Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa Smile painting

Leonardo da Vinci Mona Lisa Smile painting
Edvard Munch The Scream paintingGustav Klimt Mother and Child detail from The Three Ages of Woman painting
time we build up many rules of thumb about the situations that make us happy (or unhappy). Unfortunately we often over-generalise these beliefs to situations where they don't apply.
Research has uncovered four common belief biases:
* The contrast effect is the often incorrect belief that a good experience will be more enjoyable when it follows a bad experience (and that a bad experience will be worse when it follows good). Research on jelly bean tasting showed this can be a mirage. * More choice is often not better: Research with gourmet jams has found people can be happier, and even better motivated, when they have fewer options to choose from. * Adaptation: People often expect that repeated exposure to an experience will lessen the pleasure it gives. Research on icethat most people adapted to the taste, either coming to like it more, or at the very least dislike it less. * Certainty: People expect to feel happier when they have reduced the uncertainty in a situation. Often, though, mystery can increase pleasure.
How to combat belief biasesResearch suggests the amount that we are swayed by each of these biases depends on how much we believe in them. So, just reading, remembering and believing (!) this post should allow you to combat the belief biases.
Following through on decisions