? Heuristic of the Day: Attribute Substitution

When we are asked a question, we will automatically choose a judgment that requires less thinking as a substitution for thoroughly thinking through the answer. We may even alter our answers to questions based on our current feelings rather than looking at the big picture.

Attribute Substitution is the fundamental reason why most of us don’t do what we should be doing and instead replace it with what we can easily do and then try to rationalize our actions and make excuses for our behaviors.

Attribute Substitution contributes to poor decision-making in almost every important aspect of life - health, wealth, and happiness.

It can be helpful to hack Attribute Substitution for almost every aspect of life. One simple way to detect Attribute Substitution is to think about NEED vs. WANT in your decisions. Anytime you are replacing needs for wants, you are likely to fall prey to Attribute Substitution.?

Read more about Attribute Substitution at the Heuristics Science Insitute.

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