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00:14Decisions, decisions, decisions.
00:17Every day we're faced with hundreds, if not thousands of them.
00:24From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep,
00:27we're making choices non-stop.
00:30We all make decisions every single day and are always asking ourselves,
00:34well, why did I do that?
00:37Unfortunately, as a species, we humans aren't always the best at making good choices.
00:43Whoa, see what I mean?
00:46I'm here to tell you, it's not our fault.
00:51While some people work hard to hone their decision-making skills,
00:55All right, let's go in!
00:58Many of us don't give a second thought to how we make most of our choices.
01:03Luckily, decision scientists have done some pretty cool research on the way we make choices
01:08when it comes to important things, like eating.
01:11Here is what happened in your brain in response to healthy compared to unhealthy foods.
01:17And dating.
01:18Yeah, I've been deciding to date younger men.
01:21I feel like there's too much choice, there's too many faces.
01:23And making rash decisions.
01:25How much does the ball cost?
01:27Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's 10 cents.
01:29What these experts are uncovering has the potential to change our lives.
01:33Woo!
01:34Join me as we do a deep dive into their amazing and really helpful discoveries,
01:39to understand how you, me, all of us can make better decisions.
02:01Like many people, I knock it out of the park with some of my decisions.
02:05But other times, a strikeout.
02:08To learn why, decision scientist Mary Steffel, from Northeastern University in Boston,
02:14is joining me to do a revealing street experiment.
02:17Good to see you!
02:18Oh man, it's a gorgeous day.
02:21The game's on, the crowds are happy.
02:22It feels like a good day for some decision science.
02:24Absolutely, I've got the perfect experiment that will illustrate something about what we
02:28all do when we make decisions, big or small.
02:31Cool, I'm game, yeah.
02:34It's called the bat and ball problem.
02:37And we've got the perfect guinea pigs to test it on.
02:42I have a question for you guys.
02:44So a bat and a ball together cost $1.10.
02:48The bat costs a dollar more than the ball.
02:50How much does the ball cost?
02:53Ten cents.
02:54Ten cents?
02:55Ten cents.
02:56Ten cents?
02:56The ball's ten cents.
02:58That is ten cents.
02:59But after doing a few calculations, our youngest participant realized something's up.
03:05That seems a little too simple for a brain teaser.
03:07As this little guy figured out, the knee-jerk intuitive answer isn't actually right.
03:12But it's what we're hearing the most.
03:15Decision scientists call this type of automatic intuitive decision making system one.
03:21System one is universal.
03:23Tourists from around the world also chose their answers very quickly.
03:27All right, so a bat and a ball together cost $1.10.
03:31The bat costs a dollar more than the ball.
03:33How much does the ball cost?
03:35Oh, ten cents?
03:38So that's your answer.
03:39Uh, no, yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:40It's ten cents.
03:41The ball costs ten cents.
03:46Who would guess the ball is ten cents?
03:49Like, if the ball is ten cents, then the bat is a dollar more.
03:52Then the bat would be a dollar and ten cents.
04:01Just about everyone who thought about the problem deliberately, even the people who originally
04:07got it wrong, eventually got there.
04:10This slower, more effortful way of thinking is called system two.
04:15Yeah, it should be five cents.
04:17All right, so walk me through the math then.
04:19So the ball is five cents.
04:21The ball is five cents.
04:22And the bat is a dollar more.
04:24Then it would be a dollar and five cents.
04:26And plus the five cents of the ball, it would be a dollar and ten cents.
04:29You nailed it.
04:30All right, bravo.
04:32You know what?
04:32You worked really hard.
04:33You guys deserve a round of applause for that.
04:35You worked really hard at that.
04:36I think he's on to it.
04:37It's a niche.
04:38Five cents.
04:40That's right.
04:43You got there.
04:44You know why I'm impressed with you guys is you fought through it and you got there.
04:47High fives on that.
04:48Well done.
04:48You should be proud of yourselves.
04:50What did we win?
04:51See what's happening with the people who are getting it right?
04:54Yeah, the people who are getting it right are taking their time.
04:57They're being really deliberate about it.
04:58In a day of asking the bat and ball question, only a handful of people got it correct right away.
05:05And a couple of them admitted to hearing the question before.
05:09Mary, almost everybody got it wrong at first.
05:12I mean, what is your takeaway?
05:13That's why I love the bat and the ball problem.
05:15The intuitive answer of 10 cents just jumps out at you.
05:18And most people over rely on their intuition.
05:20So they don't double check and they don't go back and do the math.
05:23Over relying on our intuition is one of the most fundamental decision-making mistakes we all make.
05:27Which worries me because I know that I'm doing this in my everyday life.
05:31And so I'm thinking to myself, I don't want to make these dumb decisions if I don't have to.
05:34What can somebody like me do to avoid these system one errors?
05:39Don't rely on your first hunch.
05:40Check your decision-making if you can.
05:42Okay.
05:43Good advice.
05:43Good advice.
05:44Knowing when to trust our gut is tricky.
05:47But what if your job or your survival depends on it?
05:51Engine one, engine two, engine three, chief four.
05:54Respond one, two, three, tower away for a residential structure fire.
05:59If you're a firefighter or a nurse or a doctor, you don't always have time for deliberate system two thinking.
06:08Control engine one, we have smoke visible on route.
06:10John Robbins is a newly minted captain at the fire department in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
06:22To do his job, he has to make crucial and analytical decisions really quickly and intuitively.
06:29There is only one way you do that.
06:33Train.
06:40We have flames visible on the Bravo side.
06:42Making split-second critical decisions under stress takes practice.
06:47Enter the Richmond Hill fire training facility.
06:50Today, Captain Robbins' decision-making skills are going to be put to the test.
06:55He does a quick 360 around the building and has to instantly process what he sees.
07:01The scene at a fire can be very dangerous, can be very chaotic, and can also change rapidly.
07:06So, you need to be making decisions quickly.
07:13Captain Robbins' first big decision.
07:15Is it safe to send his crew in without dousing the building first?
07:19Control tower commander reporting.
07:21Agent application.
07:21Agent application.
07:23He decides to douse the building.
07:26Agent application is firefighter speak for spray water on the fire.
07:32The person in charge today is veteran fire chief Fred Downing.
07:37He says hitting the fire first is the correct decision.
07:41They're putting the water on the fire to cool down the inside environment.
07:47This simple move drops the temperature from a whopping 538 degrees celsius to about 150.
07:55Captain Robbins is off to a great start.
07:58We're redeploying to the office side.
08:00First floor for Sir Trusky fire control.
08:02Okay.
08:07Once inside, he faces his next urgent decision.
08:11Hit the fire with water first or look for victims.
08:17Captain Robbins decides to make victims his priority.
08:23Chief Downing is now in a back room where he's keeping a watchful eye on all the action.
08:28And that is the right decision. That's what we expect.
08:33The chief says making difficult decisions under stress is all about repetition.
08:38Training allows our staff to practice their skills in a controlled environment.
08:43So when they pull up to the real situation, real emergency, those are embedded in their mind.
09:01The chief placed this mannequin strategically.
09:03With the fire raging just meters away, Captain Robbins must make his next decision.
09:08How to get the victim out of the burning building?
09:12Side window or front door?
09:16He chooses the front door.
09:19The right call because it's the quickest way out to safety.
09:24The faster we can get to somebody to help rescue them is life and death.
09:30Captain Robbins has decided the next move is to put the fire out.
09:35It's still burning strongly in the kitchen.
09:40Even seemingly small decisions like how water is sprayed on the fire are surprisingly complex.
09:47The correct hose stream can affect how it reacts to the fire and how the fire reacts to the water.
09:53The fire may be out, but the search isn't over.
09:57Captain Robbins' next decision is to search upstairs.
10:22There's another victim in the second floor bedroom.
10:25This time, it's a child.
10:28Once again, Captain Robbins has to decide what the safest way out is.
10:35Engine setting up ladder on the alpha side.
10:41The captain made the right call.
10:43Our expectations are that they'll take them out the closest window.
10:46To get them to fresh air as fast as they can.
10:57It's all clear and the decision training is over. Robbins and his team have aced it.
11:03Time for a debrief with the chief.
11:06He wants to make sure the crew understands the reasons behind their decisions.
11:10When you found the patient up on the second floor, you decided to bring them out a window.
11:16What led you guys to that decision?
11:17I think if we could get them to fresh air as soon as possible, it would be beneficial for the
11:21patient.
11:22How did this training help you guys as a crew?
11:24In a scenario-based training, it allows me to make critical decisions and really helps us to practice
11:29our practical skills, setting up ladder pumping, advancing hose lines, doing our search and rescues.
11:34But it also allows me to do some critical thinking.
11:39And this kind of repeated practice doesn't just help firefighters.
11:47It can help us make better decisions in a chess game or when we're driving.
11:53And help me with my layup.
12:02On the basketball court, you constantly have to make decisions at
12:05lightning speed.
12:08Practicing helps us with these split-second decisions in a big way.
12:16By practicing, we're internalizing patterns.
12:19And we're building muscle memory, allowing us to make smarter decisions intuitively.
12:32Eventually, with practice, you get there.
12:43What's your best decision?
12:45Traveling across camera.
12:46Honestly, moving and choosing the people I hang out with and spend time with
12:52to people who are more closely aligned with my goals.
12:55Starting a business.
12:57Ooh, that's cool.
12:58The best decision I've ever made is to drop out of high school and become a musician.
13:04The best decision that you've made, one that you're the proudest of.
13:07Have two babies.
13:08I used to be in finance, and now I'm in filmmaking.
13:13So, that's the best decision of my life.
13:16So, the best decision I ever made was that I pursued the woman I ended up getting married to.
13:44I'm a cougar, according to the internet.
13:51I'm a cougar.
13:51There is arguably no more important decision than choosing a partner.
13:56Comedian Caitlin Jones is trying to find that special someone.
13:59Her dates, especially the bad ones, make for great material.
14:03I'm leaning into the coops a bit, and I'm dating younger men now.
14:08Caitlin has been using dating apps for a while now, and on the surface, they seem great.
14:13Endless dating profiles to swipe through.
14:15But there is such a thing as too many fish in the sea.
14:18I feel like there's too much choice.
14:20There's too many faces.
14:21The online apps now feel overwhelming.
14:25Like, just in the sense of, like, I could easily swipe 100 people in a day.
14:30If anything, I think that's probably less.
14:32Caitlin tries to combat what's known as swipe fatigue by narrowing down the number of choices.
14:37I use filters all the time.
14:39Mostly, I filter for height.
14:41I, uh, I'm a big lady.
14:42I'm 6'3 in hockey skates, okay?
14:45Height isn't Caitlin's only filter.
14:47Uh, there's the distance setting that you can set.
14:50Does anybody do with that?
14:51Like, yeah, okay.
14:52I literally will not set it further than, like, 5 to 10 kilometers.
14:56And I'm like, oh, my dream person could be in Mississauga.
14:59That's too far.
15:00I want it delivered in 15 minutes.
15:04But so far, the filtering hasn't helped to find her dream partner.
15:10To discover why, she's come to the University of Toronto Scarborough to meet psychology professor Andre Wang.
15:17Hi, are you Andre?
15:19Yes, hi.
15:19You must be Caitlin.
15:20Cheers, nice to meet you.
15:21Nice to meet you.
15:21Andre published a study that looks at whether there's a correlation between what people
15:25think they want in a partner, so the types of things Caitlin's been filtering for on a dating app,
15:31and what they actually want.
15:33And the question here is, do these filters actually work, right?
15:37So if you select and pre-decide to filter out potential romantic partners on these dating apps,
15:44are you better off?
15:45Or maybe you might be prematurely constraining the dating pool?
15:49Caitlin starts by rating 12 traits.
15:52They're like filters on a dating app.
15:54She's deciding what's important to her in a guy.
15:58Big old fat brain.
16:00I like a big brain.
16:02Charismatic, as the kids call it, the riz these days.
16:05Pretty fun, pretty cool, confident.
16:10My therapist is probably going to be disappointed in me,
16:13but you've got to be like a little mean, just a little bit.
16:16Dominant, yeah, yeah, mommy's tired.
16:22Now comes the fun part.
16:24Caitlin gets to rate 100 male faces.
16:27It's sort of like a dating app, but instead of swiping,
16:30she'll rate how attractive she finds each guy.
16:33Like, I would go to the rodeo with him, but like,
16:38I regret it.
16:40The photos are from a real online dating platform with publicly available profiles.
16:46What Caitlin doesn't know is that many people have already rated these faces
16:50for the same 12 traits that she rated earlier.
16:54Those guys could probably be nice.
16:56I feel like they would actually probably bring me flowers from the gas station.
17:02Expert ratings are common in psychology, and they're often called consensus ratings.
17:07So people agree on how intelligent or confident or how sensitive or caring
17:13people in those dating profiles are.
17:16This may seem weird, but Andre points out that this is what people do
17:20when they swipe left or right on a dating app photo.
17:23They make snap judgments about whether or not they think a person looks smart or caring.
17:28Yeah, this guy's definitely in prison.
17:30He's just laying the groundwork for when he gets out.
17:36Andre does some clever calculations to find out if the traits Caitlin
17:39thinks she likes are the ones she actually likes.
17:44You mentioned that you like attractiveness a fair bit, right?
17:48Five out of seven.
17:49And if you look at the data, that's what it pans out, right?
17:53So the more attractive the targets were, the more you like the targets.
17:57So that's what that positive slope means here.
18:00Okay, cool.
18:00Confidence is another example, and sure enough, the more confident the targets were,
18:05the more you liked those targets.
18:07Okay.
18:08But Caitlin's likes and her choices in men, they don't always line up.
18:13So you mentioned that you care about caring.
18:16If you look at the data, how caring targets were had no bearing on how much you liked them.
18:22If anything, the slope is going slightly down, which means that the more caring the targets were,
18:29you like them actually a little less.
18:30Ah, interesting.
18:32How do you feel about that?
18:33I mean, my therapist would agree probably.
18:36Caitlin also got a surprising result for the aggressive trait.
18:41Oh dear.
18:42Oh dear.
18:44The more aggressive targets were, the more you liked them.
18:48Yeah, it's a steep slope.
18:50Yeah.
18:51This disconnect is something Caitlin's experienced before on dating apps.
18:54I will say online dating has felt overwhelming, and this is making sense if I'm not recognizing
19:02that I think I want one thing, but I'm clearly not choosing that.
19:06Yeah.
19:06So what can I do to make it better?
19:09Andre says the key is to get offline.
19:11Go to parties, meet friends with your friends, even go to speed dating, right?
19:15Just putting yourself out there, so let go of the filters perhaps.
19:18You could be filtering out someone that you really have a spark with.
19:27Caitlin is taking Andre's advice and trying something new, speed dating.
19:32Do you have any pets?
19:34Uh, no.
19:35I don't, I don't have, I just, I'm always traveling all the time right or whatever.
19:38You look so sad, you're like, no.
19:39No, I, I want to have the women stay put.
19:44Hi, nice to meet you.
19:46And the men move from table to table.
19:48I love the tattoos.
19:49Thank you, yeah.
19:50Uh.
19:51I would wake up so early to put them on.
19:54When it's over, Andre checks in with Caitlin to see how in-person compares with online.
20:01In that short time, do you feel like you get a sense of these different people?
20:05Like what they're like?
20:06Compared to an app, much more, yes.
20:08Very much, yeah.
20:09Andre says the data overall shows that there's very little relation between the types of things
20:14people filter for and who they actually end up liking.
20:18Which is why meeting someone in person early on might be best.
20:22Let's imagine, right, that like you had met, met, you know, these guys online.
20:27Do you think you would have talked to them?
20:30Probably not.
20:31Okay.
20:31Like maybe one.
20:33But that's a great point.
20:35Yeah.
20:36Great point.
20:38Okay.
20:39Think about that.
20:39Okay.
20:41See what you did there.
20:43Yeah.
20:48When making a decision, people tend to rely too much on the first piece of information
20:53they receive, what experts call the anchor.
20:57Nate Cheek is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Maryland.
21:02He is a decision scientist, and anchoring is his research passion.
21:06Yeah, so I'm interested in how people make decisions and the kind of contextual factors
21:09that influence the judgments they make along the way.
21:11Oh, that is really cool.
21:13And actually, this is the perfect place for us today.
21:15Oh, the CN Tower?
21:16Yeah.
21:16I'm going to have people estimate how tall they think it is.
21:18Okay.
21:19What does that have to do with decision making?
21:21Well, I'm going to throw in a twist.
21:22I'm going to give people an anchor value, which is kind of like a simple random reference point.
21:26And we're going to see how that influences the estimates they make.
21:28That sounds awesome.
21:29I'm down for an experiment.
21:30Let's do it.
21:31Let's go.
21:31Okay.
21:32Our anchor in this experiment is a number that we'll ask people to choose out of a box.
21:37They'll do this before we ask the height of the CN Tower.
21:43You've got good penmanship, man.
21:45Well, I've got a box here filled with a bunch of random numbers.
21:49One of you guys is going to reach into the box, pull out a number, and just say it out
21:51loud.
21:52Okay, I'll go.
21:53Go for it.
21:54Expert number puller.
21:56And your number is...
21:59250.
21:59250.
22:00So we have the CN Tower over here.
22:02If you had to guess, do you think it's taller or shorter than 250 meters?
22:06I'm going to let you in on a little secret.
22:08The numbers, they're not random.
22:10Each one is the same, 250.
22:13That's our anchor.
22:14It's the number people hear first.
22:16Nate wants to see how much it influences the answers they choose.
22:20258.
22:21Wow.
22:22Okay.
22:24Yeah.
22:25Any other guess?
22:28300.
22:29Around there.
22:30258, 300.
22:31Okay.
22:31The real number is...
22:32Yeah, so it turns out that's 553.
22:34Oh my god!
22:35With an anchor of 250, most guesses stay below 553 meters.
22:40How tall if you had to guess, would you guess how it is?
22:43350?
22:44350?
22:45That's your guess.
22:45And your guess?
22:46Yeah, let's go 175.
22:48Like 180?
22:50500?
22:52473.
22:53So you know the actual number.
22:54Yes, 553 meters tall.
22:56Let's switch things up a little.
22:58Nate and I decide to go with a crazy high anchor number to see what happens.
23:03Go big or go home.
23:04Am I right?
23:05950.
23:06So we have the CN Tower behind us.
23:07If you had to just guess off the top of your head, do you think it's taller or shorter
23:11than, uh, 950 meters?
23:15I want to say taller.
23:17Okay.
23:17Yeah.
23:18If you had to guess, how tall would you say it is?
23:203,000?
23:21First of all, your guess is not an unusual one.
23:24Okay.
23:24It is, however, not correct.
23:26The actual number is?
23:27553 meters tall.
23:29Yeah, so you are a little bit, a little bit too high.
23:34The 950 anchor brings in much higher estimates.
23:38Okay.
23:38Way taller than any structure on the planet.
23:41Uh, 2,000 meters.
23:431,200, 1,500.
23:451,000?
23:461,500?
23:471,540 meters.
23:49Okay.
23:491,050?
23:501,050?
23:51Okay.
23:51So it's 553 meters tall.
23:54What?
23:54Yeah.
23:55Anchoring affects almost every aspect of our lives, from our shopping decisions to the
24:00way politicians present issues.
24:02The first price or the first piece of information we get can become our anchor.
24:06If you started shopping and the first pair of pants you happened to see was $200, that
24:10might set your price point higher for the rest of the experience, causing you to be okay spending
24:14more money than if you had seen maybe a pair of $30 pants to start with.
24:18Yeah, probably.
24:19Yeah, I get that.
24:20That makes sense.
24:21Next time I comparison shop, I'm paying extra close attention to the price of the first thing
24:26I look at.
24:28What are some of the biggest decisions that are influenced by the anchor effect?
24:32I think some of the biggest decisions are choices that we don't make that often.
24:37So things like car purchases, house purchases, and other things that, uh, you know, cost a fair
24:42amount of money.
24:43So when should people really be on the lookout for the anchor effect?
24:46Yeah, people should be most worried about anchoring in the areas that they know the least about.
24:50When you don't have any other knowledge you could potentially draw on, that's when you're
24:53most vulnerable to anchors.
24:54In cases like these, Nate says do a little research ahead of time so you know what the
24:59average prices are.
25:01So Nate, you ever been to the CN Tower?
25:03No, I haven't.
25:04You know you can walk around on the edge.
25:05You can see people up there doing it now.
25:06You want to try?
25:07I'm going to say no, thank you to that.
25:08No, thank you.
25:10All right.
25:16The hardest decision you had to make?
25:19Separating.
25:20Yes, I agree.
25:21Same thing.
25:22That's tough.
25:22Yeah.
25:23What is my hardest decision?
25:26Um, that's a hard, difficult one.
25:29Do I choose to continue speaking with my parents?
25:32Probably to have myself sterilized and not have children.
25:36Every time that I would try talking with them, um, I would just walk away not feeling great about
25:41myself.
25:42I'd say the hardest decision I've made is breaking up with a girlfriend.
25:47We went from Eastern Germany to West Germany.
25:50I decided to like come here in a different country by myself and started like a new life.
25:55To leave our houses, our families, our parents.
25:58I think that will be the hardest decision I ever made.
26:08For most of us, deciding what to eat is a struggle because there is so much choice.
26:13And let's be honest, it's often harder to go for the healthier options.
26:19I've come to the University of Toronto to get my brain scanned and find out why I make the food
26:24choices I do.
26:27I like to think of myself as a fairly healthy eater.
26:31You calling me a liar?
26:33It's just like a warm Pop-Tart.
26:34Like many folks, I find it a challenge to make healthy food choices when I'm
26:39super busy or on the run.
26:41Hey there.
26:42Hey.
26:43Hey, how's it going?
26:44Good.
26:44So I've agreed to let Sendri Hutcherson, director of the Decision Neuroscience Lab,
26:49stick me in the MRI to see if the way my brain is wired affects the decisions I make about
26:55what I eat.
26:55Do you have any particularly unhealthy foods?
26:59I do.
26:59Poison of choice?
27:00Oh yeah?
27:00It's a little bit unusual.
27:01I love mayonnaise.
27:03Sendri started studying decision making because she wanted to find out why she made choices she
27:08regretted afterwards.
27:10We all make decisions every single day and are always asking ourselves, well why did I do that?
27:16And so I just loved the way that the science allowed me to kind of understand myself
27:23and maybe hopefully to help other people understand themselves.
27:26My first brain scan ever.
27:28I'm stoked.
27:29So you can go ahead and lay down really carefully.
27:41All right Anthony, can you hear us?
27:46Fantastic.
27:46In a bid to discover why people differ so dramatically in their ability to make good food choices,
27:52Sendri studies decisions that involve self-control.
27:56So for instance where we have to decide whether to eat something delicious but unhealthy or try to
28:02you know deny ourselves a little bit and you know go for the salad.
28:05Just before I went in the MRI, Sendri had me rate a whole whack of foods to identify a food
28:11that I find totally neutral.
28:15Turns out it's the lowly soda cracker. She's going to use it as a baseline while I'm in the MRI.
28:22What we're doing right now is showing Anthony about 200 foods and just seeing whether he wants
28:28that food or the default food, the crackers.
28:32I get four options. One is a strong no. I won't eat that food over the soda cracker.
28:38Two is a weak no. Three is a weak yes. I'll eat it but I don't feel strongly about it.
28:45Four is a strong yes. Chips. Four.
28:48Doing okay?
28:50Every once in a while Sendri asks me to really think about healthy eating while I make my decisions.
28:56I do that until I'm told to go back to picking whatever I want.
29:01Fantastic. We're going to do another round.
29:05Celery? Yeah, that's a one. Is that soda cracker still an option?
29:09Yeah, so what we're doing here, as Anthony makes choice after choice,
29:13is we're taking images of his brain and we're really interested in focusing in on a couple of key
29:19areas that we think are crucial for decision making.
29:22When Sendri's done, she'll compare how those parts of my brain responded to healthy foods
29:27versus the unhealthy ones. Sendri will have my results in a few weeks.
29:39I'm worried. I'm wondering, you know, what you found.
29:41Was there anything weird about the way that my brain works or looks?
29:45You know, honestly, Anthony, you were a fantastic participant.
29:49Oh, thank God.
29:50Sendri was looking at my brain to find out how much self-control I have when it comes to food
29:55choices.
29:55So we're really interested in what's going on in the brain that causes somebody to want something,
30:02to like it, and then what's happening that allows them to shift what they want,
30:08to want the broccoli or to not want the ice cream.
30:10But before she shows me images of my brain, Sendri gives me a brutally honest overview of my food
30:16choice behavior. Now, the interesting thing is when we just said, go with your gut,
30:20we didn't see any evidence in your behavior that healthiness mattered to you. The only thing that
30:25seemed to drive whether you said yes to it was, did you think it was delicious or not? But then
30:30as
30:30soon as we said, hey, think about the healthiness, now we saw that certainly tastiness still mattered,
30:36but it mattered a lot less and healthiness mattered a lot more. So you were much more likely to say
30:42yes to
30:42things that you normally wouldn't because you were trying to focus on making healthiness the thing
30:48that you cared about. And we can see that also reflected in your brain. Oh my gosh, that is so
30:53cool. So that's you. Oh, weird. Yeah. Oh, that's so weird. It's a bit of a trip. When studying food
31:01decisions, Sendri focuses on three brain regions. First, the ventral striatum. Which we think is really
31:08important for things like craving, for automatic responses to food, maybe even responses more to
31:15junk foods rather than healthy foods. Another important region is the ventromedial prefrontal
31:21cortex. This is an area that's also really important for liking and maybe more for integrating all of the
31:28things that you care about into a single decision. Interesting. So not just taste, but also things
31:34like healthiness or costs. Okay. The third region is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This is an
31:41area that we think is really important for what you might term thoughtful liking. So thinking especially
31:47about things like healthiness or really trying to exert self-control or willpower. So we've got those
31:54three areas. Which parts of my brain were lighting up when I was making decisions? Here, what I'm going to
31:58show you is what happened in your brain in response to healthy compared to unhealthy foods. The area that
32:06stands out is the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. It responds more to foods I like to eat and less to
32:12foods I don't. But in Sendri's experiments, this area did something pretty interesting. The ventromedial
32:19prefrontal cortex, lucky you, actually seemed to show more sensitivity to healthy foods. It acted like it
32:26likes healthy foods when you're really trying to eat healthy. Huh. So you're saying I can kind of try
32:32to like healthy foods? That's, I mean, that feels like really good news, but I also noticed that that
32:36area looks like tiny, like there's like no activation there. Would I want that as big as possible if I
32:42want to be able to make better choices? Certainly, I think the more you can get this region to respond
32:47to healthiness, the bigger that area or the more intensely that area cares about healthiness instead of
32:53something like tastiness, the better. Sendri says the way to do this is simple. Practice. Practice caring about
33:01healthiness. I know, easier said than done. Sendri's findings have potential widespread benefits. They could
33:09help identify people with brain markers for dieting success or failure, and they could give researchers
33:15targets for therapies to prevent or treat obesity and eating disorders. Okay, note to self, ice cream is
33:24high in sugar. That's so good. That's high in fat too, but that's why it's so tasty.
33:33We may be able to train our brain to make better food choices, but on the flip side, when it's
33:39exhausted,
33:40scientists have discovered our decision-making abilities are compromised. Like everyone, I start
33:46making choices from the minute I wake up. Blue. And don't even get me started on which emails, texts,
33:54and calls to prioritize. Well, exactly, yeah. 45 new emails. Little decisions don't usually stress us out,
34:04but the weight of all the ones we make throughout the day adds up.
34:11And many of us experience decision fatigue.
34:16As we become mentally exhausted, our brain starts taking energy-saving shortcuts, which often means less
34:21than ideal decision-making and often procrastination. But there are solutions.
34:32One thing we can do is reduce the number of decisions we make by creating schedules, routines,
34:37and habits that we stick to if we can. I mean, I try to exercise the same time every day,
34:43so I don't have to think about it. I just do it.
34:49Yeah, yeah, okay.
34:52And I have the same yogurt, granola, and fruit every day, just so I don't have to choose what to
34:57eat.
35:00What else? Stop micromanaging if you can. Delegate. You've got lots of friends and family who want to help you.
35:09You don't always need the final say on where to go out to eat.
35:14And don't feel you always have to make the best choice, especially for something low stakes,
35:20like what to have for dinner. Sometimes good enough is good enough.
35:31What would you say is your worst decision? Oh my god, not saving money.
35:36Ah. Yeah.
35:37My worst decision I ever made was not following my dreams.
35:42Getting into drugs, probably.
35:44Self-doubting myself at certain stage of my life,
35:48because I just felt like, oh, there are people, better people out there than me.
35:53Do you have a decision you kind of regret? You're like, oh, I wish I'd thought differently about that, or?
35:57Yeah, um, not transitioning sooner.
36:02That would involve a personal relationship, and I won't go into detail.
36:15It's an illusion to think we're always solely in control of our decisions.
36:19Sometimes there are other forces at play, and choices are made for us in ways we don't even realize.
36:26This is called a smash burger, right?
36:28It is a smash burger, correct.
36:29Is it what, like, do you make it the way it sounds like literally? Do you just like, wham?
36:33A little more gentle, but yes.
36:35I've got the perfect experiment to find out just how in control of our choices we really are.
36:40Absolutely ready.
36:41It's based on a classic experiment done at the University of Iowa involving, of all things, ground beef.
36:50I'm enlisting the help of Cody and the good folks at Cheese Heads.
36:54I want to find out if the way choices are presented to us affects what we choose.
36:59These things smell so good.
37:02While Cody tends to the grill, I'm going to do some recruiting.
37:07Burgers for science.
37:09Free burgers.
37:10You guys want burgers?
37:12They came up with, like, a new recipe for their burgers.
37:15The patties are ready, and I've got my first group of participants.
37:20Thank you very much.
37:23And...
37:23All right, so your job is simple.
37:27You're just going to enjoy these burgers.
37:29Now, one thing that's important to know is, um, we want to know how the burgers taste themselves.
37:33This is a new recipe, um, and so these ones are 70% lean.
37:38We really want to know what you think about the meat in particular.
37:39So you can eat them with a bun, but it's good to take a couple bites at least without the
37:43bun and just the meat.
37:44We'll do.
37:50I like the texture.
37:52It's hearty.
37:54I don't want friends to influence each other, so I'm going to get their thoughts on the patty individually.
37:59So, you had the 70% lean recipe.
38:03Okay.
38:03What did you think?
38:04I enjoyed it.
38:05It wasn't too greasy.
38:06It was super tasty.
38:07I like that it wasn't greasy.
38:09I think with lean burgers, oftentimes you miss the fat because fat kind of gives it a nice taste,
38:14but I didn't miss it.
38:15Consistently, people who ate the 70% lean burger used favorable words to describe the patties.
38:21It wasn't overly greasy.
38:23Okay.
38:23Okay.
38:24It was great.
38:25Pretty tasty.
38:26I'll say that for sure.
38:27Okay.
38:28Yeah.
38:28Yeah.
38:29I just really, I really enjoyed it.
38:31Okay.
38:32Time for a little switcheroo.
38:33Cody is cooking another batch of burgers using exactly the same recipe and ingredients.
38:37The only thing that will change is the way I describe them.
38:41Instead of calling them 70% lean, I'm going to call them 30% fat to new groups of eaters.
38:48There you are.
38:49Thanks, man.
38:50Appreciate it.
38:51All right.
38:52I hope you guys are hungry.
38:54You're going to take a bite of these burgers.
38:55These are a special recipe.
38:58So these ones are 30% fat, and so we just want your feedback on them.
39:04I mean, it looks pretty good.
39:09Try to take a couple bites with just the meat on its own, too.
39:11Yeah, all right.
39:20You just got a free burger.
39:22What words come to mind?
39:24How would you describe it?
39:27Fatty.
39:28Only because like the first thing when I bit into it, it tastes, I did taste fat immediately.
39:33It was different.
39:34I haven't usually had something like that before.
39:36Okay.
39:36A little more greasy, I would say.
39:38The 30% fat burgers weren't as popular with eaters.
39:42Well, that rain feels like it came out of nowhere,
39:44so I appreciate you hanging out with me still.
39:46What was the burger like?
39:47Probably chewier than usual.
39:49Chewy? Okay.
39:49A bit less flavorful.
39:51I still feel like I noticed a difference.
39:52How would you describe the taste?
39:54Oh, the taste.
39:55What taste?
39:57Overall, just not very pleasant.
39:59Even though the burger patties were identical,
40:02the two groups have described them differently.
40:04So why does this happen?
40:06Well, it turns out that our eaters have fallen victim to something known as
40:10choice architecture.
40:11In other words, the way that options are presented to decision makers.
40:15That could be something as simple as the way I describe choices,
40:18or the order that I put them in.
40:20Or a menu is a great example of choice architecture.
40:25And in every example, the goal is the same,
40:28to influence or control the way you make decisions.
40:32And choice architecture is everywhere.
40:35You're probably guilty of using it yourself.
40:38When you ask someone where they want to go for dinner,
40:41do you usually present a couple of options?
40:44If so, you were being a choice architect.
40:48Think of the last time you bought something online.
40:51Online retailers are notorious for using choice architecture
40:54to influence your decisions.
40:56They'll do things like controlling the order that you see options in,
40:59or highlighting featured items.
41:01I mean, can you really resist a best seller?
41:06None of us is immune.
41:08Laser pulsing electric water gun?
41:11Purchase.
41:12Choice architecture isn't all bad, though.
41:15It can also be used for good.
41:17Take organ donation, for example.
41:20Research has shown that your decision to donate your organs
41:22is affected hugely by choice architecture.
41:25So in some countries, you're automatically considered an organ donor by default.
41:31And if you don't want to donate them, then you have to actively opt out.
41:35But other countries do it exactly the opposite,
41:38where you're automatically considered not to be a donor unless you opt in.
41:43For many, it's a difficult decision.
41:46Most of Canada uses the opt-in model.
41:50Other countries, like Spain, use the opt-out model.
41:54Canada is now ranked 14th in the world for organ donation, and Spain, number one.
42:04I've had an incredible time diving into the world of decision science.
42:08So you can go ahead and lay it down really carefully.
42:11Thanks to the awesome researchers I hung out with.
42:13How much does the ball cost?
42:15It's obvious our intuition fails us sometimes,
42:18and taking our time when making a decision can often yield better results.
42:22It should be five cents.
42:24You nailed it!
42:25And next time I shop, I'm watching out for the first price I see,
42:28so I don't get burned by the anchor effect.
42:31If you had to guess, how tall would you say it is?
42:332,000 meters.
42:35I've also learned the key to making good choices quickly is practice, practice, practice.
42:45I also got to talk to some really lovely folks on the street who dropped some real wisdom on me.
42:50Every choice you make is like an opportunity,
42:53and like a lot of them butterfly effect out into like larger things.
42:57I've learned not to blame other people for the decisions I've made.
43:01Decision I made that I regret, nothing really, because I think everything is a lesson.
43:06Sometimes I've decided something and it hasn't worked the way that I intended it,
43:11but it turned into something else, another adventure,
43:15an experience that I wouldn't otherwise have had.
43:20I couldn't have said it better myself.
43:23Now, should I go down the boardwalk or do some work?
43:27Decisions, decisions.
43:29Or, you know, I could go to the gym or grab a bite to eat.
43:32Oh, there's a movie I've been wanting to see.
43:35I could play my guitar.
43:35Maybe I could try to learn how to build apps.
44:05wieder music
44:06music
44:08At that level of start,
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