First-born children tend to believe that their parents were harder on them than their siblings are willing to grant. Football fans take disproportionate note of the challenging games on their team's schedules. We're wired to interpret our challenges as bigger than our advantages, even if the reality is more balanced.

In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we consider our tendency to focus more attention on our negative or challenging experiences than on our positive or easy ones. This asymmetry also appears in how we remember the lives and experiences of other people.

Daniella McCahey is co-author of Antarctica: A History in 100 Objects and an assistant professor in history at Texas Tech University. She shares the harrowing adventures of one of Antarctica's most famous explorers, Richard E. Byrd. Byrd is credited with being the first to fly over the North and South Poles in the 1920s. He led five expeditions to Antarctica, including one where he nearly died. Byrd was truly a remarkable polar explorer and aviation pioneer, but also someone born into many advantages.

Next, Katy speaks with Tom Gilovich, the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. Gilovich identified what is now known as the headwinds/tailwinds asymmetry. He's also the author of the books The Wisest One in the Roomand How We Know What Isn't So.

Choiceology is an original podcast from Charles Schwab.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts.

Important Disclosures

The comments, views, and opinions expressed in the presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views of Charles Schwab.

Data contained herein from third party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable source. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed and Charles Schwab & Co. expressly disclaims any liability, including incidental or consequential damages, arising from errors or omissions in this publication.

All corporate names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

The policy analysis provided by the Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., does not constitute and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any political party.

Investing involves risk including loss of principal.

The books How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Alone: The Classic Polar Adventure, The Wisest One in the Room and How We Know What Isn't So are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.). Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.) has not reviewed the books and makes no representations about its content.

(0425-KDX9)

Is it ever possible to see the world objectively, as it is? Turn on the news, open social media, engage with that family member at Thanksgiving, and it appears to some the answer is yes. But what if our biggest blind spot is thinking we don't have a blind spot?

In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at how we can easily be fooled into believing that our subjective experience of the world is objective, and believing that anyone who disagrees with us must be biased or wrong.

We consider how this was part of the interaction between world leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev at a high-stakes nuclear summit in 1986. Ken Adelman was the arms control director in the Reagan administration at the time and was with Reagan at this historic summit. His book Reykjavik: Forty-Eight Hours That Ended the Cold War details how these politicians with opposing world views came together as men.

Next, Katy speaks with Julia Minson, an associate professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a decision scientist with research interests in conflict management, negotiations, and judgment and decision-making. Her main line of research addresses the "psychology of disagreement"—how do people engage with opinions, values, and judgments that conflict with their own?

Important Disclosures

The comments, views, and opinions expressed in the presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views of Charles Schwab.

Data contained herein from third party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable source. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed and Charles Schwab & Co. expressly disclaims any liability, including incidental or consequential damages, arising from errors or omissions in this publication.

All corporate names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

The policy analysis provided by the Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., does not constitute and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any political party.

Investing involves risk including loss of principal.

The books How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be and Reykjavik: Forty-Eight Hours That Ended the Cold War are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.). Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.) has not reviewed the books and makes no representations about its content.

(0425-DLMP)

Workplaces often rely on numerical ratings for performance reviews. Election debates focus on poll numbers and approval ratings. Your watch counts your steps in a day. Numbers increasingly influence our decisions.

In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at our very human tendency to fixate on digits even when words or graphs represent the very same information.

Stephen M. Colbert writes about movies and the film industry and shares the heated story of when the DC Extended Universe came up against some unfavorable Rotten Tomatoes scores. You'll hear about a battle of wills between a famous director, some powerful studio executives, and a legion of fans, proving that numbers don't tell the whole story.

Next, Katy speaks with Linda Chang, a behavioral scientist at the Toyota Research Institute and former MindCORE post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Katy and Linda, together with University of Chicago Professor Erika Kirgios and MIT Professor Sendhil Mullainathan, worked on the paper "Does Counting Change What Counts? Quantification Fixation Biases Decision-Making."

Important Disclosures

The comments, views, and opinions expressed in the presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views of Charles Schwab.

Data contained herein from third party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable source. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed and Charles Schwab & Co. expressly disclaims any liability, including incidental or consequential damages, arising from errors or omissions in this publication.

All corporate names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Supporting documentation for any claims or statistical information is available upon request.

Investing involves risk including loss of principal.

The book How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.). Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CS&Co.) has not reviewed the book and makes no representations about its content.

(0325-8K30)