{"id":2097,"date":"2021-10-28T09:16:23","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T09:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/?p=2097"},"modified":"2022-10-24T13:02:19","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T13:02:19","slug":"present-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"Present Bias"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is it so hard to plan for tomorrow?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Pumpkins to Pollution: Present Bias, and why some decisions are so hard to make.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all want a better future, don\u2019t we? For the planet, and for ourselves. We want to tackle climate change, use less, recycle more. We want to lead healthier lives. Grow our careers. Save for our pensions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we will. Definitely. Although probably \u2013 if we\u2019re being honest \u2013 just not today<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because, despite our good intentions, the road to a brighter tomorrow isn\u2019t easy. Present bias<\/strong> stands in our way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trouble with instant gratification, though, is that it makes us very bad at future-planning. Money is tight for all of us, right now. But this week is Halloween and how many of us have been tempted into splashing our cash on more pumpkins than we can possibly carve? Or indulging in more seasonally-themed, extortionately-priced treats than is good for us? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doughnuts with lurid orange icing aren\u2019t our only problem. Present bias makes us actively avoid confronting difficult decisions. To paraphrase Mark Twain, we may love eating doughnuts, but we hate eating frogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

October 31st<\/sup> sees the start of COP 26. Scientific consensus tells us that climate change is more than an emergency: it\u2019s a real, in-progress catastrophe. But while we all recognise the threat cars pose to the environment, many of us will still jump into our motors to go Halloween shopping, just because it\u2019s easier than walking, or cycling, or the bus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want<\/em> to do the right thing, but present bias urges us, always, to fall back on the easy option. It even helps us justify our inaction. It encourages to think of ourselves almost as two separate people \u2013 Today-Me and Tomorrow-Me. And it\u2019s okay for Today-Me to drive because, we tell ourselves, Tomorrow-Me will make a different choice and not<\/em> drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that\u2019s alright, then. As the great philosopher, Homer Simpson puts, all difficulties can be avoided by making them \u201ca problem for Future Homer.\u201d And, as he adds: \u201cMan, I don\u2019t envy that<\/em> guy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we overcome present bias? One way is by using something called a commitment<\/strong> device<\/strong>. When we plan to walk or use public transport, we should tell our friends and family that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do. This invokes social pressures and norms that will nudge us into sticking to the plan, to avoid feeling embarrassment. Priming<\/strong> ourselves, too, by saying things like \u201cI\u2019m doing this for the future,\u201d will also help us stick to the plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all about being in the moment: making doing something TODAY the right choice. CTAs are significantly more effective when they evoke a sense of immediacy. What to know how to do this?<\/strong> Email us [email: contact@lynnpr.co.uk<\/span><\/strong><\/a>] to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was written by Ethan McQuaid, Behavioural Data Analyst at Lynn PR.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":2102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[54,80,28,112,123],"class_list":["post-2097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights","tag-behaviour-change","tag-behavioural-psychology","tag-behavioural-science","tag-bias","tag-present-bias"],"yoast_head":"\nPresent Bias - Lynn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Present Bias - Lynn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lynn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LynnPRltd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-28T09:16:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-24T13:02:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"341\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynn Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Ask your grandparents about when they were younger. You\u2019ll probably be told about how great everything was back then, especially compared to now. Or think back to 2019 - everything was amazing, we didn\u2019t have to think about masks, and there wasn\u2019t a daily COVID-19 infection or death rate broadcast on TV. But were things really as good as we remember them? The cognitive bias rosy retrospection can help explain why we view the past with rose tinted glasses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lynnpr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@lynnpr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynn Group\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynn Group\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/400d7f8a45b04797a5923fe5fed8dd4d\"},\"headline\":\"Present Bias\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-28T09:16:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-24T13:02:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\"},\"wordCount\":545,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"behaviour change\",\"behavioural psychology\",\"behavioural science\",\"bias\",\"present bias\"],\"articleSection\":[\"insights\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\",\"name\":\"Present Bias - Lynn\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-28T09:16:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-24T13:02:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":341,\"caption\":\"Donut\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Present Bias\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/\",\"name\":\"Lynn\",\"description\":\"Powered by Behavioural Science\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Lynn PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/LynnPR-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/LynnPR-logo.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":107,\"caption\":\"Lynn PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LynnPRltd\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/lynnpr\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lynnpr\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/400d7f8a45b04797a5923fe5fed8dd4d\",\"name\":\"Lynn Group\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/313cb784646f854b2092706dc4e18d4941f71cb6ac3d1204d1aca6d209b41812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/313cb784646f854b2092706dc4e18d4941f71cb6ac3d1204d1aca6d209b41812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lynn Group\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/author\/lynn\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Present Bias - Lynn","description":"Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Present Bias - Lynn","og_description":"Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/","og_site_name":"Lynn","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LynnPRltd\/","article_published_time":"2021-10-28T09:16:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-24T13:02:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":512,"height":341,"url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lynn Group","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"Ask your grandparents about when they were younger. You\u2019ll probably be told about how great everything was back then, especially compared to now. Or think back to 2019 - everything was amazing, we didn\u2019t have to think about masks, and there wasn\u2019t a daily COVID-19 infection or death rate broadcast on TV. But were things really as good as we remember them? The cognitive bias rosy retrospection can help explain why we view the past with rose tinted glasses.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg","twitter_creator":"@lynnpr","twitter_site":"@lynnpr","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynn Group","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/"},"author":{"name":"Lynn Group","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/400d7f8a45b04797a5923fe5fed8dd4d"},"headline":"Present Bias","datePublished":"2021-10-28T09:16:23+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-24T13:02:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/"},"wordCount":545,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg","keywords":["behaviour change","behavioural psychology","behavioural science","bias","present bias"],"articleSection":["insights"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/","url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/","name":"Present Bias - Lynn","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-28T09:16:23+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-24T13:02:19+00:00","description":"Present basis is our tendency to prefer immediate rewards at the expense of long-term goals. It\u2019s a hangover from our ancestors who, in their struggle for survival, grabbed whatever was within reach, rather than risk waiting for better opportunities in the future (because \u2018future\u2019 meant \u2018less certain\u2019).\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/donut-for-blog.jpg","width":512,"height":341,"caption":"Donut"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/present-bias\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Present Bias"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/","name":"Lynn","description":"Powered by Behavioural Science","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization","name":"Lynn PR","url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/LynnPR-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/LynnPR-logo.png","width":400,"height":107,"caption":"Lynn PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LynnPRltd\/","https:\/\/x.com\/lynnpr","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lynnpr\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/400d7f8a45b04797a5923fe5fed8dd4d","name":"Lynn Group","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/313cb784646f854b2092706dc4e18d4941f71cb6ac3d1204d1aca6d209b41812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/313cb784646f854b2092706dc4e18d4941f71cb6ac3d1204d1aca6d209b41812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lynn Group"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/lynn.global\/"],"url":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/author\/lynn\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2097"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2108,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097\/revisions\/2108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}