? Heuristic of the Day: Imprinting

Imprinting hardwires our brains at a critical period in our development, evolving and affecting our decisions and behaviors later in life. It’s the tendency to be impacted by certain attributes of a situation or event during critical stages of development. The memories of this experience influence an adult's identity and behavior.

Imprinting can cause individuals to make irrational decisions because of ‘baby duck syndrome’ which is people’s tendency to “imprint” on the first idea/concept they’ve learned, then judge other ideas by their similarity to the initial one. This implies that individuals might prefer to repeat old patterns of behaviors and tend to dislike unfamiliar ones.

We can learn to hack Imprinting for more rational thinking and healthier lives. When you are ready for a change, you can acknowledge the root of your behavior and determine which areas you would like to change.

Changing lifelong identities and behaviors is an emotional process. Be honest with yourself and slowly start to explore new ways of thinking or behaving that are healthier for personal growth.?

Read more about Imprinting at the Heuristics Science Insitute.

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