Situation Guide
Common thinking traps that distort conflict, attraction, trust, blame, and communication in relationships.
Social Biases
Overexplaining others' behavior by character and underexplaining situation.
Example: A late coworker is called irresponsible before anyone asks about traffic or childcare.
Ask: What situational pressure might explain this?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Explaining your actions by context and others' actions by personality.
Example: You were late because of traffic; they were late because they are careless.
Ask: Would I explain myself this harshly?
Go DeeperAttention and Perception Biases
Assuming future preferences will match current preferences.
Example: Someone grocery shops while full and buys too little food for later.
Ask: Will I want the same thing later?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Interpreting ambiguous behavior as hostile.
Example: A short text reply is read as rude instead of rushed.
Ask: What benign explanation also fits?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Letting one positive trait improve the whole judgment.
Example: A charismatic presenter is assumed to have a stronger plan.
Ask: Which qualities have I actually observed?
Go DeeperMoral, Political, and Workplace Biases
Letting one strength lift the whole evaluation.
Example: A charismatic presenter is assumed to have a stronger plan.
Ask: Which criteria have direct evidence?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Letting one negative trait spoil the whole judgment.
Example: One awkward comment makes everything else a person says seem worse.
Ask: Am I letting one flaw define everything?
Go DeeperMoral, Political, and Workplace Biases
Letting one flaw lower the whole evaluation.
Example: One awkward comment makes everything else a person says seem worse.
Ask: Is one issue dominating the rating?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Taking credit for success and blaming outside causes for failure.
Example: A student credits skill for a good grade and a bad teacher for a poor one.
Ask: What part did I actually play?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Favoring people who feel like part of your group.
Example: A fan excuses their team's foul but condemns the same move by the rival team.
Ask: Would I judge this the same from an outsider?
Go DeeperMemory Biases
A repeated claim starts to feel true because many people repeat it.
Example: A rumor about layoffs feels true after enough coworkers repeat it.
Ask: Can I trace this back to a solid original source?
Go DeeperMemory Biases
Remembering information but forgetting where it came from.
Example: Someone quotes a statistic but cannot remember whether it came from a study or a social post.
Ask: Do I know the source well enough to repeat this?
Go DeeperMemory Biases
Remembering your role in shared events as larger than it was.
Example: Everyone in a group project remembers their own tasks most clearly.
Ask: What did others contribute that I may not have seen?
Go DeeperDecision-Making Biases
Assuming things will continue normally despite warning signs.
Example: People delay evacuating because the storm does not feel real yet.
Ask: What if the warning signs are real?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Seeing outsiders as more alike than they are.
Example: Someone says all members of another department think the same way.
Ask: What differences inside that group am I missing?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Applying group assumptions to an individual.
Example: A manager assumes a young employee must be better with technology.
Ask: What do I know about this person specifically?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Judging through preexisting negative attitudes toward a group.
Example: A renter is judged before they speak because of assumptions about their background.
Ask: What assumption entered before the evidence?
Go DeeperSocial Biases
Giving extra weight to authority figures.
Example: A suggestion sounds correct mainly because a senior leader said it.
Ask: Is the authority relevant to this claim?
Go DeeperCommon thinking traps that distort conflict, attraction, trust, blame, and communication in relationships.
Look for the moment a conclusion feels obvious before the evidence, context, or opposite explanation has been checked.
Ask what information is missing, what would change your mind, and whether the strongest counterexample has been considered.