Study Says Some People Were Basically Born To Make Bad Decisions Over & Over Again
They just need some extra help.
Africa Studio | Shutterstock Some people seem to make bad choice after bad choice, almost as if they're predisposed to it. Honestly, this may not be far from the truth. Emerging research suggests that biology and psychology may play a role in poor decision-making. While some people have the ability to recognize consequences and shift their mindset, others can only repeat a toxic cycle.
An interesting new study found that some people can't help making bad decisions over and over again.
In a recent study performed by researchers at UNSW Sydney, participants were asked to play a simple online decision-making game. The goal? To see if and how people learn from the consequences of their actions.
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Participants had to choose between two planets. One of them gave points, and the other took away points already earned. When a certain number of rounds were played, there was a clear pattern of which planet resulted in gaining or losing points. Players could easily pick up on which planet had negative consequences, though not all of them actually did.
Some of them continued to pick the planet that caused them to lose points, despite knowing exactly what it would do.
Three distinct behavioral types emerged from the study.
The researchers categorized participants into three different groups based on whether they were able to figure out the game. The first group, Sensitives, quickly recognized the game pattern and adjusted their choices immediately.
The second group, Unawares, weren't able to figure out the pattern on their own, but once it was explained to them, they fixed their strategy as well.
The third group, the Compulsives, behaved completely differently. They also didn't recognize the pattern, but even after having it explained to them, they still continued to make decisions that hurt them.
Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel, one of the researchers working on the study, explained, "We basically told them, ‘this action leads to that negative consequence, and this other one is safe’. Most people who had been making poor choices changed their behavior immediately. But some didn’t."
Even after time had passed, participants' behavior did not change when tested again.
Researchers performed follow-ups after six months, asking the same participants to play the game again and see if their behaviors had changed. They also had to explain their thought processes and strategies, so the researchers could gain better insights into their choices.
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Most people engaged in the same behaviors they did in the first part of the study. In regard to these results, Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel stated, "That was one of the more striking findings. It suggests these aren’t just random mistakes or bad days. They’re stable traits — almost like personality types. This is not to say they’re fixed, just that they may require intervention to break."
Even when asked to explain their choices, the Compulsive group went into detail about their strategies. Therefore, the problem wasn't a lack of awareness; it was an inability to stop or change harmful behaviors. Author and academic, Dr. Pragya Agarwal, explained, "If we make mistakes while performing a certain task, 'frequency bias' makes us likely to repeat them whenever we do the task again. Simplistically speaking, our brains start assuming that the errors we've previously made are the correct way to perform a task — creating a habitual 'mistake pathway.'" She added, "So the more we repeat the same tasks, the more likely we are to traverse the mistake pathway, until it becomes so deeply embedded that it becomes a set of permanent cognitive shortcuts in our brains."
Though the researchers acknowledge that real life is very different from a simple game, the behaviors that were prevalent in the study are often reflected in other situations, such as gambling or addiction. This calls attention to a potential need for intervention for people like Compulsives who struggle to grasp consequences.
It all sounds a little bleak, but according to Dr. Agarwal, it doesn't have to be. The solution could be as simple as embracing the discomfort associated with failure. She wrote, "Our society denigrates failures and mistakes, and consequently, we are likely to feel shame for our mistakes, and try and hide them. The more guilty and ashamed we feel, and the more we try and hide our mistakes from others, the more likely we are to repeat them. When we are not feeling so down about ourselves, we are more likely to be better at taking on new information that can help us correct our mistakes."
It isn't always easy to own mistakes. In fact, taking accountability can be one of the most difficult things we do. But it's obviously pretty important. Not only could it be a solution to a string of bad luck, but owning up to when you're wrong could set you on the path to making all the right choices.
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
