You Decide

### Cold Open

How many decisions do you make in a typical day? 50? 100? Studies show it's actually in the thousands. Every click of a mouse, turn of a steering wheel, or phone conversation requires your brain to make a decision. At home, at work, even at the movies.You're constantly deciding. Decisions, decisions, we all make them. Whether it's an important work decision or whether or not to get married, or even what candy to purchase! Sometimes, you just can't decide.

## Games

### Mini-Game: Denmark

Choose a number than follow the instructions.

Result: We read your mind with the final answer.

How: Using clever tricks, we were able to guide you toward the final answer.

### Game #1: Ice Cream!

Choose between two ice cream flavors. One offers only the basic three, and then the other features many. Seems like a no-brainer which one to choose.

Result: You can't decide which one to choose because there are more options.

Why: Because your brain uses two systems, the automatic one(See Game #1), and the controlled one, which lets you pick what you want. While more choices may seem like a better happiness percentage, it actually opens the door to regret. It's called the paradox of choice.

### Game #2: Attraction

Which woman is more attractive? Pick one.

Result: Most people pick the same woman, but the reasons you come up with for why are lying to you.

Why: Because the woman wasn't even an option. But your brain convinced you she was an option.

Apollo Robins tries this trick in Las Vegas.

Result: By having two sets of cards, he's able to trick them without seeing. Not everyone fell for it, but 75% of men fell for it.

How: Because of Choice Blindness, it exploits your automatic system, like the one in the first test. You can convince yourself of making a decision for a reason that makes no sense to others, but your brain doesn't care. In a fire, you're not going to stop and think. You're just going to GO!

### Game #3: Mary

Mary's mother has four children. April, May, June & \_\_\_\_? Who's the missing daughter?

Result: You may have said July, but 80% said that too, but that's not right.

Why: Think about it. **Mary's Mother** had four children. It's **mary**. Once again, your automatic system took over, and your brain used a shortcut to reach an answer quicker. Like adding 2 + 2. You don't have to think, it's just automatic. When you stop and think, often your brains make comparisons to make a choice.

### Game #4: POPCORN!

Will you buy a small or large popcorn? The price will be a big factor in the decision.

Result: Most people choose small since it's $3 compared to the large $7 one. But is there any way we can get them to change options?

We've added a medium popcorn for $6.50. Does the large look more appealing now?

Result: By simply adding the medium, the large now gets more looks and money. Their reasoning, it's only 50 cents more.

Why: Let's play another game.

### Game #5: Ladies, Please

Look at three women. Which one is more attractive? While this is similar to game #3, it's a different scenario this time.

Result: By making two women the same but one prettier, we pushed a higher percentage of people to pick the pretty woman. If it was just the two different women, the choice is difficult.

How: Using the "Decoy Effect", or asymmetric dominance. The medium was the decoy in the popcorn experiment. When faced with two options, the choice is difficult. but when one is given a similar but different option, it makes sure you buy the better one, not the regular. The medium was not the goal. It was to get them to buy the large.

### Game #6: The Value of Jeans to Compare

We've brought in a focus group(men in one group, women in the other) to judge jeans based on criteria. Our brains are made to compare things. They have to rank pants.

Result: Despite them making comparisons, all the jeans are the same. Why is there a world of difference to our volunteers?

Why: It may seem stupid, but think about it. If you were brought in to give your opinion about a product, wouldn't you have done your best to draw comparisons? This reveals that we are often unaware of why we choose what we choose. We come up with explanations on the fly. Many of us agonize over choices we make, but one bad choice can lead to a whirlwind of problems or self-doubt.

## List of Experts

* Daylian Cain
* Apollo Roins(Deception Specialist)
* Dan Goldstein(Guest, Columbia University)