +ook:. Would it +e surprising to
find out that you sa' the e5idence that you o+ser5ed 9that your friend liked it@ too:?
3 Co-pare ho' far out on your surprise0o0-eter each of these hypotheticals fall.
a ,f thereKs a large disparity@ the e5idence is stronger.
b ,f the gap is s-all@ the e5idence is weaker.
4 ,t could +e that youKd +e very surprised to see this e5idence in either case. Whether or not intelligent
aliens e8ist@ youKd +e surprised to +e personally contacted. *ut the gap is large@ e5en though +oth
scenarios are une8pected.
;;
=ractice using your /urprisometer to Budge /trength of 7vidence as a surprisal difference:
*magine you knew the hypothesis was true. O =ow surprising would it ,e to have o,served this
evidence" =ow surprised would you ,e to see it if the hypothesis were definitely false" +ompare your
surprise gap to 3udge whether this evidence is strong, moderate, or weak. %hen you.ve rated them all,
check if propositions in the same category feel similar, or if you want to su,divide your ratings.
1. 4he restaurant canKt +e good@ or it 'ould +e -ore cro'ded.
9This means you are more surprised
when a good restaurant turns our to
,e not crowded than when a ,ad
restaurant turns out to ,e more
crowded.:
3. A 5olunteer fro- the ca-paign 5isited -e? thatKs e5idence that theyKre 'ell0organiFed.
;.
;
=ractice using your /urprisometer to form a =osterior as a surprisal difference
*magine you knew the hypothesis was true. O =ow surprising would it ,e to have o,served this
evidence" =ow surprised would you ,e to see it if the hypothesis were definitely false" +ompare your
surprise gap to 3udge whether this evidence is strong, moderate, or weak. %hen you.ve rated them all,
check if propositions in the same category feel similar, or if you want to su,divide your ratings.
1. Example: 4his restaurant canKt +e good@ or it 'ould +e -ore cro'ded.
3. A 5olunteer fro- the ca-paign 5isited -e? thatKs e5idence that theyKre 'ell0organiFed.
;2
;3
=ractice choosing 'hat evidence to seek
1ick K of the examples from the previous list. Try to come up with a different piece of evidence that
would ,e stronger evidence for the given hypothesis. ?se either likelihood ratios or surprisal
differences to compare your assessments of strength of evidence.
1ick K of the examples from the previous list. Try to come up with a different piece of evidence that
would ,e 'eaker evidence for the given hypothesis. ?se either the 2ualitative or 2uantitative exercises
to compare your assessments of strength of evidence.
;9
4uilding 4ayes &abits @ 0urther
Resources
"nce a person has a theory in -ind that e8plains 'hy so-ething happened@ they tend to gi5e too -uch
'eight to that theory and not pay enough attention to alternati5e hypotheses. Research on the
Lunpacking effectM@ for e8a-ple@ has found that people tend to o5eresti-ate the likelihood of possi+le
e8planations that they ha5e e8plicitly considered@ and underesti-ate the likelihood that so-e other
unstated e8planation is correct 945ersky [ Poehler@ 199;:.
45ersky@ A.@ [ Poehler@ <.Y. 9199;:. Support theory? A none8tensional representation of
su+Hecti5e pro+a+ility. 1sychological &eview@ 111@ .;2#.2.
http?EEgoo.glEoJ>F>
4he first e8planation that a person considers can ha5e a disproportionate effect on the conclusions that
they reach@ +ecause oneKs attention and reasoning are often guided +y the +est0a5aila+le0theory 'hich is
at hand. 4his leads to se5eral related +iases in ho' people interpret infor-ation and test their
hypotheses@ 'hich are for-s of confir-ation +ias.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEConfir-ationZ+ias
,ntentionally considering alternati5e e8planations and i-agining 'hat you 'ould see if they 'ere true
is an instance of the strategy called Lconsider the oppositeM@ 'hich is one of the de+iasing techniBues
'ith the strongest e-pirical support for countering confir-ation +ias and other cogniti5e +iases
96arrick@ %11;:.
6arrick@ R. !. 9%11;:. <e+iasing. ,n <. Y. Poehler [ >. &ar5ey 9/ds.:@ #lackwell =and,ook of
Cudgment and !ecision 5aking 9pp. 310332:. "8ford? (P.
http?EEgoo.glEner*h
/5aluating the strength of the e5idence is one co-ponent of *ayesK theore-@ 'hich is the -athe-atical
rule for ho' to reason under uncertainty. An online e8planation of *ayesK theore-@ including a gradual
introduction to the -ath in5ol5ed?
/lieFer )udko'sky@ LAn ,ntuiti5e /8planation of *ayesA 4heore-M
http?EEyudko'sky.netErationalE+ayes
*ase rate neglect 9the under'eighting of prior pro+a+ilities@ such as the fact that there are -ore
+usiness -aHors than -ath -aHors: is a co--on error of pro+a+ilistic reasoning@ as people tend to pay
too -uch attention to the salient piece of e5idence and neglect their +ackground kno'ledge. A re5ie'
article on heuristics and +iases research@ including +ase rate neglect?
A-erican !sychologist@ .3@ 9202%1.
.1
Concretely i-agining a scenario as if it is near0at0hand can allo' people to -ake use of infor-ation in
their -inds 'hich they do not access 'hen thinking -ore a+stractly a+out the e5ent. Research on
Construal 6e5el 4heory has docu-ented ho' peopleKs thoughts a+out an e5ent 5ary 'ith psychological
distance?
4rope@ ).@ [ 6i+er-an@ >. 9%111:. Construal le5el theory of psychological distance.
1sychological &eview@ 112@ ;;10;3.
http?EEpsych.nyu.eduEtropeE4ropeZ6i+er-anZ%111.pdf
"ne line of research sho'ing the +enefits of thinking a+out an e5ent as if it is near0at0hand has 5aried
'hether the e5ent actually is near0at0hand. (nrealistic opti-is- a+out oneKs perfor-ance is co--on
for e5ents that are hypothetical or far in the future@ +ut people +eco-e -ore realistic a+out tasks that
they are a+out to perfor-. 9Ar-or [ Sackett@ %11:.
Ar-or@ <. A.@ [ Sackett@ A. M. 9%11:. Accuracy@ error@ and +ias in predictions for real 5ersus
hypothetical e5ents. Yournal of !ersonality and Social !sychology@ 91@ .33#11.
http:HHgoo.glHDos%F
.1
3our 6nner /imulator
When you -o5e to catch a falling pen +efore you co-pute the para+ola itKs tracing out or 'hen you
notice a friend is upset Hust +y the 'ay they enter the roo- 9e5en if you couldnKt e8plain how you
noticed:@ youKre using your ,nner Si-ulator.
4his unit 'ill help you learn?
When to trust this kind of intuition@ and
&o' you can harness it to sol5e the pro+le-s itKs +est suited for.
So@ 'hat is your ,nner Si-ulator and 'hat does it do?
6nner /imulator 7xplicit/>erbal ?odels
!art of Pahne-anKs Syste- 1 !art of Pahne-anKs Syste- %
Called OanticipationsK on 6ess Wrong
9pro-pts fear 'hen dog enters the roo-:
Called OprofessionsK on 6ess Wrong
9e.g. L, +elie5e the dog is safeM:
6earns 'ell +y 'atching@ storing up e8a-plesG
-ust +e sho'n ho'@ not told ho'
6earns 'ell fro- te8t+ooks@ statistics@ Wikipedia
Good at social Hudg-ent and other situations
'here you ha5e a lot of e8perience
Good at noticing eBui5alences and refra-es
9e.g. R1 E day and R3. E year are eBui5alent:
=ulnera+le to gi5ing different ans'ers
depending on ho' Buery is fra-ed
=ulnera+le to distortion +y 'ishful thinking@
ideology
-o, make sure you.re accessing your *nner -imulator using the kinds of prompts that it.s good at
answeringL You can imagine your -imulator as a piece of hardware that has a couple ,uilt in functions
you can pass information. =ere are three useful functions:
.%
Start-a-movie: What happens next?
*nput: =isualiFe the +eginning of a scenario@ 5i5idly
Output: What does your si-ulator see happening ne8t?
/8a-ples?
Input: A laptop placed 1V of the 'ay off the ta+le.
Output?
Input: ,-agine lifting a piece of 'ater-elon to your -outh and taking a +ite.
Output?
Input: !icture sneaking up on a friend at their desk. )ou take ai- 'ith your 'ater gun and pull
the trigger.
Output?
Surprise-o-meter: How surprised do I feel?
*nput: =isualiFe a scenario fro- start to finish
Output: &o' surprised do you feel? &o' -uch dis+elief are you suspending?
/8a-ples?
Input: )ouKre trying to figure out ho' -uch food to +uy for a party to 'hich %. people
RS=!Kd. =isualiFe %1 people sho'ing up.
Output?
Input: =isualiFe 21 people sho'ing up to the party in the pre5ious e8a-ple.
Output?
Input: ,-agine you finished a specific current proHect in less than half the ti-e youK5e allotted
for yourself.
Output?
Input: ,-agine you find out that in three -onths you ha5enKt -ade any deli+erate use of your
,nner Si-ulator.
Output?
Your surprise:o:meter is discussed more in the #ayes unit.
.3
re-hindsight: What went right!wrong?
*nput: ,-agine finding out 9in a -essage fro- the future: 'hether a proHect succeeded or not
Output: What e8planation leaps to -ind a+out 'hy this happened?
/8a-ples?
Input: 4hink of a specific e-ail you plan to send in the ne8t fe' days. ,-agine you find out
tomorrow that the e-ail youKre a+out to send ticked off the recipient.
Output?
Input: ,-agine you get a 5isit fro- you0fro-0the0future 'ho tells you to -ake sure you stay at
your current Ho+ for the ne8t year@ thanks you 'ar-ly@ and then 5anishes.
Output?
Input: ,-agine you find out that in three -onths you ha5enKt -ade any deli+erate use of your
,nner Si-ulator.
Output?
.;
"eing Specific: #a$ing the "est %se of &our Inner Simulator
4hese are three 'ays you can -ake function calls on your ,nner Si-ulator@ +ut ho' can you -ake sure
youKre passing it the +est inputs? )our ,nner Si-ulator is especially good at +eing a check on 'ishful
thinking or 'hat you feel like you ought to +elie5e@ +ut you need to -ake sure your e8plicitE5er+al
-odels arenKt rigging the ga-e +y phrasing Buestions the 'rong 'ay.
*y +eing specific@ concrete@ and 5i5id@ you can -ostly a5oid getting stuck in Gar+age ,n@ Gar+age "ut.
4he (sk for ExamplesL and 0ext (ctions skills 'ill help.
.sk for 7xamples9
$or a concrete e8a-ple of using e8a-ples@ try this story fro- -urely You.re Coking, 5r. 6eynmanL
, had a sche-e@ 'hich , still use today 'hen so-e+ody is e8plaining so-ething that ,A- trying to
understand? , keep -aking up e8a-ples. $or instance@ the -athe-aticians 'ould co-e in 'ith a
terrific theore-@ and theyAre all e8cited. As theyAre telling -e the conditions of the theore-@ ,
construct so-ething 'hich fits all the conditions. )ou kno'@ you ha5e a set 9one +all: 0 disHoint
9t'o +alls:. 4hen the +alls turn colors@ gro' hairs@ or 'hate5er@ in -y head as they put -ore
conditions on. $inally they state the theore-@ 'hich is so-e du-+ thing a+out the +all 'hich isnAt
true for -y hairy green +all thing@ so , say@ D$alseUD
,f itAs true@ they get all e8cited@ and , let the- go on for a 'hile. 4hen , point out -y
countere8a-ple.
D"h. We forgot to tell you that itAs Class % &ausdorff ho-o-orphic.D
)our inner si-ulator needs so-ething to 5isualiFe. Yust saying so-ething as 'ords isnKt enough. )ou
'ant so-ething specific that your i-agination can interact 'ith. )ou can ask yourself for e8a-ples@
tooU
Asking for e8a-ples is a really handy thing to do in con5ersation. When you keep your ,nner
Si-ulator engaged during a con5ersation@ and keep feeding it data@ you -ight notice that itKs easier to?
1. 0otice if your friend.s claim is false # Yust like $eyn-an@ you -ay +e a+le to notice where the
error is@ instead of Hust ha5ing a 5ague sense of so-ething not adding up if youKre concrete.
%. 0otice if you.re misunderstanding your friend # When 'e listen to so-eone else@ 'e try to
appro8i-ate and anticipate 'hat theyKre e8plaining. ,f you ask for e8a-ples fro- your friend@
you can see if youK5e +een accidentally adding or lea5ing out e8traneous features on yours.
3. 0otice if youKre the one who.s wrong # ,tKs easy to a5oid noticing if youK5e -ade a -istakeG itKs
painfulU 4he -ore concrete your disagree-ent is@ the easier it is to notice if thereKs a fla' in
your o'n argu-ent and to o'n up to it.
..
,ext .ctions
A goal isnKt the sa-e thing as a plan. , -ight ha5e the goal of e8ercising -ore@ +ut to ha5e a plan ,
need to think a+out 'hen ,Kll go to the gy-@ 'hat ,Kll do@ and ho' ,Kll re-e-+er in the -o-ent.
*ut +efore , get up to any of those parts of the plan@ ,Kll need to take -y next action, 'hich -ight +e
printing out -y gy- coupon or setting a re-inder in -y calendar or choosing a ti-e to go +uy 'orkout
clothes. A next action is the step that sets your plan in -otion. ,tKs the first thing youKd ha5e to do to
keep the plan going@ 'hich is often as pedestrian as putting so-ething on your calendar or placing a
li+rary hold or asking so-eone to ha5e coffee to talk o5er the plan. "ften@ 'hen youKre deciding on a
ne8t action@ itKs helpful to think a+out a trigger # so-e specific e5ent or ti-e that re-inds you to do
your ne8t action 9such as .p- 4uesday@ or 'hen -y +oss returns -y e-ail@ or 'hen , 'ake up
to-orro' -orning :
%rite down one goal you have Ja larger scale thing you want to accomplishI:
Take a few minutes to think a,out your plan to make this goal happen. %hat.s the next action you need
to take to get the plan moving"
%hat specific trigger will let you know when it.s time to complete this next action"
0ow practice going through this process a few more times:
Roal:
0ext action:
Trigger:
Roal:
0ext action:
Trigger:
.
Inner Simulator ractice: #urph'(itsu)
MurphyKs 6a' says that anything that can go 'rong 'ill go 'rong@ +ut you can use so-e of the skills
and safeguards youK5e learned for your ,nner Si-ulator to anticipate and e5ade these haFards.
-tep ;: 1ick a planHpro3ectHgoal
-tep F: 5ake it specific enough to visuali'e.
WhatKs the ne8t action you 'ould need to take to keep this proHectEplan -o5ing for'ard? ,t should +e
concrete enough that you can picture yourself doing it@ not so-ething 5ague like L'ork out -ore.M
-tep K: +heck your surprise:o:meter
=isualiFe putting this plan in -otion@ then ask@ ho' surprised 'ould , +e if this plan failed? ,f youKd +e
shocked@ then youKre doneU "ther'ise@ continue to step ;.
-tep E: ?se 1re:=indsight
)our plan didnKt 'orkU And it failed at the stage of the ne8t action you 'rote in Step %U What
happened?
-tep B: ?se $ooking 6orward
What action 'ould you ha5e had to take to pre5ent this particular failure -ode? =isualiFe taking this
pree-pti5e action and then ask LWhat co-es ne8t?M &a5e you successfully defused the danger? <id
you create a ne' 'eak point to patch?
-tep S: *terateL
Repeat Steps 30. se5eral ti-es 9so-eti-es this techniBue is called LSi-ulate 12 ti-es@ act onceM:.
What else -ight ha5e gone 'rong? What could ha5e pre5ented it? )ouKre +attle0hardening your plan
against happenstance and poor ha+its. Re-e-+er that this should +e 5ery Buick # all L12M iterations
should take -ay+e a fe' -inutes total.
.2
3our 6nner /imulator @ 0urther
Resources
Pahne-an and 45ersky 9193%: proposed that people often use a si-ulation heuristic to -ake
Hudg-ents. Mental si-ulation of a scenario is used to -ake predictions +y i-agining a situation and
then running the si-ulation to see 'hat happens ne8t@ and it is also to gi5e e8planations for e5ents +y
-entally changing prior e5ents and seeing if the outco-es changes.
Pahne-an@ <. [ 45ersky@ A. 9193%:. 4he si-ulation heuristic. ,n <. Pahne-an@ !. Slo5ic@ [ A.
45ersky 9eds.: Cudgment under uncertainty: =euristics and ,iases 9pp. %110%13:.
Research on -ental si-ulation has found that i-agining future or hypothetical e5ents dra's on -uch
of the sa-e neural circuitry that is used in -e-ory. 4he ease 'ith 'hich a si-ulated scenario is
generated often see-s to +e used as a cue to the likelihood of that scenario. $or a re5ie'@ see?
SFpunar@ P.P. 9%111:. /pisodic future thought? An e-erging concept. 1erspectives on
1sychological -cience@ B@ 1;%01%.
http?EEgoo.glEg1>>,
L$ocusingM is a practice of introspection syste-atiFed +y psychotherapist /ugene Gendlin 'hich seeks
to +uild a path'ay of co--unication and feed+ack +et'een a personKs Lfelt senseM of 'hat is going on
9an internal a'areness 'hich is often difficult to articulate: and their 5er+al e8planations. ,t can +e
understood as a -ethod of Buerying oneKs inner si-ulator 9and related parts of Syste- 1:. GendlinKs
9193%: +ook 6ocusing pro5ides a guide to this techniBue@ 'hich can +e used either indi5idually or 'ith
others 9in therapy or other de+ugging con5ersations:.
Gendlin@ /ugene 9193%:. 6ocusing. Second edition@ *anta- *ooks.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE$ocusing
4he idea of identifying the concrete Lne8t actionM for any plan 'as de5eloped +y <a5id Allen in his
+ook Retting Things !one.
Mitchell@ Russo@ and !ennington 91939: de5eloped the techniBue 'hich they called Lprospecti5e
hindsight.M 4hey found that people 'ho i-agined the-sel5es in a future 'orld 'here an outco-e had
already occurred 'ere a+le to think of -ore plausi+le paths +y 'hich it could occur@ co-pared 'ith
people 'ho -erely considered the outco-e as so-ething that -ight occur. <ecision -aking
researcher Gary Plein has used this techniBue 'hen consulting 'ith organiFations to run Lpre-orte-sM
on proHects under consideration? assu-e that the proHect has already happened and failedG 'hy did it
fail? PleinKs 9%112: t'o0page article pro5ides a useful su--ary of this techniBue.
Mitchell@ <.@ Russo@ Y.@ [ !ennington@ >. 91939:. *ack to the future? 4e-poral perspecti5e in
.3
the e8planation of e5ents. Cournal of #ehavioral !ecision 5aking@ F@ %.#33.
http?EEgoo.glEG)Whg
Plein@ G. 9%112:. !erfor-ing a proHect pre-orte-. =arvard #usiness &eview@ PB@ 13019.
http?EEh+r.orgE%112E19Eperfor-ing0a0proHect0pre-orte-EarE1
.9
7motional Re1.ssociation
4rainstorming a 'ish list of emotions
$or each ro' in the ta+le +elo'@ think of?
1. A target situation 'here you -ight like to change ho' you feel 9+onus points if itAs a recurring
situation:.
Example: (lice forgets to send me some documents * asked her for.
%. 4he e-otion or e-otions J youAd typically feel in that situation.
Example: *ndignation... it feels like something is unfair...
3. A possi+le ne' e-otion ) youAd like to feel instead.
Example: (mused... some people find (lice funny... could * ,e amused ,y the situation
instead"
&int? it -ight help to think of so-eone else 'ho reacts differently than you. &o' -ight
they feel differently fro- you?
;. A situation that inspiresEcauses you to feel the ne' e-otion ).
Example: %hen my friend #o, forgets things, * find it funny and forgive him.
9lea5e the L!ri-ary affectsM section +lank unless 'eA5e discussed the- first.:
1. 4arget situation %. 4ypical e-otion 9J: 3. >e' e-otion 9): ;. Situation inspiring )
Example: (lice doesn4t
send me those
documents.
*ndignation... feels like
something is unfair...
!ri-ary affects?
&(RE
(musement"
!ri-ary affects?
1$(Y
%hen my little cousin
drops his toys.
!ri-ary affects? !ri-ary affects?
9lea5e the L!ri-ary affectsM section +lank unless 'eA5e discussed the- first:
1
1. 4arget situation %. 4ypical e-otion 9J: 3. >e' e-otion 9): ;. Situation inspiring )
!ri-ary affects?
&(RE
!ri-ary affects?
1$(Y
Tips if you get stuckF
4ry +ro'sing this list of e-otions taken fro- Wikipedia?
Anger
Annoyance
,rritation
$rustration
Conte-pt
<isgust
$ear
<ou+tful
Worried
An8ious
&elplessness
!o'erlessness
Sadness
<isappoint-ent
/-+arrass-ent
Sha-e
Guilt
/n5y
Arousal
Cra5ing
Curiosity
,nterest
Surprise
6ust
Caring
6o5e
Affection
$riendliness
Courage
&ope
Cal-
Content-ent
Rela8ation
Relief
Serenity
4rust
&appiness
A-use-ent
/8cite-ent
<elight
!ride
Yoy
,f 'eA5e already discussed Lpri-ary e-otional affectsM@ try focussing on those?
RAG/ S//P,>G <isgust?
$/AR CAR,>G Surprise?
6"SS 6(S4
!6A)
1
Cultivating a ne' emotion
/tep 1F =ick an emotion to cultivate
,dentify a ne' e-otion that could help you in so-e 'ay. ,t could +e one you chose in your 'ish list@ or
so-ething different.
Consider the +asic e-otions discussed +y !anksepp and others?
RAG/ S//P,>G <isgust?
$/AR CAR,>G Surprise?
6"SS 6(S4
!6A)
4ry to temporarily suspend appraisal@ i.e. try not to assign Hudg-ent or appro5al to yourself@
your e-otions@ your situation@ or other people. 4hink of things as they are@ in ter-s of cause
and effect@ rather than in ter-s of DshouldD or DoughtD.
/tep F :ook for an inspiration
Examples ,elow are for 1$(Y:
1. What are so-e specific situations that cause or inspire you to feel )?
Example: %hen my nephew takes something from me and * chase after him, * feel playful.
%. Are there any songs( books( movies( or historical events that -ake you feel )?
Example: %hen * feel really wrapped up in some deep philosophical 2uestion, remem,ering the
movie * =eart =ucka,ees makes me feel more playful a,out it.
%
/tep %F Cognition/emotion associations
4hink of the ne' e-otion ) that you 'ant to culti5ate@ and +uild your a'areness of 'hat -ental
associations you ha5e 'ith it.
9$or no'@ donAt think a+out 'here you 'ant to culti5ate itG instead Hust focus on the e-otion itself.:
1. What does feeling ) already help you do?
Example: * find it easier to ,rainstorm new ideas and try new things when * feel playful.
%. When you feel )@ 'hat are so-e things you -ight think?
Example: Tee hee, this is awesome.
3. What -ight you say?
Example: Oh man, what if we...
;. &o' can you tell 'hen other people -ight +e feeling )? <oes that gi5e you -ore ideas for the
Buestions a+o5e?
Example: They smile more, and may,e they seem a little ,ouncy"
3
/tep %F 4ody/emotion associations
Peep thinking a+out the e-otion ) that you 'ant to culti5ate@ and no' +uild your a'areness of
physical associations 'ith it.
Examples ,elow are for the -EE>*0R affect:.
1. What physical environments or situations increase your likelihood of feeling )?
Example: when *4m outdoors and exploring places, * feel -EE>*0R, like * know there4s something
interesting to ,e found.
%. Where in your body do you feel )@ and ho'?
Example: in my forehead and eye,rows, and may,e my hands.
3. What physical movements are you inclined to -ake 'hen you feel )?
Example: forward movements like reaching, learning, and walking, peering, tilting my head...
;. What happens to your voice 'hen you feel )?
Example: * think * speak faster, with more staccato, and end with more upward inflexions.
.. <oes ) re-ind you of a te8ture? 4e-perature? Color? Anything else?
Example: 5y environment feels crisp and open, like stars at night7 f* also feel like *4m ,eing pulled,
directed, and am reminded of the colors ,lue and orange.
;
/tep )F :ook for lo'1hanging fruit
What are so-e situations in your life 'here you donAt feel )@ +ut 'here it -ight +e helpful and not too
difficult?
Example: * could feel more -EE>*0RHcuriosity when *4m talking to others a,out their work.
>o' choose a target situation 'here you feel minimal resistance to feeling ). 4o get started@ 'e 'ant
to ai- for easy e-otional shifts@ not difficult ones. May+e one of the target situations fro- your 'ish
list see-s like lo' hanging fruit@ +ut if it doesnAt@ try to think of an easier application to 'ork on first.
/tep +F Re1associate
4hink +ack to the situations that naturally inspire ) for you. >o' ask yourself?
%hat can * do to approach my target situation more like my inspiring situation"
1. Change the situationA
Example: * could listen to some music that would make me feel silly and less irrita,le. (nd * can
avoid talking to #o, right ,efore dinner, when * tend to ,e cranky.
%. Reframe your thoughtsA
Example: 5ay,e if * think of #o, a little more as not knowing any ,etter, * might find his 2uirks
funny and endearing instead of annoying, sort of the way * tend to see my little ,rother.
3. ?ove your body differentlyA
Example: * tend to cross my arms when *4m feeling 3udgmental... if * can uncross my arms as a
reminder, * might feel a little ,it like *4m ,reaking my pattern of 3udgment towards #o,.
Circle your fa5orite ideas a+o5e so you can co-e +ack to the- later and try the- outU
.
2nit ,otesF 7motional Re1.ssociation
,A5e +egun to think of each of -y units as organiFed around a method 000 a useful -ental procedure or
-o5e-ent 000 along 'ith so-e tools that can +e used as part of the -ethod.
4he method of this unit 'ill +e designing and implementing changes in how our emotions work@ 'hich
, like to call D/-otional Re0associationD. ,tAs like refra-ing@ +ut in5ol5es +odily associations as 'ell.
,n +road +rush0strokes@ the -ethod is this?
7motional Re1.ssociationF The ?ethod
1. Choose a recurring situation or thought J a+out 'hich you -ight 'ant
to try t'eaking your e-otions.
%. Choose a ne' emotion you could try feeling instead.
3. Think of other situations 'here you already feel that ne' e-otion.
;. Reflect on ho' you think/feel/speak/act/etc. in the those other situations@
5s in the recurring situation fro- step 1.
.. 2se 11) as inspiration for ne' 'ays to
change your situation@
refra-e your thoughts@ and
-o5e your +ody
in 'ays that -ight culti5ate the desired e-otion.
A nu-+er of concepts and techniBues 'ill +e presented as tools for doing this@ 'hich can +e generally
useful on their o'n?
7motional Re1.ssociationF The Tools
A +asic understanding of ho' e-otions physically 'ork in the +rain and
the +ody
A list of se5en pri-ary e-otional affects
Questions for pro+ing your e-otional associations
Situational changes
Mental refra-es
!hysical -o5e-ents
. story about curiosity

"ne day 'hile preparing for -y !h< oral Bualifying e8a- in alge+raic geo-etry@ , 'as -eeting 'ith
-y ad5isor to co-pute the genus of so-e cur5es. 9$or the purposes of this story@ think of the genus of
a cur5e is the nu-+er of holes in it:. ,n the -iddle of 'orking@ 'e paused and had a con5ersation that
'ent like this?
Ad5isor? DWait a -inute... are you curious a+out this pro+le-?D
Me? D"h@ definitely. , really lo5e this topic.D
Ad5isor? D>o@ , didnAt ask if you loved it... are you curious a+out it?D
Me? D"h yeah@ for sure. , find this kind of pro+le- really fun.D
Ad5isor? D)eah@ +ut ,A- not asking if you find it fun... ,A- asking if youAre curious a+out it.
What , -ean is@ do you want to know the answer"D
My ans'er 'as a resounding no. So , +egan to 'onder@ *s this what people mean ,y ,eing curious"
%anting to know the answer" * usually 3ust en3oy the process of figuring it out...
&a5ing recently read Affecti5e >euroscience@ a list of se5en pri-ary e-otional affects co--on to all
-a--als ca-e to -ind? RAG/@ $/AR@ 6"SS@ CAR,>G@ 6(S4@ !6A)@ and S//P,>G. , +egan to
realiFe that a lot of -y -oti5ation 'hile doing -ath ca-e fro- lo5ing the su+Hect 000 'hich to -e felt
like the CAR,>G affect 000 and finding it fun to think a+out 000 'hich felt like !6A) affect.
4hat e5ening@ hypothesiFing that that -y ad5isor felt a kind of S//P,>G affect a+out -ath that ,
didnAt@ , decided , 'anted to culti5ate -ore of it. So , thought a+out other situations 'hen , did feel
S//P,>G@ the 'ay a sBuirrel 'ants to find nuts@ e5en 'hen itAs not hungry.
$or -e@ the strongest feelings ca-e fro-
actually pretending to ,e a s2uirrel. So@
, held up -y te8t+ook and +egan pa'ing
through the pages in 'hat felt like a
sBuirrel0like -anner@ i-agining , needed
to find a lot of cur5es and co-pute their
genii so , could store then -y +urro' for
the cold hard 'inter that 'as to +e -y
Bualifying e8a-. With a fe' -ore
intentional e-otional re0associations like
that@ , le5eled up fro- studying ; hours a
day to 1%... and , nailed -y e8a-.
2
?etaphor 1F 7motions as children
,-agine you ha5e a child@ and heAs asking you to feed hi- ice cu+es for +reakfast. So-e people -ight
react +y saying@
D<onAt +e foolish@ eat your eggsUD
"thers -ight say@
D"h yes honey@ 'hate5er you feel like you can ha5eUD

*ut consider a third reaction?
=uh, why does my kid want ice cu,es" @googling H asking a doctorT =uhL That4s a symptom of
anemiaL DAlright honey@ you can ha5e ice cu+es@ right after you finish eating this iron fortified
cerealUD
&ere@ 'e learn so-ething fro- the fact that the child is asking for ice cu+es@ and do so-ething
producti5e a+out it@ 'ithout necessarily taking the childAs reBuest as face 5alue.
We can take a si-ilar approach to e-otions. ,nstead of saying
DShut up@ stupid e-otionsUD@ or
D, -ust do 'hate5er -y heart tells -e at all ti-esUD@
'e can 'onder ho' our e-otions 'ork@ and 'hat they -ight -ean. 4hat +rings us to our ne8t
-etaphor@ 'hich is actually pretty close to Hust +eing true.
3
?etaphor F 7motions as 5rgans
4he lim,ic system is a region in the +rains of -a--als co--only kno'n as Lthe e-otional +rainM
+ecause of its in5ol5e-ent in processing e-otions.
4here ha5e +een -any atte-pts to classify hu-an
e-otions and their features throughout history. 4o
+e sure 'e are really Lcar5ing reality at the HointsM@
here 'e focus our attention around se5en circuits
that ha5e +een found in the li-+ic syste-s of
hu-ans and other -a--als.
4he acti5ity of these circuits are called primary
JemotionalI affects +y !anksepp et al@ and ha5e +een
gi5en folk na-es +ased on the +eha5iors they see-
to e5oke. *y con5ention@ their na-es are capitaliFed
to signal that they refer to a particular neurological
circuit@ 'hich -ay not correspond perfectly to the
folk use of the ter-. 4hey are?
R.87
07.R
:5//
/77J6,8
C.R6,8
:2/T
=:.3
Cross0cultural face0recognition
studies +y /k-an et al. ha5e
identified t'o other hu-an affects
'hich are less understood at the
neurological le5el. ,n /nglish@ they
are called disgust and surprise.
Cust like organs, emotions are physically real things, they have analogues across various species, they
serve very important functions, and they can sometimes malfunction.
9
RAG/?
$/AR?
6"SS?
<isgust? Surprise?
21
CAR,>G?
6(S4?
!6A)?
S//P,>G?

21
2%
Panksepp, p.44, Figure 3.2, "... a more accurate perspective that is based
on existing neuroscience evidence, where centrally situated emotional
systems in the brain extensively interact, in strong and weak ways as
highlighted by bolder and lighter lines, respectively!, with higher and lower
brain "unctions."
#he autonomic nervous system $%&!, divided into the sympathetic nervous
system &%&! and the parasympathetic nervous system P&%&!' image "rom
"rom scholarpedia.org
?etaphor %F 7motions as .pps
"ur e-otions process huge a-ounts of data e8tre-ely Buickly@ al+eit so-eti-es in a +uggy 'ay.
6earning to use the- effecti5ely is like using a li+rary of apps that donAt al'ays 'ork as e8pected@ +ut
'hich are nonetheless e8tre-ely po'erful@ and fa-iliariFing 'ith the- is the +est 'ay to get the -ost
our of the-.
4o dra' an analogy@ itAs good to kno' that Google Maps should not +e trusted 'hen youAre in a tunnel
or so-e'here else 'here G!S -ight not 'ork so 'ell. "ne response is to think DStupid Google Maps
is so irrationalUD and discard it. Another response is to trust it co-pletely at all ti-es. *ut clearly the
opti-al approach is to kno' 'hen and ho' to use and interpret google -aps -ost effecti5ely. We can
take the sa-e approach to our e-otion
KCauses( not LustificationsK
When thinking a+out our e-otions@ it can +e enlightening to focus attention away from 'hat 'e think
of as DBustificationsD 9e.g.@ ,A- Hustified in +eing angry 'ith you +ecause you did a +ad thing: and ask
-ore neutralEo+Hecti5e Buestions of cause and effect 9e.g.@ -y anger is +eing caused +y a co-+ination
of not getting 'hat , 'anted@ re-e-+ering a pre5ious angry situation@ and not ha5ing eaten in a 'hile:.
4e-porarily turning off thinking in ter-s of HustEunHust@ goodE+ad@ or 'antedEun'anted is so-eti-es
called suspending appraisal.
23
7motional Re1.ssociation @ 0urther
Resources
Ani-al +eha5ioral neuroscience has identified se5eral +asic e-otions that are shared +y -a--als and
can +e induced +y directly sti-ulating the +rain.
!anksepp Y. 1993. (ffective neuroscience. >e' )ork@ >)? "8ford (ni5ersity !ress.
An inter5ie' 'ith Yaak !anksepp@ a foundational researcher in ani-al +eha5ioral neuroscience?
http?EEgoo.glE2y3Yd
Researchers studying the psychology of Hudg-ent and decision0-aking ha5e noted the large influence
that e-otions and other 5isceral states 9such as hunger or tiredness: can ha5e on thoughts and actions.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE/-otionsZinZdecision0-aking
6erner@ Y. [ Peltner@ <. 9%111:. *eyond =alence? 4o'ard a -odel of e-otion0specific
influences on Hudg-ent and choice. +ognition and Emotion@ ;E@ ;230;93.
http?EEgoo.glE(!a9H
/-otion regulation research has identified a 5ariety of -ethods to influence oneAs o'n e-otions@ 'hich
include strategies used +efore and after the full0+lo'n e-otional response takes place. A strategy that
has +een found to +e effecti5e is reappraisal 9refra-ing a situation:. $or e8a-ple@ people 'ho sa' a
slidesho' of grisly i-ages 'hile taking on the point of 5ie' of a -edical professional felt less disgust@
+ut 'ere still a+le to re-e-+er the contents of 'hat they had seen 9for a re5ie'@ see Gross@ %11%:.
Gross@ Y. Y. 9%11%:. /-otion regulation? Affecti5e@ cogniti5e@ and social conseBuences.
1sychophysiology@ KQ@ %31091.
http?EEspr'e+.orgEarticlesEGross1%.pdf
!eople can also influence their o'n e-otions through their +odies. A gro'ing nu-+er of carefully
controlled studies sho' +i0directional causal relationships +et'een a personKs e-otions and their facial
e8pressions@ posture@ and other +odily e8pressions of e-otion. $or e8a-ple@ acti5ating the -uscles
in5ol5ed in a s-ile increases feelings of happiness@ e5en for people 'ho are not thinking of their facial
+eha5ior as a s-ile 9+ecause they are follo'ing instructions to hold a pencil in their -outh:.
Mc,ntosh@ <. >. 9199:. $acial feed+ack hypotheses? /5idence@ i-plications@ and directions.
5otivation and Emotion@ FA@ 1%101;2.
http?EEgoo.glE$B.G7
2;
Si-ilarly@ anything that increases a personKs heart rate 9such as crossing a rickety +ridge: can -ake
the- -ore likely to feel other high0intensity e-otions 9such as ro-antic attraction:.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEMisattri+utionZofZarousal
2.
8oal 0actoring
/tep 1F =ick an .ction
!ick an action that you do freBuently or are planning to do freBuently.
Write it here? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
/tep F :ist 8oals
6ist the goals you hope to achie5e +y the action.
Re-e-+er?
4here is a difference +et'een 'anting to +e J and 'anting to appear to +e J.
4here is a difference +et'een 'anting to do J and 'anting to appear to do J.
<onKt forget a+out goals pertaining to interpersonal relationshipsU
<onKt forget a+out goals pertaining to social acceptanceU
Goals?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
/tep %F <esign 4etter =lans
Go through your goals one at a ti-e. $ocus on Hust that one goal.
*rainstor- ne' 'ays of achie5ing that goal. 4ry to find a +etter plan than you ha5e no'.
After you finish one goal@ -o5e on to the ne8t.
2
/tep )F ,otice &idden 8oals
Were you unhappy 'ith your ne' plan?
May+e thereKs another goal your old action satisfied that youK5e left out of your diagra-.
,tKs 'orth ackno'ledging your i-plicit goals@ e5en if you 'ould find the- a'k'ard to ad-it pu+licly.
Add in any i-plicit goals and try to co-e up 'ith ne' 'ays to achie5e the-.
/tep +F Think in Terms of Currencies
4ry thinking in ter-s of currencies.
&o' -uch -oney does this action cost?
&o' -uch ti-e?
&o' -uch attention?
&o' -uch political capital? etc.
!ick an action and 'rite do'n ans'ers to these Buestions.
4hen@ try to find cheaper 'ays to purchase the 5ery sa-e results and 'rite those do'n.
22
/tep -F :ook for <eeper 8oals
!ick one of your goals. <o you 5alue it for its o'n sake?
,f so@ thatKs fine. Select a different goal.
,f not@ 'hy do you 5alue it? Write do'n the further goals it ser5es.
94ry thought e8peri-entsU:
After you finish one goal@ -o5e on to the ne8t. 4race the goals deeper and deeper.
0urther 2ses( 8reater >alue
WeK5e seen ho' you can co-e up 'ith +etter plans for achie5ing your surface0le5el goals.
4he sa-e is true for your deeper goals. And the payoff is often significantly higher.
23
8oal 0actoring @ 0urther Resources
&u-an +eha5ior is co--only goal0directed@ rather than proceeding ai-lessly@ +ut people are far fro-
syste-atic in ho' they pursue their goals. $or e8a-ple@ a person -ight put a lot of effort into sa5ing
R.1 in one conte8t@ 'hile 'asting hundreds of dollars in another conte8t@ +ecause they consider each
decision in isolation 9focusing only on the infor-ation that is i--ediately at hand:. Pahne-an 9%113:
calls this pro+le- Lnarro' fra-ingM of decisions@ and reco--ends taking a +roader 5ie' +y
considering -any related decisions at once 9e.g.@ those related to trading off effort and -oney: and
choosing a set of actions across those decisions.
A re5ie' article on heuristics and +iases research@ including narro' fra-ing?
Sheldon and Passer 9199.: ha5e in5estigated the relationship +et'een peopleKs lo'er0le5el goals 9'hat
-oti5ates your day0to0day acti5ities: and their higher0le5el goals 9'hat youKd like to do 'ith your life:.
4hey found that a closer align-ent +et'een lo'er0le5el goals and higher0le5el goals is associated 'ith
psychological 'ell0+eing?
Sheldon@ P. M.@ [ Passer@ 4. 9199.:. Coherence and congruence? 4'o aspects of personality
integration. Cournal of 1ersonality and -ocial 1sychology@ SP@ .310.;3.
http?EEgoo.glE2R1A"
29
.ttention
]this space deli+erately left +lank for notes^
31
.ttention @ 0urther Resources
Working -e-ory has a li-ited capacity. A 'ell0esta+lished result in cogniti5e psychology is that
people 'ho are using so-e of their 'orking -e-ory on one task 9such as re-e-+ering a si80digit
nu-+er: perfor- 'orse on a 5ariety of other tasks 'hich reBuire cogniti5e engage-ent or e8ecuti5e
control@ such as reading co-prehension@ for-ing i-pressions of other people@ or resisting te-ptation.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEWorkingZ-e-ory
4ask s'itching has also +een found to i-pair perfor-ance@ including a large te-porary drop in
perfor-ance i--ediately after a task s'itch and a s-aller persistent i-pair-ent as long as s'itching
tasks is a possi+ility 9for a re5ie'@ see Monsell@ %113:. *eing engaged in a task acti5ates a 5ariety of
cogniti5e processes 9in5ol5ing attention@ -e-ory@ etc.: that are rele5ant for perfor-ing that particular
task@ 'hich are collecti5ely kno'n as a task0set. "ne proposed e8planation for the i-pair-ents caused
+y task s'itching is that they are due to the cost of s'itching task0sets and of ha5ing -ultiple
co-peting task0sets acti5ated at once.
Monsell@ S. 9%113:. 4ask s'itching. Trends in +ognitive -ciences@ <@ 13;01;1.
http?EEgoo.glEf/k3
A +rief su--ary of the psychological research on -ultitasking?
http?EE'''.apa.orgEresearchEactionE-ultitask.asp8
When a person is in the -idst of perfor-ing a task or acting according to a particular goal@ goal0
rele5ant infor-ation tends to +e accessi+le or acti5e in 'orking -e-ory. As social psychologist *lu-a
7eigarnik disco5ered in the 19%1s@ this goal0rele5ant infor-ation Buickly dissipates after the task is
co-pleted@ +ut it re-ains acti5e if the task is interrupted or left inco-plete. 4his effect is co--only
referred to as the L7eigarnik effectM for 'orking -e-ory@ and Lgoal turnoffM for accessi+ility.
A short description of the 7eigarnik effect@ 'ith applications to ga-ing?
http?EE'''.psychologyofga-es.co-E%113E13Ethe0Feigarnik0effect0and0Buest0logsE
A study sho'ing the goal turnoff effect?
$brster@ Y.@ 6i+er-an@ >.@ [ &iggins@ /. 4. 9%11.:. Accessi+ility fro- acti5e and fulfilled goals.
Cournal of Experimental -ocial 1sychology@ E;@ %%10%39.
*ackground on the i-portance of cogniti5e accessi+ility and pri-ing?
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE!ri-ingZV%3psychologyV%9
WikipediaAs su--ary of the research on attention?
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEAttention
31
Saturday # 4ry 4hings
Are there any a5ersions you already 'ant to address? 4ake 31 seconds to 'rite do'n any a5ersions
you ha5e that youAre already -oti5ated to analyFe right no'?
4hen@ take 1 -inute per each of the follo'ing lists to 'rite do'n as -any a5oidances as you can. 9)ou
can take -ore ti-e if you repeat this 'orksheet later.:
4rainstorming for avoidances
1. 4hings , often procrastinate doing?
%. Acti5ities , a- easily distracted fro- in the -o-ent of doing the-?
3. 4hings -y parents@ partner@ or friends suggest@ +ut that , donAt do?
;. <o-ains of kno'ledge or skills ,A5e Lne5er gotten aroundM to learning?
3%
.. Questions a+out life or -yself that ,A5e Dne5er gotten aroundD to addressing?
. Why ,A- not trying to +eco-e rich@ fa-ous@ attracti5e@ physically fit@ an e8pert in so-e field@ or a
political leader?
9-any people ha5e an a5ersi5e reaction to at least one of the a+o5e pursuitsU:
2. Anything else that co-es to -ind that , 'ant to list?
33
.version factoring
Choose an acti5ity J that you a5oid doing or feel a5erse to@ +ut 'here you -ay 'ant to o5erco-e the
a5ersion?
>o' think ho' -ight +enefit fro- doing J@ and 'hat -ight +e +ad or a5ersi5e a+out it?
*hat's good about MA *hat's aversive about MA
Capture? ,nsight Capture? Actions
33
>o' dra' a graph +elo' or on the ne8t page depicting the causal structure of your a5ersion. >ote
'hen so-e a5ersi5e aspects actually lead to others@ so you -ight get closer to the root cause of things.
Also +e sure to include trivial inconveniences as factors@ e.g. if you donAt floss +ecause the floss is
kept in a dra'er that you donAt re-e-+er to open.
>o'@ for each a5ersion factor@ ask if it is?
1. *orth solvingA ,s this a5ersion alerting -e to a real pro+le- that is 'orth sol5ing?
%. 5ver1calibratedA ,s -y a5ersion larger or -ore persistent than the actual pro+le- itAs a+out?
Would , push a +utton to Hust Lget o5erM this? Are -y e-otions only protecting -e fro- -y
e-otions here@ and can , o5erco-e the- 'ith so-e co-+ination of e8posure therapy and +ig0
picture refra-ing?
3. . deal breakerA ,s this actually a good reason to a5oid J@ gi5en -y goals?
worth
solving

over-
calibrated

deal-
breaker
3.
1
+ 1
= ?
94his page intentionally left +lank for a5ersion factoring:
3
,otesF
4he purpose of this unit is to help you o5erco-e factors that -ay +e pre5enting you fro- doing things
that 'ould other'ise +e helpful or enHoya+le to you.
<ancing@ singing@ pu+lic speaking@ talking to strangers@ asking for help@ doing ta8es@ filling out for-s@
dealing 'ith +ureaucracies@ doing the dishes@ calling people you ha5enAt talked to in a 'hile@ talking to
strangers@ talking to people 'ith high status...
4hese are all co--on a5ersions 'e hear a+out in our 'orkshops. 4ake a -o-ent to think a+out
'hether you ha5e or ha5e e5er had an a5ersion like one of these.
,o' ask yourselfF have you ever overcome an aversionA &a5e you e5er -ade or e8perienced a
change in yourself that -ade so-ething -ore tolera+le or enHoya+le that 'as pre5iously a5ersi5e or
inhi+iting?
&o' did that feelA
"ur goal is to +eco-e -asters of repeating that kind of gro'th@ at 'ill@ 'hene5er 'e need it.
ClarificationF
WeAll use the 'ords La5ersionM and La5oidanceM differently. (voidance is a ,ehavior? 'e -ight avoid
doing our ta8es. 4he 'ord aversion 'ill refer to any ,rain mechanism 000 +e it conscious@ unconscious@
e-otional@ 5er+al@ or anything else 000 that pre5ents tor tends to cause a5oidance. $or e8a-ple@ painful
-e-ories@ si-ple 5er+al argu-ents@ and old ha+its 'ill all +e considered a5ersions if they inhi+it our
+eha5ior or -ake it unpleasant.
Also@ 'e 'onAt e8a-ine a5ersions that are very clearly helpful@ like an a5ersion to getting hit +y cars.
*ut argu-ents like Ddisliking dancing sa5es -e ti-eD are so-ething 'eAll at least te-porarily cast
dou+t upon.
3
4he method of this unit 'ill +e a 'ay of o5erco-ing a5ersions +y +reaking the- do'n into pieces@
'hich ,All call (version 6actoring.
.version 0actoringF The ?ethod
1. Choose an aversion or so-ething you a5oid.
%. 4reak it do'n. WhatAs stopping you? ,dentify s-aller aversion factors
that cause your a5oidance or negati5e reactions.
3. .ssess calibration. Ask 'hether each factor is is well:cali,rated
indication of a real0'orld pro+le- or not. 4hen?
?ake external changes to sol5e pro+le-s that the other a5ersions alerted
you to@ and
?ake internal changes to get o5er the -is0cali+rated a5ersions.
.version 0actoringF The Tools
4o help +reak do'n the a5ersion?
/8plicit E outside05ie' reasoning
,nner si-ulator
4hought e8peri-ents
Mindful 'alkthroughs
4o decide 'hether to -ake changes inside or outside yourself?
A cali+ration criterion
4o re0cali+rate -iscali+rated a5ersions?
/8posure therapy
*ig0picture refra-ing
4o -ake the +eha5ior easier to initiate?
Re-o5ing tri5ial incon5eniences
33
. tree1climbing story
"ne day@ , realiFed it 'ould +e really fun to -ake a ha+it of cli-+ing trees. ,tAs a kind of e8ercise ,
really enHoy@ and it al'ays gi5es -e a +oost of energy. , figured if ,
cli-+ed trees 11 -inutes a day@ then 'ithin a year ,Ad rack up at least
;1 hours of tree0cli-+ing@ so it 'as 'orth a little ti-e figuring out ho'
to get started.
So@ , found a +unch of nice trees to cli-+ around -y 'alk to 'ork@ and
resol5ed to cli-+ the- regularly. *ut , Buickly realiFed an a5ersion
'ould soon stop -e? tree cli-+ing can +e dangerous. So@ , resol5ed that , 'ould find 'ays to cli-+
that 'ere difficult +ut not dangerous. $or e8a-ple@ ,Ad try cli-+ing all the 'ay around the trunk on the
lo'est +ranches 'ithout touching certain ones. , also practiced falling drills to hone -y catch0-yself
and land0safely refle8es.
*ut , soon found that , didnAt like ho' cli-+ing the trees -ade -y light0colored pants look dirty. So ,
+ought HeansU A Buick sanity check co-pared the price of
Heans to the status Buo of a cli-+ing gy- -e-+ership@ and
found , 'as in the clear. And the rest of -y clothes 'ere dark
enough that it didnAt -atter.
Still@ so-eho'@ e5en though , found the cli-+ing super fun@ ,
found -yself a5oiding it for so-e reason. , 'ent cli-+ing and
paid close attention to 'hat , -ight not like a+out it@ and
realiFed? , didnAt like -y hands feeling icky for the 11 -inutes
+et'een cli-+ing and 'ashing the-.
When , thought a+out this@ , decided? This is not a real pro,lem. =and washing is really easy. * think
if * could 3ust press a ,utton and stop caring a,out this icky feeling, then * would. So thatAs essentially
'hat , did? , 'ent outside@ stuck -y hands
in so-e -ud on the ground@ and sat for 11
-inutes paying attention to the feeling of
-ud on -y hands. And as , sat there@ ,
reflected on -y +igger goals in life@ like
health@ enHoy-ent@ and doing good in the
'orld@ and ho' co-pletely irrele5ant the
dirt 'as to any of these goals e8cept for -y
internal reaction to it. Gradually@ -y
internal le5el of disgust and an8iety
su+sided until it felt as insignificant as the
e8ternal conseBuences.
.... (nd now * clim, lots of treesL
39
4o apply this process for yourself@ choose an acti5ity J that you a5oid doing or feel a5erse to@ +ut
'here you -ay 'ant to o5erco-e the a5ersion. >e8t@ ask you -ight +enefit fro- doing J@ and 'hat
-ight +e a5ersi5e a+out it. $or each a5ersi5e aspect@ ask if it is?
1. *orth solvingA ,s this a5ersion alerting -e to a real pro+le- that is 'orth sol5ing?
%. 5ver1calibratedA ,.e.@ is -y a5ersion larger or -ore persistent than the actual pro+le- itAs a+out?
Would , push a +utton to Hust Lget o5erM this?
3. . deal breakerA ,.e.@ is this actually a good reason to a5oid J@ gi5en -y goals?
worth
solving

over-
calibrated

deal-
breaker
,n the tree0cli-+ing story@ , 'as a5erse to danger@ ha5ing dirty0looking clothes@ and -y hands feeling
icky. 4he first t'o a5ersions 'ere pro+le-s , decided to sol5e@ and the last a5ersion 'as one , thought
'as o5er0cali+rated and decided to get o5er. ,n this case@ there 'ere no deal0+reakers.
91
1
+ 1
= ?
.version calibration
4ake so-ething J that you al'ays a5oid. )ou can ask?
<o , al'ays a5oid J@ e5en though J is only slightly +ad on a5erage?
Should , +e a little -ore 'illing to -aking e8ceptions and do J so-eti-es?
,s J so-ething other people do so-eti-es 'ithout -uch har-?
,f yes@ your a5ersion to J -ay +e over1calibrated@ in the sense that the
a5ersion is stronger than necessary to a5oid J at a reasona+le rate.
"5er0cali+rated a5ersions can result in -issed opportunities? it -eans you
are lia+le to a5oid J e5en 'hen itAs a good idea. So@ 'e adopt the
Comfort ;one 7xpansion principle #Co;7$F
/5en if your a5ersion to J see-s -ostly helpful@ +ut o5er0cali+rated C that is@ if you a5oid J like the
plague 'hen itAs -ore like the co--on cold C then you -ight 'ant to sometimes do U when it4s only
slightly harmful@ so your e-otions can learn that itAs not such a +ig deal@ Hust a s-all one.
4hink of this like e8ercising? youAre e8pending so-e resources no' to -ake yourself stronger and
+etter adapted for later.
Co7/ is a lot like exposure therapy 9google itU:@ 'hich is so-e'hat of an art?
,deally@ you 'ant to 'ork at the edge of your co-fort Fone@ in situations 'here you kno' the e8ternal
conseBuences are especially lo'. 4his see-s to 'ork +etter than trau-atiFing yourself +y di5ing in too
Buickly or carelessly.
,t helps to feel in control of your choice to e8pand your co-fort Fone@ rather feeling 5icti-iFed or
forced to do it.
So-eti-es taking a -o-ent to re0fra-e things in the L+ig pictureM of your life can help Co7/ feel
-ore like an honest co--unication 'ith your Syste- 1 processes instead of feeling like -asochis- or
Ltrying to trick yourselfM.
*esides the e8posure therapy effect@ Co7/ -ight also 'ork 5ia
Cognitive dissonance resolution@ or
Costly signaling to oneself a+out the a5ersion.
91
.version 0actoring and Calibration @
0urther Resources
"ne pro5en techniBue for o5erco-ing a5ersions in5ol5es identifying 'hat thoughts lead to an a5ersion@
tracing out the links +et'een those thoughts@ negati5e e-otions@ and a5oidant +eha5ior@ and critically
in5estigating the accuracy of those thoughts. 4his techniBue@ kno'n as cogniti5e therapy@ has +een
sho'n to +e effecti5e e5en 'ith clinical pho+ias and an8iety disorders 9>orton [ !rice@ %112:.
A +rief su--ary of ho' cogniti5e therapy is used to treat an8iety disorders?
L4herapy for An8iety <isordersM
http?EE'''.helpguide.orgE-entalEan8ietyZtherapy.ht-
A -eta0analysis of treat-ents for an8iety disorders@ 'hich co-piles Buantitati5e e5idence sho'ing that
e8posure therapy and cogniti5e therapy are +oth effecti5e 9co-pared to rela8ation techniBues:?
>orton@ !. Y.@ [ !rice@ /. !. 9%112:. A -eta0analytic re5ie' of cogniti5e0+eha5ioral treat-ent
outco-e across the an8iety disorders. Cournal of 0ervous and 5ental !isease@ ;QB@ .%10.31.
http?EE'''.e++p.orgEresourcesEnortonprice.pdf
9%
.gainstness
Components of a =/,/ algorithm
.'areness
4hese are tools that help engage your conscious processing in your i--ediate e8perience.
Remember your feet
>otice the details of ho' you e8perience your feet? pressure@ te-perature@ position@ etc. 4hen let
that a'areness e8pand to include your 'hole +ody at once@ letting your a'areness of +odily
sensations +eco-e -ore detailed.
/pace is huge
>otice that@ if you could see through the roof a+o5e you and past the light of the sky@ youKd see
a 5ast space a+o5e you. 4here is e-pty spaciousness practically infinitely a+o5e you. 4he sa-e
is true in e5ery direction? in front of you@ to your sides@ +ehind you@ and e5en +elo' you. 9,t Hust
so happens that thereKs this tiny pe++le called L/arthM pressing against your feet.: Get the sense
of ho' enor-ous space is in all directions around you@ and notice that youKre in the center of
this 5ast 5oid.
7xistence is exHuisite
7oo- in on so-ething i--ediate to your physical senses at this -o-ent 0 the 'ay light co-es
in through the 'indo'@ or ho' air glances against your skin@ or a sound@ or 'hate5er else you
like. >otice so-ething pleasing a+out itG -ay+e the light -akes so-e interesting shado's
against the 'all@ for instance. *reathe deeply and let your -ildly positi5e sense of that
e8perience gro' into a gentle delight. Carry that delight in sensory e8perience to other things
i--ediate to you. /5entually you -ight get to a point of noticing that the 5ery fact that you
e8ist and can e8perience at all is itself a delight. 94his approach is not a+out looking at the
+right side@ +ut is rather a+out enHoying e8perience as it is.:
4ody
4hese are -ethods for pri-ing !S>S do-inance 5ia physical +eha5iors..
5pen your posture
>otice 'hatKs closed and protected@ and -o5e your +ody to a -ore 5ulnera+le position. Stand
upright@ spread your ar-s@ and e8pose your +elly and throat. 94ypically this increases S>S
acti5ity for a -o-ent +efore it helps you to rela8.:
4reathe deeply
*reathe lo' and slo' into your +elly. <onKt push air do'n if you can a5oid it@ +ut instead Hust
let it fall as lo' as it 'ill 'hen you rela8 into +reathing.
Relax
$ocus on your -uscles@ especially the ones you can tell are tense@ and 'ork on letting the-
rela8. 4his is especially rele5ant for the upper ar-s@ the shoulders@ the neck@ and the face. So-e
people find it easier to tense their -uscles really hard +efore trying to get the- to rela8.
93
?ind
4hese are 'ays of shifting your thinking to help see the 'orld fro- a -ore !S>S perspecti5e.
Reframe CshouldD as CpreferD
4houghts that can +e e8pressed in ter-s of Lshould@M L-ust@M Lha5e to@M and so on 9e.g. L&e
shouldnKt ha5e said thatUM: tend to ha5e an S>S character to the- and tend to +e a+out resisting
9i.e. +eing against: 'hat is real. Refra-ing a LshouldM as a preference ackno'ledges your
e-otional state and can help let go of the resistance 9e.g. L, 'ould prefer he not ha5e said
thatM:.
=ractice empathy
L/-pathy@M in this case@ refers to -odeling the other person in enough detail to understand 'hy
'hat they are doing is@ to the-@ the -ost sensi+le thing they could possi+ly +e doing right then.
,n other 'ords@ itKs recogniFing that itKs like so-ething to +e the-@ and that youKd do the sa-e
thing if you 'ere the-. S>S thinking tends to si-plify others and not see the- as e8periencing
+eings@ so this can help to re5erse that.
4e grateful
Gratitude can a po'erful !S>S 5ector. $inding anything to +e grateful for can +e helpful. ,tKs
+est@ though@ if you can +e grateful for the aversive stimulus. &ere are t'o often useful 'ays to
do this?
#e grateful for the other.s intent. A parent 'ho lectures you a+out 'hat youKre doing 'rong
-ight +e doing so out of concern and caring@ e5en if youKd prefer theyKd e8press it
differently. Si-ilarly@ a self0conde-ning thought 9L, -essed up againUM: can +e seen as
trying to -ake you a +etter person.
#e grateful for the opportunity to train. ,f you 'ere to lift 'eights at a gy-@ you could get
upset at the- for +eing hea5y@ or you could +e grateful for the training their hea5iness is
gi5ing you. Si-ilarly@ situations that inspire S>S 5ectors in you are offering you a chance to
practice getting +etter at controlling 'here you are on the autono-ic spectru-.
:abel your mental experiences
Gi5ing a 5ery +rief state-ent of ho' you feel in the for- like L, feel JM 9e.g. L, feel sadM: can
gi5e you a 5er+al handle on your feelings 'hile gi5ing you a little space fro- the-. ,tKs
i-portant that your la+el +e 9a: 5ery +rief and 9+: ha5e no i-plication of another person in the-
9as 'ith L, feel HudgedM 0 generally speaking@ the LJM in L, feel JM is +est not deri5ed fro- a
5er+:. )ou can also Buickly la+el -ental processes? if you notice youKre Hudging the other
person a lot@ you can Hust note LMy -ind is Hudging.M )ou donKt ha5e to say your la+els out loud
for this to +e effecti5e.
9;
.gainstness @ 0urther Resources
4he sy-pathetic ner5ous syste- 9S>S: and the parasy-pathetic ner5ous syste- 9!S>S: are t'o
co-ponents of the autono-ic ner5ous syste-@ 'hich regulates the +odyAs organs and tissues. 4he S>S
is responsi+le for rapidly -o+iliFing resources@ as seen in the stress response@ 'hich in5ol5es a rapid
heart+eat@ narro'ing attention@ and inhi+ition of non0essential +odily acti5ities like the digesti5e
syste-. Sudden S>S acti5ation in the presence of an en5iron-ental threat produces the fight0or0flight
response 9so-eti-es called the fight0or0flight0or0freeFe response:@ and the S>S can also re-ain acti5e
-ore chronically in cases of prolonged stress. !S>S acti5ation ser5es to counteract the S>S@ and has
+een characteriFed as a Lrest and digest.M
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEAutono-icZner5ousZsyste-
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE$ight0or0flightZresponse
Research in the psychology of e-otions has found that positi5e e-otions tend to counteract the stress
response 9e.g.@ lo'ering heart rate in people 'ho are a+out to gi5e a speechG $redrickson et al.@ %111:@
'hich has +een ter-ed the Lundoing effect.M !hysiological research has tracked the specific che-ical
path'ays +y 'hich the parasy-pathetic ner5ous syste- counteracts the stress response@ including the
role of o8ytocin 9a hor-one 'hich is closely associated 'ith co-fort@ e-pathy@ and other positi5e
e-otions: 9e.g.@ &einrichs et al.@ %119:.
A set of studies sho'ing that positi5e e-otions 9such as content-ent and a-use-ent: lead to faster
cardio5ascular reco5ery for people e8posed to stressful situations?
$redrickson@ *. 6.@ Mancuso@ R. A.@ *ranigan@ C.@ [ 4ugade@ M. M. 9%111:. 4he undoing effect
of positi5e e-otions. 5otivation and Emotion. FE@ %320%.3.
http?EEgoo.glEA!9%1
A re5ie' of the function of o8ytocin in hu-ans and other species@ including its social and e-otional
functions and its role in stress responses?
&einrichs M.@ 5on <a'ans *.@ and <o-es G. 9%119:. "8ytocin@ 5asopressin@ and hu-an social
+eha5ior. 6rontiers in 0euroendocrinology@ KA@ .;30..2.
http?EEgoo.glEkGaF
,n her 4/< 4alk@ psychologist A-y Cuddy descri+es her research on the physiological effects of +ody
postures. "pen@ e8pansi5e postures reduce le5els of cortisol 9a stress0related hor-one: and increase
testosterone@ 'hile closed@ constricted postures ha5e the opposite effect. Cuddy found that people 'ho
spent a -inute in an e8pansi5e posture one -inute prior to a Ho+ inter5ie' 'ere e5aluated -ore
positi5ely +y the inter5ie'er@ as the feeling of self0confidence carried o5er into their +eha5ior.
=ideo of CuddyAs 4/< 4alk?
http?EE'''.youtu+e.co-E'atch?5_Ps0ZMh1QhMc
9.
4he paper that CuddyKs talk is +ased on?
Carney@ <.@ Cuddy@ A. Y. C.@ [ )ap@ A. 9%111:. !o'er posing? *rief non5er+al displays affect
neuroendocrine le5els and risk tolerance. 1sychological -cience@ F;@ 1330133.
http?EEgoo.glE$uSF=
Mindfulness0+ased stress reduction 9M*SR: is an approach to stress reduction that +orro's tools of
-indfulness practices fro- *uddhis- 9+ut 'ithout the spirituality:. Many clinical studies point to'ard
the effecti5eness of M*SR for helping decrease an8iety and depression. $or a -eta0analysis of %1
studies conducted +efore %11;@ see?
Gross-an@ !.@ >ie-ann@ 6.@ Sch-idt@ S.@ [ Walach@ &. 9%11;:. Mindfulness0+ased stress
reduction and health +enefits? A -eta0analysis. Cournal of 1sychosomatic &esearch@ B<@ 3.0;3.
http?EEgoo.glE.<oM9
*ased on his e8periences as an $*, agent@ Yoe >a5arroKs +ook %hat Every #ody *s -aying descri+es
ho' a personKs +ody posture and -o5e-ent reflect their autono-ic acti5ity. Although it is +ased on his
professional e8perience rather than syste-atic research@ the +ook pro5ides a useful starting point for
learning to read +ody language in other people and yourself.
>a5arro@ Y. 9%113:. %hat Every #ody *s -aying. >e' )ork? &arper0Collins.
http?EEgoo.glEo8>u
9
6mplementation 6ntentions
]this space deli+erately left +lank for notes^
92
6mplementation 6ntentions @ 0urther
Resources
6ocke and 6atha- 9%11%: re5ie' decades of research on goal setting and perfor-ance. A-ong their
findings? people 'ho set a challenging@ specific goal tend to acco-plish -ore than people 'ho set a
5ague goal 9such as Ldo as -uch as possi+leM: or those 'ho set an easy goal.
6ocke@ /. A.@ [ 6atha-@ G. !. 9%11%:. *uilding a practically useful theory of goal setting and
task perfor-ance? A 3. year odyssey. A-erican !sychologist@ .2@ 21.0212.
http?EEgoo.glE9kr53Q
Goll'itFer and "ettingen 9%111: re5ie' research on planning and goal pursuit@ 'ith an e-phasis on
i-ple-entation intentions 9if0then plans:. 4hey discuss e5idence that i-ple-entation intentions can +e
helpful for se5eral su+skills of goal pursuit@ including getting started@ staying on track@ o5erco-ing
o+stacles@ and taking ad5antages of opportunities@ as 'ell as cases 'here i-ple-entation intentions are
less effecti5e 9such as 'hen a person is not 5ery co--itted to the goal:. 4hey also include specific
suggestions for ho' to for-ulate if0then plans.
Goll'itFer@ !. M.@ [ "ettingen@ G. 9%111:. !lanning pro-otes goal stri5ing. ,n P. <. =ohs [ R.
$. *au-eister 9/ds.:@ &and+ook of self0regulation? Research@ theory@ and applications 9%nd ed.@
pp. 1%013.:. >e' )ork? Guilford.
http?EEgoo.glE<H3>C
A -eta0analysis of 9; studies in5ol5ing 3;1 participants found that inter5entions in5ol5ing
i-ple-entation intentions produced an a5erage effect siFe of d _ 1.. 9Goll'itFer [ Sheeran@ %11:.
4hat is@ people 'ho used i-ple-entation intentions perfor-ed 1.. standard de5iations +etter on the
outco-e -easure than the control group. A si-ilar effect siFe 'as found in the 3; studies 'hich
in5ol5ed +eha5ioral change on a personal or health goal 9d _ 1..9:.
Goll'itFer@ !. M.@ [ Sheeran@ !. 9%11:. ,-ple-entation intentions and goal achie5e-ent? A
-eta0analysis of effects and processes. Ad5ances in /8peri-ental Social !sychology@ 33@ 90
119.
http?EEgoo.glEA&&((k
Mental contrasting is the practice of i-agining a desired future 'here a goal has +een achie5ed@ and
then contrasting it 'ith the current i-perfect situation 'here there are still o+stacles to achie5ing the
goal. "ettingen 9%11%: re5ie's doFens of research sho'ing that -ental contrasting tends to increase
co--it-ent to a goal@ including energy and deter-ination@ in a 'ay that does not occur in people 'ho
-erely fantasiFe a+out a desired future@ or in those 'ho -erely think a+out the current situation and its
o+stacles 9though this effect only occurs 'hen the desired future see-s achie5a+le:.
"ettingen@ G. 9%11%:. $uture thought and +eha5ior change. ,n W. Stroe+e [ M. &e'stone
93
9/ds.:@ /uropean Re5ie' of Social !sychology@ %3@ 103.
http?EEgoo.glEo5.;yp
Mental contrasting can +e a helpful precursor to the for-ulation of i-ple-entation intentions@ since it
increases goal co--it-ent and +rings to -ind o+stacles 'hich if0then planning can address. Se5eral
e8peri-ents in5ol5ing real0'orld +eha5ior change ha5e used an inter5ention 'hich co-+ined -ental
contrasting and i-ple-entation intentions@ and one such study 9Adriaanse et al.@ %111: found that this
co-+ined inter5ention 'as -ore effecti5e than either one alone at reducing consu-ption of an
unhealthy food.
Adriaanse@ M. A.@ "ettingen@ G.@ Goll'itFer@ !. M.@ &ennes@ /. !.@ de Ridder@ <. 4. <.@ [ de
Witt@ Y. *. $. 9%111:. When planning is not enough? $ighting unhealthy snacking ha+its +y
-ental contrasting 'ith i-ple-entation intentions 9MC,,:. European Cournal of -ocial
1sychology@ ;1@ 1%2201%93.
http?EEgoo.glEMC=33J
99
Curating 3our 7motional :ibrary
?otivation @ 2nprepared ?ental /tates
6ist so-e situations 'here you kno' the right thing to do +ut ha5e trou+le co-pleting the task due to
unprepared e-otional state@ such as ner5ousness@ fatigue@ laFiness@ or apathy. $eel the difficulty you
ha5e 'hen the rational side of your +rain has the plan +ut the e-otional side is +eing unhelpful. 6ist
these triggers # 'hat does your head do? )our +reathing? <o you sigh? <o you roll your eyes?
<eliberate /helfing of 7motional 7xperiences
When e8periencing an e-otion or a scene@ here are so-e things 'e can do to store the e8perience -ore
-indfully?
Sa5or@ not gulp. !ay attention to all of your sensory input@ including ones that do not fire as hard
as the -ain ones. Examples: Try paying attention to the tingling of your skin when you ,ite into
a nice cake your father ,aked for you. *t is interesting how flushed my face got when * heard
a,out the award.
4hink 5ery hard a+out ho' you can use this feeling in the future. Examples: * let my friend get
hurt and this felt horri,le7 next time * drink too much * should remem,er this. This scene
where the masked hero trains hard to ,ecome a fighting machine made me feel like * want to go
to the gym. 0ext time * want to go to the gym * should watch it.
99
/8plore e-otion0e8perience0space. 4hink a+out ho' the e8perience you Hust stored co-pare
and contrast to other e8periences you ha5e. Examples: This feeling of happiness * 3ust felt
from finishing that difficult email feels 3ust like the feeling of turning in a good final paper
during ?niversity. This feeling of ,eing lean and PBV full after eating this nice protein:filled
salad is different from the feeling last week * got after stuffing myself full of ri,s and ,eer O it
has more of a crisp, clean texture as opposed to a grimy, hearty texture.
4he analogy is acti5e note0taking@ 'hich appears in all for-s of crafts and professions. 4ry thinking
a+out ho' you Ltake notesM acti5ely in skills that you are proficient at@ and -ake analogies to that
process.
*ell1/helved 7xperiences as 4oosters to 2nprepared
/tates
"n the left@ list so-e e-otional scenes in5ol5ing i-ages@ sounds@ -o5ies@ people@ andEor physical
feelings.
\ try to stay a'ay fro- scenes that you recall on a regular +asisG practice finding scenes
youA5e stashed in the L-ental attic@M or i-agining ne' scenes that you are likely to e8perience.
\ ,-portant? do not select for a+stract significance of the scenes@ +ut instead select for the
intensity of the e-otions they in5oke. $or e8a-ple? the sa5ory -o-ent of 5ictory you had
+eating your friend at tennis last 'eek is pro+a+ly +oth -ore intense and less significant than
your foggy recallection of your graduation fro- college.
"n the right@ think a+out ho' you can acti5ely store each scene. 6magine yourself experiencing the
scene for the first time. What sensory inputs -ay you +e -issing? &o' can you use this in the future?
&o' does this scene co-pare in relation to the rest of your L+ookshelf?M
111
Scenes Acti5e Storage >otes
11%
Curating 3our 7motional :ibrary @
0urther Resources
Actors 'ho follo' the approach kno'n as L-ethod actingM keep a li+rary of e-otional e8periences
'hich they dra' on to re0e8perience an e-otion that they need to portray in a scene?
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEMethodZacting
Creating an e-otional li+rary in5ol5es storing ite-s in your -e-ory for later recall. Research on
-e-ory has found that people are -ore likely to re-e-+er things if they are e-otionally0charged@
personally rele5ant@ and connected to other ite-s in -e-ory in a -eaningful 'ay. Sy-ons and
Yohnson 91992: pro5ide a re5ie' of -e-ory research@ including a -eta0analysis on the effect of
personal rele5ance?
Sy-ons@ C. S.@ [ Yohnson@ *. 4. 91992:. 4he self0reference effect in -e-ory? A -eta0analysis.
!sychological *ulletin@ 1%1@ 321039;.
http?EEgoo.glE1<;=2
A re5ie' of psychological and neurological research on the role of e-otion in -e-ory?
Pensinger@ /. A. 9%11;:. Re-e-+ering e-otional e8periences? 4he contri+ution of 5alence and
arousal. Re5ie's in the >eurosciences@ 1.@ %;10%.1.
http?EEgoo.glE48+>!
Stoics reco--end negati5e 5isualiFation 0 i-agining losing the things that you care a+out 0 as a useful
e8ercise for de5eloping resilience@ perspecti5e@ and an appreciation of 'hat you ha5e 9Wiegardt@ %111:.
>egati5e 5isualiFation can also +e a source of content for your e-otional li+rary@ +oth +y pro5iding a
negati5e scene of an i-agined loss and +y -aking the thing that you already ha5e and care a+out -ore
5i5id and e-otionally salient.
Wiegardt@ /rik 9%119:. 4he Stoic &and+ook@ %nd ed.
http?EEgoo.glECy>rtg
Co-puter -e-ory can +e e8tre-ely useful for supple-enting hu-an -e-ory. Many different
soft'are progra-s can help you catch te8t@ i-ages@ and other infor-ation. "ne popular progra- is
/5ernote@ 'hich features tagging and integration across -ultiple de5ices.
http?EE'''.e5ernote.co-
113
Comfort ;one 7xpansion #Co;7$

Co7/ -eans LCo-fort 7one /8pansion.M So-eti-es unco-forta+le e-otions # such as fear@ disgust@
sha-e@ guilt@ e-+arrass-ent@ or helplessness # can actually help protect us or other people fro- har-.
*ut like any sensor@ these e-otions can +e -is0cali+rated. 4he idea +ehind Co7/ is that safe and
gradual e8posure can help us re0cali+rate these a5ersions and e8pand our co-fort Fones in useful
directions. 9Co7/ is definitely not meant to co-pletely eli-inate these disco-forts fro- our e-otional
repertoireU:
4his class focuses on e8panding co-fort Fones in social arenas@ +ecause they tend to +e a particularly
high 5alue sphere of acti5ity. 4he social real- is 'here 'e -anage Ho+s@ -eet friends@ find lo5e@ share
interests@ recruit colla+orators@ etc.
4here are four +road do-ains that past participants ha5e found particularly useful to e8peri-ent 'ith?
,dentity@ !layfulness@ =ulnera+ility@ and 9the slightly catchall: Adding to )our Social (tility *elt.
4he goal of this class is to help you e8plore the periphery of your current co-fort Fone and to find ne'
good ideas that you can add to your social repertoire and affordances. )ou can also +etter cali+rate
your social instincts +y gi5ing your Syste- 1 real data to update on@ instead of i-agined data.
11;
6dentity
&o' 'ould you descri+e yourself? What adHecti5es 'ould you use@ 'hat group -e-+erships 'ould
you cite? And ho' do those affiliations restrict the actions you feel that you can take?
7xample 1
+at thought of her self as the kind of person who didn4t inconvenience others. -o, she felt terri,le
a,out the idea of waking the sleeping person in the aisle seat, even though she ,adly needed to use the
,athroom. -he waiting til she was in physical pain ,efore ,othering him, and still felt uncomforta,le
a,out distur,ing him.
$ater, +at decided her reluctance to ,other people wasn4t wrong, ,ut it was miscali,rated. -he did
small +oWE exercises where she mildly inconvenienced people ,y stopping them and asking them for
directions until it felt less aversive.
7xample
(fter campaigning to run a college organi'ation, +hris had a lot of flashcards with the photos of
people in his class on them. Every week, he drew one card from the deck and thought a,out a
particular virtue or fluency that the person on the card had, and which he could improve. Then he4d
spend the week dressing up like that person, with regard to the desired ,ehavior.
.nd youA
,K- not the kind of person 'hoN.
, 'ould ne5er ZZZZZZZZZZZ in pu+lic
!eople like -e canKt ZZZZZZZZZZZ
, 'ish , could ZZZZZZZZZZZ like ]na-e of friend^
11.
=layfulness
,f so-ething is a5ersi5e@ youAre pro+a+ly e8periencing $/AR@ one of the se5en pri-ary e-otional
affects. When you add in a sense of !6A)@ the -i8ed e-otion tends to feel like exhilaration. So@
finding a 'ay to -ake an a5ersi5e acti5ity a little silly or playful -ight shift your e8perience fro- the
sickening drop of freefall to the fun of riding a roller0coaster.
>ot to -ention that !6A) is fun in and of itself. So you -ight 'ant to +e playful for itAs o'n sake@ so
your life 9and that of people around you: can +e -ore engaging and delightful.
7xample 1
(nna felt a ,it uncomforta,le drawing attention to herself in pu,lic, so, when she went to the mall on a
+oWE exercise, she did something that felt funny. -he walked through stores and danced to the 5u'ak
playing on the speakers. -ome of the other shoppers looked surprised, and then amused.
7xample
*n the run:up to the release of 6es Misera+les, $eah kept hoping, as she went through her commute,
that people around her would ,reak into a flashmo, of One !ay 5ore. (fter a week or two of
wishing, she decided to ,e the kind of person she wanted to exist, and organi'ed a group to sing in
?nion -tation.
.nd youA
What do you 'ishE'ould +e fun for other people to do around you?
&o' could so-ething inti-idating +e a +it ridiculous?
What are you Ltoo oldM to do?
What a-usingEsilly things ha5e you enHoyed that you 'ould like to happen -ore often?
11
>ulnerability
!layfulness can help you get o5er an a5ersi5e hurdle or Hust enrich your life@ +ut@ for so-e goals@ this
affect can +e a +it counterproducti5e. Co-edians like Stephen Col+ert can use playfulness to interact
'ith people shielded +y a persona@ rather than as the-sel5es. ,t isnAt an approach you 'ant to use in all
circu-stances. So@ so-e participants like to spend Co7/ ti-es deli+erately +eing -ore open and
honestly present to others.
7xample 1
Cames found it easy to goof off in pu,lic, ,ut he wasn4t so sure what to do with strangers ,esides
entertain them. -o, on the +oWE outing, he chatted up a ,ar,er, and ended up talking to him a,out his
concerns a,out a romantic relationship. The ,ar,er had some advice Jnot 2uite helpfulI ,ut Cames felt
a lot ,etter 3ust ,eing to think through his concerns with someone else.
7xample
-arah tended to self:censor her more a,stract analogies and digressions when speaking to people she
didn4t already know or meet through mutual friends. -o, at the mall, she went ,rowsing in a
department store and talked to the sales clerk the way she would talk to her friends. The clerk 'as
thrown, ,ut nothing ,ad happened except a ,it of awkwardness, so -arah felt a ,it less urgency to
monitor her speech in the future.
.nd youA
WhatKs a part of yourself that youKd like to sho' to others?
WhatKs a part of yourself that you could ne5er sho' to others?
What feels tiringE'orrying to care a+out?
+ontext switching
What 'ould happen if you 'ere the 'ay you are around your significant other 'hen you 'ere 'ith a
stranger? What 'ould happen if you 'ere the 'ay you are around your fa-ily at your Ho+?
112
.dding to 3our /ocial 2tility 4elt
4here -ay +e so-e affordances youAd like to ha5e that donAt fall into any of the three pre5ious
categories. *ased on your goals@ your Ho+@ your relationships@ 'hat 'ould you like to +e a+le to do@ or
to +e a+le to do -ore often or easily?
7xample 1
(nthony liked drawing, ,ut he felt very self:conscious when he sketched in pu,lic. !uring a +oWE trip,
he ,rought he sketchpad and didn4t plan to talk to anyone or do anything explicitly 4social.4 =e
sketched, first in less trafficked parts of the mall, and then in the ,usiest areas. #y the end of the trip,
he felt a ,it freer to pull out his pencils whenever he saw something he wanted to draw.
7xample
(aron is a musician, and would like to improve his music and eventually sell it. -o he ,rought his
demo and a set of headphones to the mall and asked people if they4d like to hear a song and give him
feed,ack. This exercise helped him expand two skills: feeling comforta,le approaching people a,out
his pro3ects and feeling comforta,le soliciting feed,ack.
.nd youA
,s there an affordance youKd like to ha5e?
<o you ha5e a goal 'ith a social sticking point?
What do other people do that you 'ish you could do too?
113
Co;7 ethicsF The novice1driver paradigm
,n any social interaction@ there is al'ays the possi+ility of +othering the other person. So if e5eryone
practiced Co7/ all the ti-e@ perhaps e5eryone 'ould +e constantly and unsustaina+ly annoyedU 4his is
not an outco-e 'e 'ant.
"n the other hand@ e8panding our o'n co-fort Fones can gi5e us -ore 'ays to -ake other people
-ore co-forta+le in the future. $or e8a-ple@ if so-eone is ner5ous around you@ it can +e soothing for
the- if you can acti5ely lo'er your o'n an8iety.
,n this 'ay@ Co7/ e8ercises are so-ething like +eing a no5ice dri5er in dri5ing lessons. ,t -ay result
in slight incon5eniences for others on the road at the ti-e@ +ut in the end it -akes e5eryoneAs life run
-ore s-oothly. And if no one 'as e5er a no5ice dri5er@ then no one 'ould dri5e at allG roads 'ould
ne5er e5en +e +uilt. Si-ilarly@ if 'e ne5er e8pand our social co-fort Fones@ -any positi5e social
connections -ight ne5er for-.
/afety and common sense
4he Co7/ outing 'ill +e in a 'ell0lit -all. !lease stay 'ithin the -all@ and of course donAt +reak any
la's@ or approach any -inors 9people under the age of 13:. Also@ in the rare e5ent that you see
so-eone 'ho appears aggressi5e@ angry@ yelling@ or other'ise likely to +e 5iolent@ donAt approach the-
9e5en though that -ight -ake you unco-forta+leU:.
,n other 'ords@ use co--on sense ?:
7dge( /tretch( and /crunch 8oals
When you actually try out your chosen acti5ity@ you -ay find that youA5e -isHudged 'here the edge of
your social co-fort Fone is. So you -ay 'ant to also pick a stretch goal@ in case your initial atte-pt is
easy@ and a scrunch goal@ in case your first try is -uch -ore a5ersi5e in the -o-ent than it 'as
hypothetically.
"nce you find the le5el that 'orks for you@ you can -o5e to incre-entally -ore challenging acti5ities
or keep trying the first acti5ity@ so your Syste- 1 has lots of li5ed e8perience to learn fro-.
)ou can try to set goals in all four categories@ or Hust the su+set that see-s -ost 5alua+le to you. Most
participants find it helpful to 'rite their goals do'n in detail@ so you donAt +ounce off the task in person
9LWell@ , said ,Ad talk to so-e people@ +ut , Hust 'onAt talk to this one:.
119
3our Co;7 5uting 8oals
*dentity
/dge?
Scrunch?
Stretch?
1layfulness
/dge?
Scrunch?
Stretch?
Dulnera,ility
/dge?
Scrunch?
Stretch?
-ocial ?tility #elt
/dge?
Scrunch?
Stretch?
111
Comfort ;one 7xpansion @ 0urther
Resources
Social acceptance is a +asic hu-an needG +eing reHected or e8cluded produces an unpleasant e8perience
si-ilar to physical pain 9Willia-s [ >ida@ %111:. /5en reHection fro- strangers can +e painfulG -any
social e8clusion studies use a si-ple co-puter ga-e 9'hich -i-ics playing catch: played 'ith t'o
other people 'ho are not present.
A re5ie' of research on social e8clusion and reHection?
Willia-s@ P. <.@ [ >ida@ S. A. 9%111:. "stracis-? ConseBuences and coping. +urrent
!irections in 1sychological -cience@ FA@ 2102..
http?EEgoo.glE5uG6<
Conditioning can +e used to o5erco-e oneKs fears or a5ersions. "ne techniBue in5ol5es e8posing
so-eone to a -ild dose of the a5ersi5e thing in a safe conte8t and -aintaining the e8posure until their
an8ious response 'ears off. When the person feels co-forta+le 'hile re-aining e8posed to the
a5ersi5e thing@ this 'eakens their negati5e associations to the a5ersi5e thing. "5er ti-e@ they can
e8pand their co-fort Fone +y applying stronger doses of the a5ersi5e thing. 4his process@ kno'n as
e8posure therapy@ has pro5en effecti5e at reducing a5ersions e5en for people 'ith clinical pho+ias and
an8iety disorders 9e.g.@ >orton [ !rice@ %112:.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE/8posureZtherapy
A re5ie' of research on e8posure therapy@ focused on 'hy the techniBue is effecti5e?
&off-an@ S. G. 9%113:. Cogniti5e processes during fear acBuisition and e8tinction in ani-als
and hu-ans. +linical 1sychology &eview@ FP@ 1990%11.
http?EEgoo.glE8Pcnt
A -eta0analysis on treat-ents for an8iety disorders@ 'hich co-piles Buantitati5e e5idence sho'ing
that e8posure therapy and cogniti5e therapy are +oth effecti5e 9co-pared to rela8ation techniBues:?
>orton@ !. Y.@ [ !rice@ /. !. 9%112:. A -eta0analytic re5ie' of cogniti5e0+eha5ioral treat-ent
outco-e across the an8iety disorders. Cournal of 0ervous and 5ental !isease@ ;QB@ .%10.31.
http?EE'''.e++p.orgEresourcesEnortonprice.pdf
An o+HectKs 9or en5iron-entKs: affordances for a person are the set of actions that the person readily
percei5es as possi+le. A personKs social co-fort Fone can +e considered to +e defined +y the social
affordances that they percei5e.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEAffordance
111
,n his short essay LPeep )our ,dentity S-allM@ !aul Graha- 'arns that identifying as an J 9or an
opponent of ): -akes it difficult to think clearly or ha5e a producti5e discussion a+out J or ). ,dentity
-ay also narro' oneKs affordancesG for e8a-ple@ identifying as a person 'ho can figure things out on
their o'n -ay pre5ent a person fro- noticing options that in5ol5e asking so-eone else for help.
Graha-@ !aul 9%119:. Peep your identity s-all.
http?EE'''.paulgraha-.co-Eidentity.ht-l
11%
Sunday # Co-pound Returns
<elegating to 3ourself
What 'ays of handing on an assign-ent -ake you feel resentful or frustrated? What are so-e 'ays
+osses or co'orkers ha5e delegated to you that -ade you -ore enthused a+out carrying out the task?
&o' ha5e you delegated effecti5ely to your co'orkers or su+ordinates? What helped you feel
confident that the proHect 'ould -o5e for'ard and left the- feeling fairly treated? What -ade the-
+alk or you feel antsy?
Are there any changes you plan to -ake to your current delegation strategies@ to treat yourself as youKd
treat others or as youKd 'ant to +e treated +y the-?
113
When do you plan to ha5e your first strategic re5ie'? Can you set a re-inder no'? ,f not@ ho' 'ill
you re-e-+er in the -o-ent?
Time:
5ethod of recall:
What kind of Buestions do you plan to ha5e on the agenda at your strategic re5ie's?
)ou should pro+a+ly include a recurring Buestion a+out 'hether your current list is 'orkingU
What data do you need at hand to ans'er these Buestions?
&o' 'ill you capture and store this infor-ation@ so youK5e got it ready?
/8pand the scope of your reflections. What other infor-ation do your need or preparations 'ill you
-ake?
11;
/ystems to consider trying
,n order to get your syste- going@ youKll 'ant to start 'ith so-ething pre0set and then -odify it
o5er ti-e 'ith your strategic re5ie's. &ere ,Kll point you to'ard a fe' syste-s to consider
adopting to get you started. , reco--end you pick any one of the- and run 'ith it for a 'hile.
Re-e-+er@ e5ery syste- 'ill +e a little 'rong for you@ +ut ha5ing no syste- 'hatsoe5er canKt
help you at all.
8etting Things <one #8T<$
"ne of the -ost co--on producti5ity syste-s around@ <a5id AllenKs G4< syste- descri+es
se5eral key principles for keeping track of e5erything in oneKs life as a 'ay of entering a state of
flo'. 4he syste- is descri+ed in his +ook Getting 4hings <one@ 'hich you can get at nearly any
+ookstore. &ere is its A-aFon link? http?EEgoo.glEy=R7n
<a5id Allen de5eloped this syste- for corporate 'orkers in the 1991s@ and in so-e 'ays the
-ethods descri+ed sho' their age. ,t is@ ho'e5er@ a fairly tried0and0true foundation for a
producti5ity syste-. ,t usually takes a fe' days of full0ti-e in5est-ent to really get a good
standard G4< syste- going.
?onk to <one
*ased on G4<@ Monk to <one is a slightly -odified i-ple-entation using an app called
Re-e-+er the Milk. 4he description of the syste- is here?
http?EE'''.re-e-+erthe-ilk.co-Eforu-sEtipsE1%%%%E
4his i-ple-entation is free@ although if you ha5e a s-artphone youKll pro+a+ly 'ant to pay
the R%. per year to ha5e the !ro 5ersion of the Re-e-+er the Milk phone app.
;en to <one
*ased e5en -ore loosely on G4<@ 7en to <one follo's 6eo *a+autaKs L7en &a+itsM
philosophy of -ini-alis- and si-plicity as a path to producti5ity. &is +asic description of
the syste- can +e found here?
http?EEFenha+its.netEFen0to0done0Ftd0the0ulti-ate0si-ple0producti5ity0syste-E
.utofocus
Reco--ended +y Yosh Pauf-an 9C$AR alu-nus and author of 4he !ersonal M*A:@ the
Autofocus syste- is 5ery si-ple and encourages a +alance +et'een logical and intuiti5e
thinking 'hen it co-es to choosing tasks to do. 4he syste- is descri+ed here?
http?EE-arkforster.sBuarespace.co-Eautofocus0syste-E
Yosh Pauf-an also uses an i!hone app called 4i-e*end thatKs co-pati+le 'ith this syste-. 4he
link to the app is here? http?EEgoo.glE!e*97
11.
<elegating to 3ourself @ 0urther
Resources
!eople tend to underesti-ate ho' long it 'ill take to co-plete a task@ an error kno'n as the planning
fallacy 9*uehler et al.@ %111:. !eople focus on 'hat they plan on doing@ 'hich is a +est0case scenario@
and do not adHust sufficiently for the -any 'ays in 'hich things could fail to go according to plan.
!eople tend to -ake -ore accurate predictions 'hen they take the Loutside 5ie'M +y considering ho'
long it has typically taken to co-plete si-ilar tasks in the past.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEReferenceZclassZforecasting
*uehler@ R.@ Griffin@ <.@ [ !eetF@ Y. 9%111:. 4he planning fallacy? Cogniti5e@ -oti5ational@ and
social origins. ,n M. !. 7anna [ Y. M. "lson 9/ds.:@ (dvances in Experimental -ocial
1sychology 9=olu-e ;3@ pp. 10%:. San <iego? Acade-ic !ress.
http?EEgoo.glE3s%1>
Social psychology research has found that the -ore people that are present in an e-ergency@ the less
likely any indi5idual is to inter5ene. 4his effect@ kno'n as the +ystander effect@ is e8plained in part +y
diffusion of responsi+ility 0 'hen -any other people are a5aila+le to inter5ene@ no indi5idual feels
particularly responsi+le for helping. !sychologists reco--end assigning responsi+ility for a task to a
specific indi5idual 9e.g.@ L)ou@ call 90101UM instead of LSo-eone call 90101UM:@ 'hich drastically
increases their likelihood of helping.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE<iffusionZofZresponsi+ility
*eha5ioral econo-ist George Ainslie has de5eloped the idea of L-ultiple sel5esM@ in 'hich a single
person can +e -odeled as a succession of different sel5es. &e has used this -odel in5estigate akrasia
9especially the tendency to e8cessi5ely discount the future:@ and to de5elop planning strategies +ased
on negotiation or +argaining +et'een oneKs Lsel5es.M &is 'e+site contains a precis of his +ook
#reakdown of %ill and other resources?
Ainslie@ George 9%111:. #reakdown of %ill.
http?EEpicoecono-ics.org
/cono-ists Ya-ison and Wegener 9%119: ela+orate on the theory that people treat their future sel5es as
other people@ and re5ie' neuroscience research 'hich suggests that so-e of the +rain processes
in5ol5ed in thinking a+out oneKs future prospects are used for thinking a+out other peopleKs -ental
states.
Ya-ison@ Y. [ Wegener@ Y. 9%119:. Multiple sel5es in interte-poral choice. Working paper
series@ $ederal Reser5e *ank of *oston@ >o. 19012.
11
http?EEhdl.handle.netE11;19E....2
Co--it-ent de5ices are tools that help a person co-+at akrasia +y i-posing additional conseBuences
on oneKs future sel5es@ so that they 'ill ha5e incenti5es to act in a 'ay that is consistent 'ith their
current goals. A5aila+le co--it-ent de5ices include StickP@ 'here users -ake a co--it-ent and set
a cost that they -ust pay if they do not stick to their co--it-ent@ and *ee-inder@ 'here you set a goal
and a path to that goal and pay if you stray too far fro- the path.
http?EE'''.stickk.co-E
https?EE'''.+ee-inder.co-E
S-all factors can ha5e a large effect at channeling a personKs +eha5ior in a particular direction. 4haler
and SunsteinKs 9%113: +ook 0udge re5ie's this area of research@ including a classic study 'hich found
that students 'ere far -ore likely to go get a tetanus shot after seeing a presentation on the +enefits of
the shot if they 'ere also asked to check their schedule for a ti-e 'hen they 'ere a5aila+le to go to the
health center. (nderstanding ho' these Lchannel factorsM influence peopleKs +eha5ior can help a
person delegate tasks -ore effecti5ely@ including to their future sel5es.
4haler@ R. &. [ Sunstein@ C. R. 9%113:. 0udge: *mproving !ecisions a,out =ealth, %ealth, and
=appiness.
http?EEnudges.orgE
Retting Things !one pro5ides one syste- for carrying out oneKs plans. <a5id AllenKs G4< syste-
includes identifying the Lne8t actionsM for each of your proHectsEtasks and the conte8t 'here you 'ill
engage in each action. An ad5antage of this concrete ad5anced planning is that@ 'hen the specified
conte8t arises@ the planned action can +e triggered 'ithout a need for further deli+eration or planning.
Another +enefit that Allen cites for ha5ing an organiFed syste- for planning your actions is that it frees
up attention@ since it there is no need for a proHect to +e on your -ind if you can trust that it is in your
syste-. A recent set of studies +y psychologists Masica-po [ *au-eister 9%111: pro5ides e-pirical
support for this clai-. 4hey found that unfinished goals led to intrusi5e thoughts and 'orse
perfor-ance on other tasks@ +ut the intrusi5e thoughts disappeared a-ong those 'ho 'ere gi5en a
chance to -ake specific plans for ho' to pursue their goal.
Masica-po@ /.Y.@ [ *au-eister@ R.$. 9%111:. Consider it doneU !lan -aking can eli-inate the
cogniti5e effects of unfulfilled goals. Cournal of 1ersonality and -ocial 1sychology@ ;A;@ 20
33.
http?EEgoo.glE;(k42
112
=ropagating 2rges
2rges vs 8oals
Roal: =er+alEdeli+erate 'ants
9L, 'ant to 'rite a +ookM:
?rge: )our desires -o-ent to -o-ent. 4hese are felt in the +ody
9L, 'ant to finish reading this 'e+co-icM:
/nglish uses the 'ord O'antK to denote +oth the declarati5e@ 5er+al 'anting of goals and the i--ediate@
co-pelling 'anting of urges. 4hatKs ho' you can end up saying@ L, 'ant to e8ercise@ +ut , don.t 'ant
to e8erciseUM &o'e5er@ itKs 5ery helpful to distinguish 'ants and urgesG any ti-e one finds oneself
saying LJ@ +ut also not0JUM@ itKs a clue one could use -ore distinctions.
"ften@ youKll ha5e a goal and an urge for a +ig proHect 9L, 'ant to 'rite a +ookM:. )ou kno' itKs an
urge and not Hust a goal +ecause Hust saying the 'ords al-ost -akes you see the co5er e-+laFoned 'ith
L0YT #estselling (uthorM and causes a surge of pree-pti5e pride.
*ut@ e5en though your 5er+al@ Syste- % thinking understands that editing a particular paragraph is a
necessary step to achie5e your goal@ the urge doesnKt propagate do'n and cause you to ha5e a +urning@
in the -o-ent desire to tighten up the language in paragraph I%;1.
4he goal of this unit is to -ake it easier to use your urge to co-plete a goal 9e.g.@ your urge to 'rite a
+ook: to fuel an urge to 'ork on its su+goals 9e.g.@ an urge to edit paragraph I%;1:.
113
$ist some goals where you fall into a * want to U, ,ut * don.t want to U pattern:
$ist some su,goalsHnext:actions that you would like to have an in:the:moment urge to complete:
6etKs look@ no'@ at a case 'here urges naturally propagate correctly # and at a si-ilar case 'here they
do not.
* case where urges naturall' propagate correctl':
4he other day@ , recei5ed a paycheck in the -ail. >o'@ like -any people@ , ha5e +oth an urge and a
goal to ha5e -oney in the +ank. 4he state L, ha5e -oney in the +ankM can +e furthered +y the actions?
1. "pen en5elope
%. !ut check in 'allet
3. >e8t ti-e ,K- at the A4M@ deposit check into A4M.
Sure enough@ , felt an urge to take each of these actions # and a little Lka0chingUM feeling after , did it.
My e8perience 'ent so-ething like this? feel urge to open envelopeN "pen en5elope? Lka0chingUM
6eel urge to put check in walletN !ut check in 'allet? Pa0chingU And so on.
119
* ver' similar case+ where urges didn,t naturall' propagate:
4hat sa-e 'eek@ , also recei5ed in the -ail a parking ticket. >o'@ parking tickets in *erkeley initially
cost R%3@ +ut if you donKt pay the- for 31 days@ they cost R91. Gi5en this state of affairs@ -y urge and
goal to ha5e -oney in the +ank 'ould ha5e +een 'ell ser5ed +y actions like?
\ !ro-ptly open en5elope
\ $ill out little slipG 'rite check
\ !ut slip and check in -ail.
*ut here@ -y +rainKs auto-atic urge propagation failed. ,nstead of feeling an urge to tear open the
parking ticket 9and a Lka0chingU ,K- furthering the Oha5e -oney in the +ankK 'orldstate feeling 'hen ,
did:@ , felt an urge to a5oid paying@ or e5en looking at@ the parking ticket. And 'hen , did open the
ticket@ instead of Lka0chingUM , felt an Lo'UM
,tKs interesting to -editate on ho' si-ilar the t'o situations are. $irst off@ the causal structure of the
situations 'as Buite si-ilar. 4he parking tickets situation 'as iso-orphic 9structurally identical: to a
situation in 'hich parking tickets cost an i--ediate R91@ +ut@ 'hen you recei5e a parking ticket@ you
also get a R% check in the -ail that 'ill e8pire after 31 days.
Secondly@ the actions reBuired to increase -y +ank account +alance are Buite si-ilar. 4earing open a
paycheck en5elope is Buite si-ilar to tearing open a parking ticket en5elope. $illing in the parking
ticket slip is si-ilar to filling in a deposit slip. And yet the one set of actions felt attractive 'hile the
other set felt aversive # pro+a+ly +ecause -y unconscious -ind understood that check0opening helped
get -oney@ +ut felt that parking0ticket0opening cost -oney.
Retting the parking:ticket:opening urges to propagate, with a ,it of conscious help:
, ended up 5isualiFing that the en5elope 'ith the parking ticket actually held a check for R% that 'ould
e8pire in 31 days. , Hust had to open it to +e a+le to clai- the check. , also practiced the ka0ching
feeling 'hile opening the en5elope@ +y saying LyesUM out loud. 4hat 5i5id i-age did the trick.
"pening parking tickets@ and paying +ills pro-ptly in general@ +egan to feel like opening paychecks.
1%1
*hy urges are critical for your current goals
%hy might you want to spend time and effort wiring up your su,goals so that you have an urge and not
3ust an o,ligation to complete them"
(rges can help you actually 'ork@ +ut so can 'illpo'er or social pressure. /8pending 'illpo'er can
+e e8hausting and costly@ so itKs nice to spare yourself the strain. *ut urges can do -ore for you than
that.
When you 'ork on a proHect@ e5en if youKre already 'orking hard@ you -ay notice a spurt of energy
and focus once you suddenly are gi5en a real deadline. )ou -ight focus -ore on the -ost urgent tasks
of the proHect@ instead of less necessary 'ork. &a5ing a real urge to co-plete a proHect 9or to co-plete
it 'ell: can gi5e you the sa-e kind of producti5ity +oost that a deadline can gi5e you # all the ti-e.
Many report that this +oost is -uch larger than the +oost they get +y Hust sitting do'n in front of the
task and L'orking as hard as they canM.
( somewhat silly example of how urges matter:
!lenty of different urges can get you to O'orkK +ut not all of the- spur useful 'ork. When 'riting
'edding thank yous@ , used po-odoros to do focused 'ork in short +ursts that helped -e propagate an
urge fro- the goal O+e diligentK to the task O'rite thank yous.K , tallied ho' -any po-odoro +locks ,
had co-pleted and felt acco-plished.
1%1
*ut then@ as an e8peri-ent@ , tried tallying ho' -any thank yous , 'rote in each po-odoro session.
Suddenly , 'as co-pleting literally t'ice as -any thank you notes per %. -inute period than , 'as
'hen , 'as Hust counting po-odoros instead of LscoreM per po-odoro.
, had connected -y diligence urge to the wrong action@ or@ at least@ to a su+0opti-al one. , 'as +etter
off connecting -y feeling of L<iligence acco-plishedUM to -y nu-+er of ite-s co-pleted@ not the
elapsed ti-e , spent 'orking on the proHect. 9,n fact@ , 'as literally t'ice as 'ell offU:
%hat are some actions that might spur you to work harder or smarter" %hat might help you connect
urges to these actions" JThink simple: scheduling check:ins with a coworker, tallying dealt:with email
Janswering or permanent ignoringI, watching a user use the current version of your software and
feeling his pain from the currently missing or ,roken features, etc.I
6nside the 4rainF &o' do urges naturally propagateA
)our +rain naturally conditions your +eha5ior. 4he Lka0chingUM feeling 'hen , open an en5elope 'ith a
paycheck and the Lo'UM feeling 'hen , touch a parking ticket are internal 00 youKre not actually getting
a re'ard or punish-ent fro- the outside 'orld. 4he or+itofrontal corte8 9"$C: -ay +e the part of the
+rain that helps pro5ide this internal reinforce-ent@ linking urges to actions. We 'ant to recruit your
natural conditioning circuits to help you ha5e urges for -ore useful actions.
So@ letKs start +y re5ie'ing the +asics of conditioning. ,-agine you 'anted to condition a dog to step
on a green tile.
What 'ould happen if you put a pressure pad under the tile@ so e5ery ti-e the dog stepped there@ a treat
'ould auto-atically +e dispensed three days later?
What 'ould you do if@ after se5eral sessions@ the dog hadnKt stepped on the tile at all and had ne5er
triggered the treat dispenser?
1%%
Conditioning depends on rapid responses. 4he treat need to co-e al-ost i--ediately@ so it reinforces
the +eha5ior you 'ant to train.
Conditioning is far -ore effecti5e if you shape ,ehaviors incrementally. $irst you re'ard the dog for
+eing near the tile@ and then shrink the radius that Bualifies as OnearK o5er ti-e. 4his process is called
OshapingK and itKs 5ery po'erful. $or e8a-ple@ *.$. Skinner successfully used it to train pigeons to pick
out a specific tune on a toy piano 9first +e near the piano@ then touch it@ then play any note@ then a note
near the first note@ then only the first note@ etc:.
,-agine you could gi5e instructions to the part of AnnaKs +rain that naturally conditions her@ and you
'anted it to +e as sa55y as possi+le as it tried to get her to 'rite her su--er research paper on phage
-etageno-ics. What s-all +eha5iors 'ould you reinforce to shape a co-ple8 one?
$ook at icon for note taking software
Enter office
Disit pomodoro timer we,site
%alk toward computer
+lick note:taking icon
Think a,out phage metagenomics
Think a,out the paper
Think a,out going to the office
Open calendar
-chedule time,locks
=ave pomodoro ,egin
+hoose some ongoing pro3ect you want to complete:
0ote that these can ,e considered as if:then implementation intentions of the form )*f Jdo ,ehaviorI,
then Jconnect viscerally to goal, feel a )ka:chingL) of progress, and a moment of )that goalL * want to
get to that goalL)I. +f. 1eter Rollwit'er4s research. %hat small ,ehaviors of yours would you like to
reinforce to help you shape the large endeavor" %hen would it ,e handy for you to feel a ka:chingL,
or a sense of * want thatL that connects to the longer:term urge"
1%3
When your +rain conditions you naturally@ the or+itofrontal corte8 is +uilding up a causal -odel of the
'orld and using it to decide 'hat to reinforce and shape.
,n a pri-ate e8peri-ent@ -onkeys 'ere fitted 'ith electrodes to track dopa-ine spikes and then played
a si-ple 5ideo ga-e. When they scored@ they got a sBuirt of Huice@ 'hich triggered a dopa-ine spike.
*ut@ after a couple rounds of the ga-e@ the spike shifted earlier # no' the -onkeyKs +rains 'ere
re'arding the- 'hen the ga-e flashed a 5ictory sign@ +efore the Huice 'as dispensed. 4he +rain had
put together an unconscious causal -odel and -o5ed the dopa-ine spike closer to the +eha5ior that
triggered the desired outco-e. 4heir +rain 'as conditioning the- internally@ +ased on its guesses at the
interi- 'orld0states that indicated i-pending Huice # -uch as your +rain -ight condition you internally
+ased on its guesses a+out the i-pact of opening paychecks or parking tickets.
4he goal in this class is to patch so-e of the gaps in your +rainKs causal -odel of the 'orld that keeps
it fro- reinforcing actions that are necessary to a goal. 4hat is@ the goal of this class is to help you get
the part of your +rain that is already conditioning your +eha5ior # the part that is already sending you
dopa-ine 'hen you open paychecks@ and LeekUM signs 'hen you notice -istakes # to ha5e a -ore
accurate causal -odel of the 'orld@ so that it can gi5e you a strong urge to'ard all the actions that help
to'ard your goals 9including e.g. opening parking tickets@ ackno'ledging -istakes@ turning around
'hen youK5e +een heading in the 'rong direction@ and editing paragraph I%;1 on your road to +eing an
author:.
1%;
&o' urges are critical for the goals you could have and your freedom to act
(rges 9or the lack thereof: can shape 'hat you notice@ i-agine@ or +elie5e@ as 'ell as 'hat you actually
do.
4he principal and the candy dishes
What s-all pleasure or pain signals can shape your +eha5ior 'ithout you noticing? What turns up in
your en5iron-ent? What does your +rain ad-inister ha+itually 'ithout deli+erate intent?
6ook for 'ays to use urges and reinforce-ent to increase your scope of action@ i-age@ and thought.
$or e8a-ple@ look for 'ays to -ake it L)esU , noticed a -istakeUM and not L<a-nU , Hust noticed a
'ay that ,K5e +een +eing terri+ly inefficientUM 9since itKs useful to notice -istakes@ and feeling pain
teaches you not to noticeU:.
-he main point: We ha5e so-e specific urge0propagation techniBues +elo'. *ut honestly@ these
techniBues are not the -ain point. 4he -ain point is to notice, on a visceral level, that urges matter.
/5en if youKre L5ery diligentM and Lha5e no trou+le 'ith procrastinationM@ youKll get far -ore done@ far
-ore Buickly@ if you ha5e a 5isceral urge to acco-plish the su+steps. 9A -ental i-age to help this out?
doing a 1110hour task 'ithout first spending an hour creating task0aiding urges is a+out as 'asteful as@
say@ atte-pting the 1110hour task 'hile lying in +ed half asleep. Sure@ you can -ake progress@ +ut
1%.
nothing like the kind of progress youKll a+le to -ake if you can engage -ore of your -ind.: So the
main point of this unit+ reall'+ is to: .a/ notice how much urges matter0 .1/ ma$e a ha1it of noticing+
for all wor$ tas$s+ what urges would help 'ou accomplish those tas$s0 and .c/ tin$er around until
'ou manage to create more of an urge2 4he urge0propagation techniBues +elo' offer a starting point
for this tinkering # +ut this tinkering is the -ain point.
9>ote that -any kinds of urges -ay +e useful for task0co-pletion. So-eti-es itKs useful to Hust 'ant
to get the task done. "ther ti-es@ if a task in5ol5es e.g. sol5ing a pro+le-@ itKs useful to find the
pro+le- o+sessi5ely interesting # 'hich is a different feeling than 'anting to check the pro+le- off
your todo list. "r again@ if your task in5ol5es colla+oration 'ith others or sales to others@ it -ay +e
useful to ha5e a 'ar- urge to help those others 9so that they unconsciously notice your feelings and
feel positi5ely to'ard you:. 4he point is Hust to take a -inute to notice 'hich urges are usefulG to then
take another -inute to notice 'hether you already ha5e the useful urges at full0+lastG and@ if not@ to play
around so-e until you ha5e -ore of the-.:
1%
=ropagating 2rges <eliberately
)ou 'ant your "$C to patch its causal -odel of the 'orld@ so your urge to achie5e goals 'ill naturally
dri5e an urge to tackle the su+goals. 4he ulti-ate ai- is to ha5e the reinforce-ent proceed 'ithout
your acti5e inter5ention. &ere is one approach to helping your "$C i-pro5e its causal -odel 9so that
it can gi5e you Lka0chingMs and LeepsM in the right places@ and your urges 'ill naturally propagate:.
-tep A: O,serve.
!ay attention as you open your parking tickets@ head to the gy-@ or sit do'n at your desk to 'ork hard
on that proHect. >otice 'hen you feel the little LeepsUM and Lka0chingsMG notice 'hat details see-
interesting and 'hat details see- like +oring nuisances. What set of urges are you starting out 'ith?
Where is your "$C already positi5ely or negati5ely conditioning your +eha5ior?
-tep ;: 5editate on the causal structure
Choose the su+goal you 'ant to feel an urge for 9e.g. Lregularly use po-odoros to practice
'ritingEeditingM:. Meditate on the 'ay this su+goal pro-otes the larger goal that you do feel an urge
for. Walk through lots of concrete sense0e8periences in your i-agination@ or in reality? ho' 'ill your
year unfold differently if you do this 'ell@ 5s. if you stick 'ith your current default? What 'ill the
contrast feel like? ,s the causal connection trust'orthy@ or is there so-e reason the ne' action -ight
+ackfire?
-tep ;.: *f possi,le, expose your O6+ to real experiences: ,f you 'ant to 5iscerally get that s-oking
is a health risk@ donKt Hust dra' a causal diagra- # go 5isit so-e people 'ith lung cancer. Watch the-
'ith the e8plicit causal link in -ind. 6ook for a 'ay to get 5i5id@ non05er+al e8perience 'ith the
causal linkG speak to your Syste- 1 in the language it understands # the language of concrete
e8periences.
Si-ilarly@ in order to get that your current soft'are is painful to use@ 'atch users use it painfully. "r in
order to get that 'ritingEediting po-odoros 'ill further your goal of +eing an author@ try asking authors
ho' they le5eled up their skills at +ook signings@ so you can hear ho' e-phatic they are. Re-e-+er
that the goal is not Syste- % 5er+al understanding@ +ut Syste- 1 5isceral understanding.
4hen@ to -ake the e8perience stick?
-tep F: +ome up with a vivid pointer for the causal link
4hink of an i-age thatKs funny or grotesBue that heightens your a'areness of the causal link +et'een
the su+0action and the goal 'hose urge you 'ant to propagate. $or e8a-ple?
Se+astian Marshall@ a +logger@ needed a 'ay to stay -oti5ated to stick 'ith his goal of dieting and
+ody +uilding. &e had to -ake sure that his goal of +eing healthy propagated do'n to actions like
1%2
LdonKt take a potato chip fro- the +o'l.M And picturing a tiny -arginal decrease in heart attack risk
'asnKt enough to pro-pt a 5isceral urge. So he pictured so-ething a lot -ore 5i5id 00 he i-agined
hi-self clad in a loincloth@ rippling 'ith -uscles@ a ,ar,arian warlord. So e5ery ti-e he resisted
te-ptation@ he +rought this i-age to -ind.
C$AR instructor =alentine helped hi-self keep feeling an urge to do pushups@ e5en 'hen they 'ere
painful +y linking his goalWurge of a strong healthy +ody 'ith an i-age of the agony of pushups +eing
caused +y a purifying fire that +urned a'ay +ad health gre-lins in his +ody.
1%3
-tep K: 1racticeL
Whene5er you encounter the desired trigger for your ne' urge 9e.g.@ seeing a parking ticket ought to
trigger a desire to open the parking ticketG +eginning to edit a paragraph ought to trigger an urge to edit
it:@ repeat the i-age fro- step %. ConHure it up 5iscerally. At the sa-e ti-e@ do a Lhappy gestureM 'ith
your +ody to help feel the 5isceral@ L,K- getting closer to that thing , really 'ant goodness that the
i-age should conHure.
After you repeat it consciously for a 'hile@ it usually sticks. )ou can repeat it either as occasions arise
in the natural course of life@ or else in a deli+erate practice session 9Loffline trainingM:.
Try it:
%hat is an urge you actually want to propagate" =ow is it causally linked to a su,:action that you
currently lack an urge for"
(rge for long0ter- outco-e?
Su+0action 'here you 'ant to propagate this urge?
-tep A: O,serve. *n your inner simulator, or in reality, go through the action as you find it now. %hat
ka:chings, eeksL, or urges do you notice"
-tep ;: Ret your -ystem ; to understand the causal connection. %here could you go to get real world
data or experience to help your -ystem ; internali'e this connection" Or what experiences can you
usefully meditate on, to get it more concretely"
-tep F: %hat are some vivid images you could use to cement this causal link" J*n the style of *ar+arian
WarlordUI
-tep K: %hat will practicing this Jstep KI look like"
Make sure to repeat the three practices a+o5e 9-editating on the causal link@ seeking real 'orld
e8perience@ generating a 5i5id re-inder:@ to help install your ne' routine. Consider using techniBues
fro- "ffline &a+it 4raining to help trigger the 5i5id i-age.
1%9
!racticing your i-age for the causal link -ay +e easier or -ore successful if you link it to a happy
gesture. )ouKre trying to reinforce a +eha5ior and trigger an e-otional spike. 4hat can +e hard to do if
your +ody is slouching in a chair and youKre 'orking fro- i-agery alone.
=isit *Y $oggKs 4iny&a+its.co- and sign up for his e-ails in order to get useful practice 'ith these
techniBues 'ithout ha5ing to acti5ely re-ind yourself to practice. -eriously, *.d highly recommend
this. *t.s free. (nd past participants Jand *LI have found #C 6ogg.s stuff very helpful for getting
started.
131
.ppendix 1F Troubleshooting
Ask your Linner si-ulatorM if it e8pects this process 9steps 103 a+o5e: to 'orkU ,f the process feels odd
or unlikely to 'ork@ check these steps?
1. Make sure you actually 'ant your +rain to reinforce this action. ,f you could Hust press a +utton and
there+y ha5e an urge to do the action@ 'ould you press the +utton? "r -ight that cause pro+le-s? 4ake
a -o-ent to search for good reasons not to acBuire this urge@ and for any e-otional hesitations you
-ight ha5e. 4hink the- through.
%. Make sure your emotional ,rain agrees 'ith you@ a+out 'anting to feel a 5isceral@ in the -o-ent
pull to'ard this action. ,f you +alk e-otionally at desiring this ne' action@ your +rain 'ill +e gi5ing
you a little electric shock e5ery ti-e you try to condition yourself to'ard the ha+it # and the urge
propagation 'onKt 'ork.
3. Make sure youKre using a real causal link to -editate on@ e8perience@ and generate i-ages. ,f you
donKt +uy 95er+ally and e-otionally: that the goal and the su+0action are really connected@ the process
-ight fiFFle out.
;. Make sure your e-otional +rain 9and you: are okay 'ith the urge propagation process. ,f you +alk
e-otionally at the idea of changing your o'n urges@ your +rain 'ill 9again: +e gi5ing you a little
electric shock e5ery ti-e you try to link the urge to a ne' action # and the ne' feeling 'onKt stick.
0ote that steps ;:E are parts of goal:factoring. *t is good to do goal:factoring on ,e a famous author
and regularly rewrite paragraphs ,efore you try to propagate the urge ,e a famous author into
the urge regularly rewrite paragraphs.
131
.ppendix F 2rges that are often useful to propagate
A lot of participants 9and C$AR staff: ha5e found the follo'ing urges particularly useful to propagate.
4he first set help -ake co--on@ e5eryday goals faster and easier. 4he second help su+5ert the
unconscious@ unhelpful conditioning that -any people ha+itually engage in.
WeK5e gi5en a fe' starting points for these urges@ to help kickstart your urge propagation process 9steps
103 a+o5e:. )ouKll need to take so-e ti-e to find -oti5es that resonate 'ith you.
0or everyday goalsF
/5ery ti-e you send an e-ail? a fist pu-ping feeling of L)esU , Hust sent an e-ailUM
!o-odoros?
When you start a po-odoro? L)esU ,K- a+out to get closer to ]5i5id thing you like a+out
goal^UM
When you finish a po-odoro? LGo -eU , Hust -ade progress to'ard ]goal^UM
When you discard unnecessary things? L&uFFahU , repelled the ad5ancing forces of -essUM
When you cut a lo'0priority ite- fro- your todo list? LWoohooU , Hust +rought into +eing a
+etter0rested@ less0stressed -e to do the tasks , really care a+outUM
0or expanding your ability to act/perceive/imagineF
When you notice you -ade a -istake? L)esU , noticedU >o' , ha5e the a+ility to learn andEor
inter5eneUM
When you notice youKre rationaliFing? LWo'U , spotted that ,K- rationaliFingU , can pause and
reflect no'UM
When you notice youKre resisting infor-ationEe8periencing a -ental flinch? LAhaU My +rain is
trying to hide this fro- -eU ,Kll find strength to sally forth into the ugh fieldUM
When youKre going outside your co-fort Fone? LPa0chingU , Hust earned a Co7/ pointU 4his is
a +it unco-forta+le 'hich -eans ,K- e8ploringUM
When you notice that youKre floundering 'ith a ne' skill or feel like you look du-+Elike a
no5ice? LWhe'U ,K- at the edge of -y current co-petency. 4his is 'hat real learning feels
like.M
13%
=ropagating 2rges @ 0urther Resources
"perant conditioning is the process +y 'hich people co-e to associate +eha5iors 'ith the pleasures or
pains that they produce@ and to engage in +eha5ioral patterns that lead to -ore pleasant conseBuences
9'hile a5oiding those that result in pain:. Associations are for-ed -ost strongly 'hen the pleasure or
pain i--ediately follo's the +eha5ior.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE"perantZconditioning
Co-ple8 +eha5iors can +e learned through operant conditioning through a gradual step0+y0step process
kno'n as Lshaping.M !leasant results are structured to pro5ide positi5e reinforce-ent for +eha5iors
'hich represent a s-all step in the direction of the desired +eha5ior@ +eginning 'ith +eha5iors that
already occur@ so that the indi5idual is led to'ards the desired +eha5ior +y a hill0cli-+ing algorith-.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEShapingZ9psychology:
An engaging take on ho' the techniBues of operant conditioning 'hich are used to train ani-als can
also +e applied to people?
!ryor@ Paren 91999:. !on.t -hoot the !og.
!sychologists Car5er and Scheier 9%11%: use the theory of control syste-s to -odel goal pursuit@ 'here
feed+ack a+out oneKs progress to'ards a goal is translated into pleasant or unpleasant feelings. 4hese
feelings then -oti5ate the person to continue an effecti5e approach or change an ineffecti5e approach.
,n order for the syste- to function s-oothly@ it is necessary for the rele5ant part of the syste- to
recogniFe the connection +et'een the goal and oneKs current +eha5ior.
Car5er@ C. S.@ [ Scheier@ M. $. 9%11%:. Control processes and self0organiFation as
co-ple-entary principles underlying +eha5ior. 1ersonality and -ocial 1sychology &eview@ S@
31;031..
http?EEgoo.glE(.WY)
&oller-an and SchultF 91993: re5ie' research on conditioning 'hich in5estigated ho' -onkeysK
dopa-ine syste- responds 'hen they recei5e a Huice re'ard. 4heir dopa-ine response 'as +ased on
the infor-ation that they recei5ed a+out 'hether they 'ere getting Huice@ rather than the Huice itself.
4hus@ an une8pected Huice re'ard produced a dopa-ine spike@ and a cue 'hich indicated that they 'ere
a+out to recei5e Huice also produced a spike. &o'e5er@ e8pected Huice did not produce a dopa-ine
spike@ and if a -onkey that e8pected to recei5e Huice did not recei5e Huice then there 'as a decrease in
dopa-ine.
&oller-an@ Y. R.@ [ SchultF@ W. 91993:. <opa-ine neurons report an error in the te-poral
prediction of re'ard during learning. 0ature 0euroscience@ ;@ 31;0319.
http?EEgoo.glE3>P<h)
Se+astian Marshall e8plains his *ar+arian Warlord i-age in -ore detail on his epony-ous +log?
133
http?EEse+astian-arshall.co-E+ar+arian0'arlord
Stanford psychologist *Y $ogg offers has de5eloped a si-plified@ syste-atic approach to +eha5ior
change. &is free tutorial 9'hich you can sign up to recei5e +y e-ail at his 'e+site: pro5ides e8tre-ely
useful practice at de5eloping a ne' ha+it@ as 'ell as a clear e8planation of the process. &e e-phasiFes
-aking the ne' +eha5ior e8tre-ely si-ple and Buick to do@ ha5ing a clear trigger for the +eha5ior@ and
cele+rating each ti-e that you co-plete the +eha5ior in order to reinforce the ne' ha+it.
http?EEtinyha+its.co-E
#&ighly Recommended$
13;
5ffline &abit Training
4he purpose of this unit is to -ake it easier to get ne' ha+its@ -ake desira+le ha+its take less attention@
and +reak un'anted old ha+its. 6etAs start +y +rainstor-ing for changes 'eAd like to -ake.
*arm1upF 4rainstorming a habit 'ish1list...
1. &a+its you wish you had ?
%. &a+its you 'ish you didn4t ha5e ? 9"ften the +est 'ay to +reak an old ha+it is to install a ne' one
that a+orts it. 4his is especially true if the ne' ha+it can satisfy 'hate5er 'as reinforcing the old
one@ +ut thatAs not al'ays necessary.:
3. &a+its you ha5e +ut 'ish 'ere easier or took less effort?
;. Goals you ha5e 'ith so-e -o-ent0to0-o-ent su+tasks that are not auto-aticEpleasant for you
9na-e the su+tasks@ too:?
.. &a+its or attitudes that other people ha5e 'hich ser5e the- 'ell@ +ut 'hich you donAt ha5e?
13.
<esign your offline training exercise
/tep 1F Choose the habit change that you 'ant to install.
Re-e-+er that +reaking an old ha+it is often -ost easily acco-plished +y esta+lishing a ne' ha+it
'hich a+orts or o5errides the old one@ e.g. closing Reddit to a5oid reading it.
Consider doing a 0ermi estimate to help you decide ho' effecti5e 11 -inutes of offline training
'ould need to +e in order to +e 'orth it?
0reHuent means valuable. All else +eing eBual@ ha+its you can do e5ery day ha5e 31 ti-es -ore
i-pact than ha+its you do once a -onth.
Example: ;A minutes per day X SA hours per year7 this is a great anchor to keep in mindL
To break old habits( think of ne' habit that could stop them.
Example: * wanted use 6ace,ook less, so * trained the ha,it of closing 6ace,ook. Eventually, it
felt silly to use it unless * had a particularly good reason to.
Take inspiration from other participants. Many past participants ha5e focused on social ha+its@
relationships@ e8ercise@ -eals@ sleep@ 'riting@ co-puter use@ stress reduction@ learning ne' skills@
re-e-+ering to +e self0a'are... -ay+e take so-e inspiration fro- the-.
13
/tep F Consider alternatives.
Are you sure you really 'ant this ha+it? Re-e-+er -any factors affect your ha+its. ,f you lack
-oti5ation@ -ay+e itAs ti-e for Goal $actoring andEor !ropagating (rges. ,f you find an action
a5ersi5e@ -ay+e itAs ti-e for A5ersion $actoring or Co7/. ,f thereAs a skill in5ol5ed 'ith this ha+it@ e.g.
a social or -otor skill@ -ay+e itAs ti-e for 4ur+ocharging or skill0focused Co7/.
4&"(G&4S?
Try a different habit idea. ,f youAre not sure a+out these other factors@ perhaps choose a
different ha+it to focus on during this unit.
:earn by doing. ,f youAre not sure a+out any ha+its@ also re-e-+er that -any ha+its are
so-ething you can 3ust try out, and use the ha,it as an opportunity to notice things a+out your
-oti5ations@ a5ersions@ and skills. And you can al'ays try uninstalling the ha+it later if you
think that 'ould +e +etter.
132
/tep %F ?ake it concrete and repeatable.
WhatAs a 5ery concrete and repeata+le ]4rigger^00c]Action^ pattern you could train to help 'ith your
ne' ha+it? 9Concreteness is -eant to -ake it easier for DSyste- 1D@ particularly procedural -e-ory@
to help you 'ith the ha+it@ and repeata+ility lets you train it -any ti-es in a 110-inute ti-e0span.:
9*onus? follo'ing the !ropagating (rges unit@ design a ]Reinforce-ent^ step after the action that
-eaningfully links the action to your long ter- goals.:
2se existing habits as triggers.
Train your Cget startedD reflex for tasks you procrastinate or forget to start.
Example: one participant wanted to go to the gym after getting home, so he practiced
Narrive homeO 1P Npack gym bag and take it to the carO 1P K'ee( sexy fitness9K
Example: , used to delay starting 'ork +ecause it reBuired clearing off -y desk. So@ , first
practiced the skill of clearing off your desk Buickly 'ith -ini-al -ental effort. "nce , had
that@ , co-+ined 'ith a triggerF
N'alk into officeO 1P Nclear desk HuicklyO 1P Kyay( space to think9K
*in the 'ar by 'inning battles. ,f you 'ant to +eco-e -ore patient@ you donAt ha5e to -ake
yourself uni5ersally -ore patient in all situations right a'ay. )ou can start +y training patience
in a particular recurring conte8t@ and e8pand your e-pire of patience fro- there. $or e8a-ple@
Nenter meeting roomO 1P Nsit( relax( and visuali"e it's a beautiful gardenO
"nce you try this@ you -ight learn things a+out 'hat 'orks or doesnAt@ 'hich 'ill -ake you
-ore prepared for -ore conte8ts.
Train the little things for tasks you get distracted fro- or frustrated +y@ to -ake the- -ore
auto-atic and natural.
Example: -eeing my whole email in,ox ,etween every pair of messages * send is distracting
and slows me down. -o * trained myself to move through them FAV faster ,y practicing:
NBust clicked sendO 1P Npress N to archive and vie' next messageO
1P Kahh( mental clarity F$K
This saves me around FA minutes per day, or ;FA hours per year.
133
/tep )F Choose vivid associations and movements to link the trigger to the action.
,tAs okay to +e silly here if you 'ant G:
4hink of -o5ies@ songs@ stories@ or historical e5ents you find epic or -e-ora+le
Example: *ron manL *4m training my -ystem ; to ,e as helpful as *ron 5an4s (*L
Make associations sensually and e-otionally 5i5idG get lots of neurons firing togetherU
9Related google searches for later? &e++ian learning@ associati5e -e-ory:
Example: * visuali'ed the door to my apartment was replaced ,y a giant copy of my cell phone
open to my to:do:at:home list.
(se physical -o5e-ents to engage your -otor -e-ory and -ake the action e8tra -e-ora+le.
9Related google searches for later? -otor learning@ procedural -e-ory:
Example: One participant trained a )mindful eating) gesture to help him associate mindfulness
with starting a meal so that he wouldn4t over:eat.
4ry Lself0signalingM@ i.e. de-onstrating to yourself that the ha+it is i-portant and 5alua+le.
9Related google searches for later? cogniti5e dissonance@ costly0signaling :
Example: * ,ought a chocolate ,ar 3ust to ceremonially throw it in the gar,age, ,ecause * had a
mild chocolate allergy. $ater when * was a,out the ,uy or eat chocolate, *4d remem,er this and
decide not to. This cost me little money, saved me much itching, and caused less food waste
than if * hadn4t ,roken my ha,it.
139
/tep +F <esign a +11E minute offline training exercise.
&o' can you practice the ]4rigger^00]Association^00c]Action^ pattern for 11 -inutes?
9Gi5e yourself +onus points if you can also find a 'ay to practice a reinforce-ent step after each
action@ like in !ropagating (rges G:
/tep -F /chedule a time and send a message to future1you
$ollo'ing the Self0<elegation unit@ think a+out 'hen it 'ill actually +e con5enient for future0you to
practice your ha+it. Also -ake sure the instructions are 'ill +e so-e'here easy for future0you to find.
... donAt 'rite the scheduling hereU May+e set an alar-@ put it in your calendar@ or *oo-erang an e-ail
to yourself... +ut do so-ething to actually help your future self re-e-+er at a ti-e 'hen itAs
con5enient.
/tep QF <o the practice( not Bust the habit. 3es( for real.
Really take those fe' -inutes to intently fire your do0things neurons along 'ith your think0things
neurons. 4ake ad5antage of procedural -e-ory caching. And re-e-+er that if it doesnAt 'ork@ itAs a
chance to learn a+out your -oti5ations@ a5ersions@ and skills.
1;1
2nit ,otesF 5ffline &abit Training
4he method of this unit 'ill +e a 'ay of using allocated chunks of ti-e in order to train ne' ha+its or
+reak old ones.
5ffline &abit TrainingF The ?ethod
Choose a habit change you 'ant to -ake in your life
6dentify a concrete NTriggerO1PN.ctionO pattern that could help you
-ake the change.
Train this behavior for .011 focused -inutes of your ti-e.
5ffline &abit TrainingF The Tools
0ermi estimation to help you prioritiFe ha+its +y ho' recurrent they are
and ho' -uch 5alue you can get fro- the-.
>ivid associations and movements to help you +rain start linking triggers
and actions together.
.ctual repetition of desired actions as a 'ay to train your +rain to -ake
certain +eha5ioral transitions -ore easily and auto-atically.
.ttention to motivation( aversion( and skills as critical factors 9'hich
are addressed +y other C$AR units:.
1;1
6mportant factors in building habits
So-e i-portant factors influencing ha+its are addressed in other C$AR units?
,f you lack -oti5ation@ -ay+e itAs ti-e for Goal $actoring andEor !ropagating (rges. ,f you find an
action a5ersi5e@ -ay+e itAs ti-e for A5ersion $actoring. ,f thereAs a skill in5ol5ed 'ith this ha+it@ e.g. a
social or -otor skill@ -ay+e itAs ti-e for 4ur+ocharging.
*ut so-eti-es skill@ -oti5ation@ and a+sence of a5ersion isnAt enough to change your ha+its. &a+its
are also sustained +y triggers that re-ind you or or -ake it natural to do certain actions@ e.g.@
]at co-puter^ 00c ]open addicti5e 'e+site^
>oticing our triggers@ and using practice and associations to -ake it easy for oursel5es to transition
fro- ne' triggers to desira+le actions@ is the focus of this unit?
1;%
4efore installing a habit( consider alternatives
4ake at least a little ti-e to consider each of the factors a+o5e@ like -oti5ation@ a5ersion@ and skill@ and
'onder if thereAs a good reason you donAt ha5e this ha+it alreadyG you -ight disco5er a -odified
5ersion of the ha+it 'ould 'ork +etter. 9B.5. Goal $actoring@ !ropagating (rges@ A5ersion $actoring@
and 4ur+ocharging 4raining.:
The value of setting aside time to practice
*y LofflineM training@ , -ean setting aside so-e ti-e@ e.g. 11 -inutes@ 'hen you can focus all your
attention on de5eloping a ne' ha+it. )ou are LofflineM in the sense of +eing disconnected fro- the
other dataEdistractions of your daily life@ and protected fro- the conseBuences of failing or +eing too
focused on your ha+it.
*eing LofflineM is a feature of 'hat is co--only called deli+erate practice@ 'hile +eing LonlineM is a
feature of deli+erate perfor-ance. $or e8a-ple@ a -usician does not rely entirely on concert
perfor-ances 9online: to i-pro5eG she sets aside -any hours 9offline: to focus entirely on practicing
the parts she -ost needs to i-pro5e.
"ffline training is analogous to progra--ing@ in the sense that it takes an initial in5est-ent of ti-e and
attention to 'rite a progra- or install a ha+it@ +ut if you -anage to -ake the progra-Eha+it run
s-oothly@ it can sa5e you a lot of ti-e and attention laterU
4o train a ha+it offline@ , reco--end 'orking through the steps in in the <esign your offline training
exercise section at the +eginning of this section.
>"4/S?
1;3
4onusF The =omodoro TechniHue
A Dpo-odoroD is a short@ focused 'ork inter5al@ na-ed after the italian 'ord for Dto-atoD +ecause it
'as populariFed +y so-eone using a %.0-inute ti-er shaped like a to-ato.
*hy do people like itA $or a nu-+er of reasons@ 'hich -ay 5ary +y person. ,t can?
+reak 'ork into less scary@ +ite0siFed pieces that are easier to co--it toG
increase your 'orking -e-ory +y focusing on one task at a ti-eG
separate doing work and wondering what to do into different periods so youAre less stressedG
-ake 'ork -ore enHoya+le andEor healthy 5ia the +reaksG
strengthen your Dget startedD refle8 +y ha5ing you start 'ork -any ti-es per day instead of Hust
once or t'iceG
give you a source of timed triggers for other ha,its.
&o' it 'orks. As , reco--end it@ the !o-odoro techniBue 'orks like this?
W
1. !lace a +lank piece of paper ne8t to you and 'rite D<istractionsD at the top.
%. <ecide a task to focus on@ set a %.0-inute ti-er@ and +egin focused 'ork.
9)ayU Congratulate yourself for getting started ?:
3. As distractions like co-e to -ind@ 'rite the- on your piece of paper@ say D4hanks +rain@ letAs do
that laterUD@ and get +ack to your focused 'ork. <istractions can +e things like
Dcall YoeD
D'atch cat 5ideosD
D'onder if this is the +est use of -y ti-eD
;. When the ti-er ends@ yayU )ou did a po-odoroU Cele+rate for a second ?:
.. Set a .0 or 110-inute +reak ti-er@ and use your list of distractions as a source of ideas for
so-ething fun to do on your +reak@ and -ay+e ho' to spend your ne8t po-odoro.
1;;
6deas for break1timeF
Really enHoy yourselfU
'atch a cat 5ideo
play a short ga-e
listen to a song you lo5e
dance ?:
<o so-ething healthy@ like?
stretches
drinking 'ater
Hu-ping Hacks
-indfulness
gratitude e8ercises
>ariationF =omodoros TechniHue 'ith 'orking memory dumps. When -y 'ork in5ol5es holding
co-ple8 ideas in -ind@ , like to use a !o-odoro techniBue 'ith 3 stages?
;1 -inutes of focused 'ork 'ith distraction0logging
. -inutes of 'riting do'n idea frag-ents and associations to help -e get started again after a
+reak
11 -inutes of +reak
)ou can play 'ith this idea to get ti-es that 'ork +etter for you.
1;.
5ffline &abit Training @ 0urther
Resources
!rocedural -e-ory is -e-ory for the perfor-ance of particular types of action. !rocedural -e-ory
guides the processes 'e perfor-@ and typically operates outside of conscious a'areness. When needed@
procedural -e-ories are auto-atically retrie5ed and utiliFed for the e8ecution of the integrated
procedures in5ol5ed in +oth cogniti5e and -otor skills@ fro- tying shoes to flying an airplane to
reading. 4hey are created through Lprocedural learning@M 'hich in5ol5es repeating a co-ple8 acti5ity
o5er and o5er again until all of the rele5ant neural syste-s 'ork together to auto-atically produce the
acti5ity.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE!roceduralZ-e-ory
Much of hu-an 9and ani-al: learning is +ased on associations. !eople learn ha+its in part +y
de5eloping an association +et'een conte8tual cues 9such as the 5arious physical features of a particular
location: and a +eha5ior@ 'hich leads to a tendency to engage in that +eha5ior in that conte8t. A re5ie'
article on ha+its?
Wood@ W.@ >eal@ <. 4. 9%112:. A ne' look at ha+its and the ha+it0goal interface. 1sychological
&eview@ ;E@ 3;3033.
http?EEgoo.glEQP+l9
&e++ian learning is a theory of associati5e learning 'hich posits that neurons that fire together@ 'ire
together. /5idence for increased functional connecti5ity +et'een neurons that ha5e fired together has
co-e fro- research on long0ter- potentiation in the hippoca-pus of ra++its and rats.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE&e++ianZtheory
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE6ong0ter-Zpotentiation
Charles <uhiggKs 9%11%: +ook The 1ower of =a,it pro5ides a reada+le and usa+le re5ie' of the
research on ho' ha+its are for-ed@ -aintained@ and changed. An e8cerpt on his 'e+site e8plains the
i-portance of 'hat he calls the Lcue S routine S re'ardM feed+ack loop@ and ho' +eing a'are of this
structure can help you strategiFe a+out ho' to change your ha+its.
http?EEcharlesduhigg.co-Eho'0ha+its0'orkE
#&ighly Recommended$
"ne e8planation for the o+ser5ed +enefits of i-ple-entation intentions 9plans of the for- L,f ,K- in
situation J@ then ,Kll do action )M: is that they -ake goal pursuit -ore auto-atic +y turning the
situation J into a trigger for the action ). An fMR, study +y Gil+ert and colleagues 9%113: found so-e
e5idence for this hypothesis@ as participants 'ho repeated the i-ple-entation intention L,$ the sa-e
1;
letter is on +oth sides@ 4&/> , 'ill press the -iddle +uttonM had less acti5ity in a region of the +rain
+elie5ed to +e in5ol5ed in top0do'n action control 9lateral area 11: and -ore acti5ity in a region
+elie5ed to +e in5ol5ed in +otto-0up action control 9-edial area 11:.
Gil+ert@ S.@ Goll'itFer@ !. M.@ Cohen@ A.06.@ "ettingen@ G.@ [ *urgess@ !. W. 9%119:. Separa+le
+rain syste-s supporting cued 5ersus self0initiated realiFation of delayed intentions. Cournal of
Experimental 1sychology: $earning, 5emory, and +ognition@ KB@ 91.01..
http?EEgoo.glERifd1e
!eople often infer their o'n goals@ e-otions@ and +eliefs +ased on their o'n +eha5ior@ in the sa-e 'ay
that they 'ould dra' inferences a+out other peopleKs +eha5ior. 4hus@ engaging in a +eha5ior
9particularly in a conte8t 'here there is no other o+5ious e8planation for it: can change a personKs self0
i-age and future +eha5ior +y signaling to yourself that you are the kind of person 'ho 'ants to engage
in that +eha5ior. 4he classic psychology paper on this self0signaling effect is <aryl *e-Ks 9192%:
article on self0perception theory.
*e-@ <. Y. 9192%:. Self0perception theory. ,n 6. *erko'itF 9/d.:@ (dvances in Experimental
-ocial 1sychology 9Dol. S:@ 10%.
http?EE'''.d+e-.'sES!V%14heory.pdf
1;2
Turbocharging Training
]this page left deli+erately +lank for notes@ 'ait until after the class to read on^
1;3
Jey ideas
1. Pno' the skill youAre practicing
a: DWhat skill a- , actually practicing?D
+: D&o' -ight , train the skill , 'ant to practice?D 9[ then go +ack to 9a::
%. (se feed+ack 'ell
a: Make sure there is feed+ack
+: Make the feed+ack as rapid as possi+le
c: *e sure you can kno' ho' to do +etter ne8t cycle
d: ,nternaliFe feed+ack +y atte-pting to predict it
3. Ma8i-iFe intensity 'hile -ini-iFing error
a: Go faster 9or slo'er:
+: *e pickier 9or -ore lenient: a+out 'hat counts as an error
c: Add 9or decrease: changes that are irrele5ant to the skill
d: 7oo- in on a su+skill E reintegrate a su+skill to its conte8t of use
e: ...and possi+ly others
1;9
Turbocharging Training @ 0urther
Resources
/ngaging in Ldeli+erate practiceM 9/ricsson et al.@ 1993:@ as athletes and -usicians do in their training@
allo's a person to de5elop their skills -ore Buickly and to keep their learning cur5e fro- plateauing.
<eli+erate practice in5ol5es?
acti5e and focused attention on the acti5ity
5arying the acti5ity
feed+ack and instruction fro- coaches or peers
4he classic re5ie' article on deli+erate practice?
/ricsson@ P. A.@ Pra-pe@ R. 4.@ [ 4esch0Rb-er@ C. 91993:. 4he role of deli+erate practice in the
acBuisition of e8pert perfor-ance. 1sychological &eview@ ;AA@ 330;1.
http?EEgoo.glE6C.ep
Si-ilar techniBues of Ldeli+erate perfor-anceM 9$adde [ Plein@ %111: can +e used 'hile engaging in
the acti5ity during oneKs e5eryday life rather than in separate practice sessions?
/8peri-entation? trying different things and noticing the result
/sti-ation? -aking Buantitati5e@ readily testa+le predictions
/8trapolation? identifying si-ilarities +et'een fa-iliar e5ents and ne' e5ents
/8planation? putting +eliefs into 'ordsG -aking oneKs -odel e8plicit
A recent article identifying techniBues for deli+erate perfor-ance?
$adde@ !. Y. [ Plein@ G. A. 9%111:. <eli+erate perfor-ance? Accelerating e8pertise in natural
settings. 1erformance *mprovement, EQ@ .01;.
http?EEgoo.glEt8C>p
Research on neuroplasticity has in5estigated ho' peopleKs +rains change as they learn. ,ntense effort at
using an a+ility@ such as using a li-+ that has +een affected +y a stroke 9in constraint0induced
-o5e-ent therapy:@ can lead to surprisingly large i-pro5e-ents.
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiEConstraint0inducedZ-o5e-entZtherapy
A reada+le o5er5ie' of the research on neuroplasticity?
<oidge@ >or-an 9%112:. The #rain That +hanges *tself: -tories of 1ersonal Triumph from the
6rontiers of #rain -cience.
http?EEgoo.glEJ91+i
1.1
4he research psychologist and >o+el laureate <aniel Pahne-an notes that acti5ities that strongly
engage LSyste- %M # our deli+erati5e@ reflecti5e@ Lslo'M thinking # create physiological sy-pto-s of
stress and a su+Hecti5e state of intensity. An accessi+le description of his research in this area is in his
+ook?
Pahne-an@ <aniel 9%111:. Thinking, 6ast and -low.
http?EEgoo.glE.Y1FH
Much research in S4/M education points to'ard the transition fro- no5ice to e8pert +eing defined
largely +y replacing old heuristics 'ith ne'@ -ore adapti5e ones after a period of intense@ e8plicit focus
on the topic. =icente 4alanBuer illustrates this in che-istry education?
http?EEgoo.glEhMRon
Su--ariFing a great deal of -athe-atics education research@ Ya-es &ie+ert and <ouglas Grou's
suggest that the e8perience of struggle 'hen engaging 'ith -athe-atics is key in studentsK a+ility to
learn?
&ie+ert@ Y. [ Grou's@ <. 9%112:. 4he effects of classroo- -athe-atics teaching on studentsK
learning. ,n $rank P. 6ester Yr. 9/d.:@ -econd =and,ook of &esearch on 5athematics Teaching
and $earning 9pp. 3210;1;:. Reston@ =A? >C4M.
Many -athe-aticians report concentration and intense effort as +eing essential to -athe-atical
research@ and that learning to tolerate and e5en appreciate the feeling of effort is key to sol5ing
challenging pro+le-s. 4'o sur5eys of this are YacBue &ada-ardKs 919;9: The 1sychology of *nvention
in the 5athematical 6ield and 6eone *urtonKs 9%11;: 5athematicians as En2uirers.
http?EEgoo.glERkst6
http?EEgoo.glE>nR$B
4odd *eckerKs +log@ Getting Stronger@ discusses research on ho' to use intense training to de5elop
oneKs a+ilities@ typically +y alternating 'ith periods of rest. &e also discusses se5eral applications of
these ideas@ so-e -ore speculati5e than others.
http?EEgettingstronger.orgEa+out0this0+logE
1.1
>alue of 6nformation
1.%
7xpected >alue of 6nformation 7stimation
2nit outlineF
1. *asic concept 9. -in:
%. !ractice doing =", esti-ates. *asic principles for =", esti-ates. 931 -in:
3. Syste-atiFing your practice. 9%1 -in:
;. $inal thoughts@ take0a'ays 9. -in:
<efinition of >56F
Expected Dalue of *nformation JDO*I X
=ow much ,etter your life will ,e if you have the information, than if you don.t Jmeasured in G,
hours, or some other handy currencyI.
DO* [Expected value of decision wHo info9 Y 8percent improvement ena,led ,y info9
7xampleF S$"0!aris flight purchase.
Total cost, if you ,uy the first flight you see: G;BAA.
Estimated percent savings from carefully searching through flights: ;AV.
DO* on further flight search: G;BAA Y ;AV X G;BA.
1.3
Try itF 7stimate the Cexpected value of informationD inF
1. ?icro'ave purchase. )ou are standing in 4arget@ 'ondering 'hether to +uy the 5ery first
-icro'a5e you see 9'hich is on display in front of you:@ or to +ring up A-aFon re5ie's or
other'ise atte-pt to co-pare se5eral -icro'a5es. &o' -uch =", in +uying a carefully
chosen -icro'a5e@ 5s. this first -icro'a5e? 9Assu-e itKs you +uying a -icro'a5e for yourself
# 'ith your o'n actual ha+its@ preferences@ etc.:
%. 6mproving your commute method/route. &o' -uch 5alue is there in testingEgoogling
alternati5e dri5ing routes or -ethods@ 5s. Hust co--uting the 'ay you do no'? 9Again@ pretend
youKre you@ 'ith your o'n current ha+its@ goals@ etc.:
1.;
3. 6mproving your reading speed R comprehension( or your method of figuring out 'hich
sections of 'hich books to read. 94hat is? ho' -uch +etter 'ill your life +e in e8pectation
9total@ -easured in dollars or hours: if you spend 11 hours 'orking to i-pro5e your reading
-ethods@ 5s. if you donKt?:
;. /ome further >56 estimates to tryF
a. 7ar plugsF $inding out 'hether you sleep +etter 'ith ear plugs 9+y trying the-:.
+. Career checkF ,f youKre considering changing lines of 'ork 9including e.g. -o5ing fro-
progra--ing to startups or to -anage-ent:? ho' -uch 5alue fro- checking salary.co-
+efore you re0train? $ro- shado'ing a couple folks 'ho are already in that occupation@ to
see ho' you enHoy their Ho+?
c. L?eta1>56 calculationDF &o' -uch e8pected goodness 'ould you gain@ if you did . one0
-inute =", esti-ates e5ery day for the ne8t year?
1..
/ome heuristics for >56 calculations( and other expected value calculationsF
a. >otice all rele5ant currencies?
4i-e
Money
Attention E hassle E distraction
,-pact on ]so-eone you lo5e^Ks 'ell0+eing
,-pact on ]so-eone^Ks good'ill to'ard you
,-pact on your o'n good'ill to'ard ]key person^
N
,n -ost e8pected 5alue calculations@ a single currency 'ill do-inate 9e.g.@ for -y -icro'a5e
purchase@ ti-e costs do-inated: # +ut itKs good to +riefly consider other currencies@ to -ake
sure the currency youKre focused on is the -ost i-portant one.
+. 4i-e costs are often -ore i-portant than -oney costs.
c. (ttention costs 9costs in causing you to +e -ore distracted or stressed: are often -ore i-portant
than ti-e costs.
d. Repeated actions add up BuicklyU
$or less than R1 per day@ you canN spend R311 per yearU
$or less than 11 -inutes per day@ you canN spend 1 hours per year.
e. 4herefore? esti-ate the co-ponents@ then -ultiply.
f. /5en very rough esti-ates are often +etter than unarticulated guesses.
g. /sti-ates can also help motivate your emotional ,rain.
1.
II. Choosing your starting examples: Domains where
past participants gained hugely
4here are four key currencies to focus on?
Attention
4i-e
Money
Social currencies 9your partnerKs good'illG your +ossKs good'illG your good'ill to'ard othersG
statusG ...:
So-e areas 'here past participants gained hugely?
. Sleep Buality
a <o you ha5e trou+le falling asleep?
+ <o you hit snooFe alar-s -ost -ornings? &o' -any -inutes does that
cost o5er a year?
c &a5e you tried +lindfolds@ earplugs@ a dark roo-@ a +edti-e ritual@ etc.@ to
see if it i-pro5es sleep Buality?
Reading speed@ co-prehension@ focus
2 Co--ute length
a &o' long does it take +y different routes? <ifferent ti-es of day?
+ Should you -o5e closer to 'ork?
3 Audio+ooks during co--utes
a "r during gy-
+ "r -eals
9 4yping speed
11 Salary negotiations
a <o you negotiate for your salary?
+ <o you practice 'ith a friend@ +efore you go in for the real negotiation?
11 Career choice. &o' -uch ti-e to spend in5estigating?
1% Pey+oard shortcuts
a $or G-ail
+ $or other applications you use e5ery day
13 /-ail efficiency@ -ore generally
1.2
a *est try -any folksK -ethods@ and use a stop'atch.
+ As an e8a-ple@ ,K- -ore efficient 'hen ,? 9a: go fro- the top do'n@
instead of picking and choosingG 9+: record -y LscoreM for each
!o-odoro 9ho' -any e-ails ,K5e 5anBuished # so -y e-otional +rain
'ill 'ant to sprintU:.
1; *atch processing
a Sa5es ti-e and attention
1. Social co-fort Fone e8pansion
a 6ots of =", to'ard gaining social currencies
+ Reduced an8iety can free attention
1 ,-ple-enting a LGetting things doneM syste-@ or si-ilar syste- for freeing up attention
a See L<elegating to )ourselfM unit
,f one of the a+o5e rings a +ell for you@ circle itU
,Kd lo5e to help you trou+leshoot any of the a+o5eG so 'ould -any others.
,f you think of so-ething that should +e on the a+o5e list 9sa5es huge nu-+ers of hours of siFa+le
nu-+ers of people:@ let -e kno'U
1.3
>alue of 6nformation @ 0urther
Resources
/8plicit calculations are useful in part +ecause peopleKs intuitions often ha5e a hard ti-e dealing 'ith
Buantities 9for a re5ie'@ see Pahne-an@ %113:. ,n a classic study on scope neglect@ people 'ere 'illing
to spend a+out as -uch to sa5e %@111 +irds as to sa5e %11@111 +irds. Si-ilar insensiti5ity to 5ariations
in Buantity@ 'hich Pahne-an 9%113: calls Le8tension neglect@M arise in other conte8ts. $or e8a-ple@
peopleKs e5aluations of an e8perience 9such as a -edical procedure 'ithout anesthesia: tend to +e
relati5ely insensiti5e to its duration 9co-pared to the peak le5el of e-otion:.
!eople are -ore sensiti5e to Buantities 'hen they can -ake side0+y0side co-parisons of -ultiple
options 'hich 5ary on that Buantity or 'hen they ha5e enough fa-iliarity 'ith the su+Hect -atter to
ha5e an intuiti5e sense of scale@ +ut in the a+sence of these conditions a personKs intuitions -ay +e
essentially +lind to the -agnitude of the Buantity 9&see@ %111:. ,n order to incorporate the -agnitude
in oneKs Hudg-ent@ it -ay +e necessary to engage in e8plicit effort to -ake sense of it.
A re5ie' article on Lattri+ute e5alua+ility@M 'hich is the e8tent to 'hich a person is sensiti5e to
Buantitati5e 5ariations in an attri+ute?
&see@ C. P. 9%111:. Attri+ute e5alua+ility and its i-plications for Hoint0separate e5aluation
re5ersals and +eyond. ,n <. Pahne-an [ A.45ersky 9eds.:@ +hoices, Dalues and 6rames.
Ca-+ridge (ni5ersity !ress.
http?EEgoo.glE3lJo<
Research on decision -aking suggests that people 'ho care a lot a+out -aking the +est decision often
neglect the i-plicit costs of the decision -aking process such as ti-e and -oney. $or e8a-ple@ they
-ight spend a lot of ti-ing trying to pick a good -o5ie to 'atch 9neglecting the ti-e cost: or channel
surf 'hile 'atching tele5ision 9neglecting ho' di5iding attention can reduce enHoy-ent:G self0reports
of +oth +eha5iors ha5e +een found to correlate 'ith personality trait of L-a8i-iFing.M
Sch'artF@ *.@ Ward@ A.@ Monterosso@ Y.@ 6yu+o-irsky@ S.@ White@ P.@ [ 6eh-an@ <.R. 9%11%:.
Ma8i-iFing 5ersus satisficing? &appiness is a -atter of choice. Cournal of 1ersonality and
-ocial 1sychology@ PK@ 112301192.
http?EEgoo.glE&6,-nQ
C$AR alu- 6incoln Quirk has an insightful post on ho' to put a dollar 5alue on oneAs ti-e?
http?EEgoo.glEf=<u$H
Wikipedia su--ariFes the ideas +ehind 5alue of infor-ation calculations?
1.9
http?EEen.'ikipedia.orgE'ikiE=alueZofZinfor-ation
A +log post 'ith se5eral 5ignettes in 'hich 5alue of infor-ation calculations are rele5ant?
http?EEless'rong.co-El'E3.8E5alueZofZinfor-ationZfourZe8a-plesE
4he introduction to Aaron SantosKs +ook =ow 5any $icks" pro5ides a si-ple guide for ho' to -ake
rough esti-ates of Buantities@ and ho' to +reak a difficult0to0esti-ate Buantity into co-ponents. 4he
rest of the +ook contains sa-ple pro+le-s for practicing $er-i esti-ation.
Santos@ Aaron 9%119:. =ow 5any $icks": Or, =ow to Estimate !amn 0ear (nything
http?EEgoo.glE3yt>ye
11
,ames and 0acesF /taff
CritchAs interests include tree cli-+ing@ polyphonic
singing@ and Marko5 chain accept0reHect sa-pling
-editation.
Critch
Andre' Critch
Anna likes finding analogies +et'een progra--ing
rationality in -achines 9A,E-achine learning: and
progra--ing it in people. She also is interested in
talking a+out i-plicit -odels of the structure of the
hu-an psyche e8pressed in continental philosophy and
religion. $inally@ she al'ays lo5es to hear 'hat people
think -ay +e -issing fro- the C$AR curriculu-@ that
could help participants and staff +eco-e -ore agent0y.
.nna
Anna Sala-on
Cat
Cat 6a5ine
11
<an is interested in 'hat research can +e done to put
rationality training to the test. What 5aria+les can 'e
-easure to identify the +enefits of learning rationality@
and 'hat -ethods can 'e use to deter-ine 'hich
approaches to training rationality are -ost effecti5e?
What research proHects should C$AR +e running? What
studies could acade-ic researchers +e conducting? What
kinds of self0tracking could indi5iduals +e doing?
<an
<an Peys
<avid
<a5id Pay5anfar
8eoff
Geoff Anders
1%
Yulia is interested in the philosophy of ethics@ particularly
in utilitarianis-. $or e8a-ple? What do , do 'hen -y
utilitarian intuitions contradict other intuitions , ha5e@
like respecting autono-y? &o' should , take into
account the utility of future generations? etc.
Lulia
Yulia Galef
PenFi has deferred ad-ission to -edical school to 'ork
on rationality 'ith C$AR@ so she 'ould appreciate
people indulging her lo5e of life sciences and striking up
con5ersations a+out +ioche-istry@ e5olutionary +iology@
andEor neuroanato-y.
Jen"i
McPenFie A-odei
6eah likes that Alan !erlis Buote a+out not learning a
progra--ing language that doesnKt change the 'ay you
think@ and likes talking a+out ho' aesthetics and art
9fiction@ -usic@ theatre: fits into applied rationality.
:eah
6eah 6i+resco
13
=alentine is interested in applying -indfulness to
rationality 0 'hich often -eans stripping out the
-ysticalEtranscendental talk and honing in on ho' it
'orks in practice and 'hat it does for rational thought.
>alentine
Michael S-ith
Stephen has terri+le taste in -o5ies [ literature. ,f youAre
fa-iliar 'ith the sho' Mystery Science 4heater 3111@
youAll understand.
/tephen
Stephen Cole
1;
,ames and 0acesF >olunteers
Aaron is a Co-puter Science and Mind *rain
*eha5ior student at &ar5ard (ni5ersity@ and has
+een interested in rationality for a couple of years@
founding the <C -eetup group@ and li5ing in the
*ay Area for a+out . -onths during his gap year.
.aron
Aaron 4ucker
Ale8 is an epide-iologist@ and !h< student at
McGill (ni5ersity. &eAs done research on the
genetics of cancer and the risk of infectious
diseases arising fro- li5estock.
.lex
Ale8 <e-arsh
1.
*en is a Hunior at &ar5ard studying pure -ath@
although heAs a closet applied
-athe-aticianEco-puter scientist. &e co0runs
&ar5ardAs effecti5e altruist group@ &ar5ard &igh0
,-pact !hilanthropy@ +logs@ and is -ildly in5ol5ed
in the entrepreneurial scene. "utside that@ he
spends his ti-e pretending to +e a stereotypical
>e' /nglander +y hiking@ folk singing and contra
dancing.
4en
*en Puhn
Miranda is a ne'ly graduated nurse 'ho no'
'orks in the intensi5e care unit at a $rench0
speaking hospital in "tta'a@ Canada. She enHoys
'riting fiction@ as 'ell as 6ess Wrong posts as
S'i--er93.
?iranda
Miranda <i8on06uinen+urg
After doing corporate analysis 'ork for a fe'
years no'@ ,A- on a -ission to find so-ething
+etter suited for -e. ,A- assu-ing applied
rationality 'ill Di-pro5eD this search 0 though ,A-
not sure yet 'hat to e8pect that Di-pro5e-entD to
look like. &ence 'hy ,A- here.
Trevor
4re5or Murphy
1
, a- a statistics grad student at &ar5ard@ and
da++le in industry Ho+s o5er the su--er 9hedge
fund and Google so far:. , used to do a lot of -ath
contests for fun and profit. , enHoy +lues dancing@
singing@ rock cli-+ing@ tra5eling@ o+stacle races@
and learning ne' skills of any kind. , recently co0
founded the *oston rationalist house@ and , ha5e
+een teaching so-e of the C$AR techniBues there
that , learned at the Yuly 'orkshop.
>ictoria
=ictoria Prako5na
12
,ames and 0acesF =articipants
Ale8 $lint
, a- 'orking for a tech startup in Manhattan on co-puter
5ision pro+le-s related to indoor na5igation. <uring -y !h<
, ran a rationality -eet up and hosted speakers including
/lieFer )udko'sky and Au+rey de Grey.
Alice Monday
*en &off-an
13
*ethany Soule
*ethany is a progra--er 'ho +uilt *ee-inder fro- scratch@
has li5ed in Russia@ has 'orked in +ioche- la+s to +akeries@
is an e8pert in +eha5ioral science +y her o'n esti-ation@ and
a Master of Co-puter Science +y the authority of Colu-+ia
(ni5ersity. SheAs also into lifting hea5y things@ riding her
+icycle as fast as she can@ cli-+ing stairs co-petiti5ely 00 and
in fact sheAs so hardcore that one ti-e she pushed a hu-an out
of her cer5i8@ and then again. She speaks pu+licly a+out her
craFy Quantified Self life0hackery and sources say sheAs pretty
nice.
Charles Castellon
,A- -arried and ha5e a year old son. ,A- an attorney +ut
identify -ore as an entreprenur. Attending this 'orkshop is
part of an effort to seek personal and professional
i-pro5e-ent.
<aniel &aran
Spent -ost of the last year tra5elling Asia@ after founding a
tech startup. "ther interests include s'ing and +lues dancing@
and a side0+usiness -aking chocolate.
19
<a5id Souther
Soft'are Crafts-an 'ith >o5us@ a hedge fund data
processing fir- 9they sell hedge fund data +ack to the hedge
funds:. , gre' up in Montana@ recei5ed degrees in
Mathe-atics and Co-puter Science fro- Rocky Mountain
College@ a s-all li+eral arts school. A hu-anist +y creed and
technologist +y passion@ , 'ork to apply technology to help
other hu-ans +etter achie5e their goals.
<elen &eis-an
,A- Hust a dude 'ho is curious a+out e5erything. ,n general ,
lo5e theory +ut find e8ecution +oring.
Geoff Ca-eron
&iU ,A- GeoffU , 'as a MathECS -aHor in college@ currently
'orking for !alantir. , a- currently in5ol5ed 'ith the
Rationality co--unity in >)C and lo5e +lues dancing and
+aking pies.
121
Perry =aughan
Perry is the 4echnology and ,nno5ation Manager at the 6aura
and Yohn Arnold $oundation 'here he -anages the
$oundationKs portfolio of inno5ati5e technology0+ased
philanthropic proHects@ including the Gi5ing 6i+rary and
,nno5ation 6a+s. &e is also responsi+le for pro5iding the
$oundation 'ith ideas for ne' technology0related inno5ation
proHects that align 'ith its o5erall strategic goals. Perry holds
a Hoint degree in philosophy and psychology fro- 4rinity
(ni5ersity and is a !h< candidate in philosophy at Rice
(ni5ersity.
6uis !edro Coehlo
,A- a co-putational +iologist 'ith a degree fro- an A-erican
uni5ersity@ no' li5ing in 6u8e-+ourg and 'orking in
Ger-any. My /rdbs0*acon nu-+er is 2.
Maddy Ma8ey
Maddy is an e5er0curious techie disguised as a fashionophile.
Al'ays learning [ fore5er in +eta@ she resides in *rooklyn
and aspires to -ake the ne8t 'a5e of fashion0tech inno5ations
under the 4hiel $ello'ship.
121
Matt Wage
, recently graduated fro- college and a- no' 'orking in
finance in >).
Michal *ak
>athan *ouscal
,A- a soft'are engineer at a startup in Manhattan. ,A-
originally fro- Spokane@ Washington@ and ha5e also li5ed in
southern California.
12%
>icole 4olch
A fau8 philosopher@ 'anna+e artist and a5id learner@ >icole
has a strong desire to change the 'orld and is a fan of +re5ity.
"+eron <i8on06uinen+urg
, a- a nanotechnology engineering student at the (ni5ersity
of Waterloo in southern "ntario@ Canada. While , a- satisfied
'ith -y life as a 'hole@ , think there are an enor-ous nu-+er
of things that , can and should do +etter.
Rasheed Sa+ar
, 'ork as a pro+a+ility0+ased trader on financial -arkets.
A5id reader of the rationality literature. "pen -inded and
happy to +e told , a- 'rong.
123
Ross Rheingans0)oo
Sat5ik *eri
Sat5ik is an earning0to0gi5e /ffecti5e Altruist focused on
-ath@ technology@ psychology and finance. &eAs e8tre-ely
interested in persuasion and has had significant success
teaching people ho' to negotiate salary raises and
pro-otions. &eAs currently 'orking on helping /As earn
-ore -oney and succeed at their careers@ so if youAre
interested@ say hiU
Stephanie Matysiak
12;
4i- Martin
, a- a neuroscience researcher li5ing in >e' )ork. ,A- also a
dancer and , teach s'ing and +lues part0ti-e. , like science
and learning and sharing those things 'ith other people.
=iHay Singh
12.
,ovember E1% .pplied Rationality *orkshop
Contact 6nfo
Staff@ guest instructors
Anna Sala-on
annadappliedrationality.org
Yulia Galef
Huliadappliedrationality.org
Michael L=alentineM S-ith
-ichaeldappliedrationality.org
PenFi A-odei
kenFidappliedrationality.org
9.;1: 2101131
6eah 6i+resco
leahdappliedrationality.org
<an Peys
dandappliedrationality.org
Andre' Critch
critchdappliedrationality.org
)an 7hang
krFhangdg-ail.co-
Stephen Cole
stephendappliedrationality.org
9;%.: 23201;.1
Geoff Anders
geoffrey.andersdg-ail.co-
Cat 6a5igne
cat.-.la5ignedg-ail.co-
12

Applied Rationality

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Applied Rationality

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Applied Rationality Workshop

. story about curiosity

Вам также может понравиться