Reinforced Prejudice: A Fresh Perspective on a Hidden Bias in Human Psychology Unveiled by Researchers
In a groundbreaking study published in Psychological Science, researchers from UC Berkeley, led by Kristine Cho, have uncovered a fascinating new cognitive bias that influences our decision-making process: the "doubling-back aversion." This bias causes individuals to avoid reversing direction, even when it could objectively be the better choice.
The study, which involved over 2,500 participants, including undergraduates from UC Berkeley and participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk, found that people tend to avoid doubling back because it psychologically feels like losing progress and taking on extra work. This aversion is related to other cognitive biases such as the status quo bias and the sunk-cost fallacy.
The status quo bias, a well-known phenomenon, involves people sticking to their chosen option even when alternatives are better. The sunk-cost fallacy, on the other hand, is where people irrationally persist with decisions to avoid feeling that previous effort was wasted, even if changing course would be beneficial.
The doubling-back aversion, according to Cho, is a tendency observed in individuals during both physical and cognitive tasks. The study theorized that the sense of erasing progress and the feeling of high cost associated with doubling back are two distinct facets contributing to someone's decision to double back on themselves. Both concern over loss of progress and concern over the workload that would come with restarting contribute to a person's resistance to doubling back.
The study's findings suggest that taking a short step back on a path can prevent people from taking more efficient options to their goals. For instance, in one of the experiments, participants were asked to walk a virtual path in a VR environment and then double back. Despite a shorter, easier path being available, many participants chose to continue on the original path rather than double back.
Similarly, in another experiment, participants were asked to generate lists of words and switch to a different, easier letter after starting. Again, many participants demonstrated doubling-back aversion, choosing to continue with the harder task rather than switch to the easier one.
Cho was surprised by the big difference in the results, highlighting the importance of understanding this cognitive bias in our decision-making process. She believes the findings could help people make better decisions in the future, allowing them to choose the most efficient paths towards their goals.
In conclusion, the doubling-back aversion is a cognitive bias that can lead to stubbornness and suboptimal decisions. By understanding this bias, we can make more informed choices and avoid the pitfalls of erasing progress and taking on unnecessary work. The study on doubling-back aversion is a significant step forward in understanding the complexities of human decision-making and opens up new avenues for future research.
[1] Cho, K., Kim, J., & Galinsky, A. D. (2025). Doubling Back Aversion: The Psychological Cost of Reversing Direction. Psychological Science. [2] Cho, K., Kim, J., & Galinsky, A. D. (2025). Doubling Back Aversion: The Psychological Cost of Reversing Direction. Retrieved from https://psychologicalscience.org/observer/doubling-back-aversion-the-psychological-cost-of-reversing-direction [3] Cho, K., Kim, J., & Galinsky, A. D. (2025). Doubling Back Aversion: The Psychological Cost of Reversing Direction. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956797621002052
[1] This new cognitive bias, dubbed the "doubling-back aversion," could significantly impact our health-and-wellness by influencing our choices and productivity.
[2] Furthermore, understanding this bias may lead to advancements in mental-health research, as it may help individuals overcome decision-making hindrances that have been linked to anxiety and depression.
[3] The study on the doubling-back aversion, a crucial piece of science from the esteemed UC Berkeley, underscores the importance of ongoing research in the field of science and health-and-wellness to uncover more cognitive biases and their effects on our daily lives.
