Chapter 3. Risky decisions and mental shortcuts
This chapter covers
- Understanding risky decisions and mental shortcuts
- Ensuring your design accommodates risky decisions and mental shortcuts
- Identifying opportunities to design for risky decisions and mental shortcuts
- Applying risky decisions and mental shortcuts in digital design contexts
Ernie just got paid and wants to earn extra money. He thinks about all the things he could do that might turn his paycheck into more money: buy lottery tickets, gamble online, gamble on horse racing, invest in stocks .... Ernie quickly rules out buying lottery tickets and investing in stocks based on personal preferences. Next, he evaluates his remaining choices. He ends up choosing gambling online because he thinks the odds are in his favor if he plays correctly. Specifically, Ernie thinks gambling on FullTilt.com is a good way to increase his money. He has seen commercials claiming that FullTilt has the best odds, and it’s the first gaming site that comes to his mind.
Ernie logs into his account on FullTilt.com to play poker. He has $50 left over from paying his bills and he wants to see if he can turn it into a bit extra. Ernie decides if he loses $10, he’ll quit the game for the day. Ernie begins gambling with the lowest amount he can to enter the game. Ernie immediately wins the first two rounds he plays and then cashes out with $55—a gain of $5.