Have you ever noticed how people tend to believe they have more control over events than they actually do?
This seemingly paradoxical behavior, known as the illusion of control, can be observed in various aspects of our lives. While it might seem counterintuitive, understanding the roots of this illusion can shed light on human psychology in general, but most importantly on decision-making.
The Evolutionary Roots of Control Illusions
The tendency to overestimate control might have had an evolutionary advantage for our ancestors. In a world where understanding the true causes of events was often challenging, believing they could influence outcomes would have motivated them to take action and persist despite challenges. It can be quasi categorised as “part of the survival instinct”
How Our Brains Reinforce Control Illusions
It’s our brains shaping our perception of control. Selective attention, which is a mechanism that allows us to focus on specific information while filtering out others, contributes to this illusion. We tend to pay more attention to instances where our actions seemingly influenced outcomes, while overlooking instances where our actions had zero impact. This selective focus reinforces even more our belief of being in charge.
There’s another lesser known phenomenon, known as “pseudo-randomness” that further contributes to building up this illusion. Our brains are naturally prone to find patterns, even in inherently random events.
This tendency to perceive order in randomness can lead us to overestimate the influence of our actions on outcomes. For instance, a gambler might believe that a sequence of red or black indicates a pattern, even though each outcome is determined by chance.
Think about all the conspiracy theories out there. They are all based on the overarching concept there is a master of puppet (Bill Gates, George Soros, Illuminati…) behind events. But as Daniel Khaneman brilliantly put it, WYSIATI -> What you see is all there is. And that’s true most of the time
The Impact of Control Illusions: A Delicate Balance
The illusion of control has both positive and negative consequences on our lives.
On the positive side, it can boost motivation and reduce anxiety. Believing we have some influence over our circumstances can inspire us to take action and persist in the face of challenges. Additionally, the illusion of control can enhance resilience in the face of uncertainty.
The illusion of control can also have few detrimental effects. Overconfidence in decision-making can lead to poor choices and missed opportunities; excessive reliance on control illusions can make us more easy to manipulate and persuade.
It’s important to strike a balance between maintaining a sense of control and acknowledging the inherent limits of our influence. Understanding the limitations of our control can help us make more informed decisions, avoid irrational choices, and reduce our susceptibility to manipulation.
Stoicism Philosophy and the Dichothomy of Control – Some learnings
Whilst, several strategies can help us overcome the illusion of control and regain a more rational perspective, critical thinking skills play a vital role in promoting a more realistic understanding of our influence over events.
The struggle with the illusion of control, in fact, dates back few millennia.
The concept of “control dichotomy” was introduced by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. In short, he believed that there are only two aspects of life within our direct control: our voluntary actions and our thoughts.
Everything else, including sensations, feelings, the past, others’ opinions, and the outcomes of our actions, lies outside our control.
The key takeaway from this perspective is the necessity to flip the script and change our attitude based on whether things are within our control or not. The focus should be on managing what we an control, and rather detachment from what we cannot
