Book Reading #46: Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 6
Summary
In chapter 6 Hallinan discusses framing, how we look at something. He uses examples such as buying a certain wine depending on the music being played, the location of information regarding a company in a newspaper and the time that we make decisions (immediate or future) can affect our decisions. Hallinan also writes about multiple-unit pricing and the impact it has on shoppers. In seeing the tag, “4 for $2,” the number, 4, acts as an anchor that makes the shopper more likely to buy four of the item rather than just one or two. He relates this same idea to selling a house.

Discussion
Hallinan continues to provide us with plenty of examples to back up his claims. I really like the discussion on shopping. While I am aware that “4 for $2” means “1 for 50 cents,” I do tend to end up buying four – or at least more – than I might have bought otherwise. This chapter had a lot to do with money and how we spend it, but Hallinan also provides some examples unrelated to money that are also interesting like the survey questions about a disease and how wording them differently can affect the outcome.

Chapter 7
Summary
In chapter 7 Hallinan begins by showing us some examples of how we skim material and how this ability to skim comes with a trade-off: details are overlooked. He discusses how we skim when we read by only reading the first few letters of a work and assuming the rest, how a rookie piano player once noticed an error that had gone unnoticed for years and how a thirteen-year-old boy corrected NASA on their estimation regarding an asteroid.

Hallinan also discusses the importance of the context we are in when recognizing and remembering information. Hallinan demonstrates this with several examples: reading a description of doing the laundry before and after we know the context and a study in which people memorized words above and under water.

Discussion
I had never thought about skimming in the way described here, but after reading the chapter, I can totally see what he means about how we assume what the rest of the word is. I also liked the part about how the context affects our learning. We discussed this in my psychology class and discussed how we should apply this idea in class by always sitting in the same place. Then we’ll be more likely to remember information come test day if we sit in that same seat.