Hindsight Bias: Changing What You Said, After the Fact

Let’s admit it: If we could erase the stuff we got wrong after the fact, we totally would.

It’s human nature. “Oh, I knew Obama would win, even though I said two weeks ago Romney had it in the can,” you might say.

But it could be a deeper issue than you might even assume. Hindsight bias, and more, in today’s Social Media Roundup:

Rewriting (Your Own) History

https://twitter.com/vincefavilla/status/266295709895127041

According to MinnPost’s Susan Perry, we often have the tendency to rewrite how we believe something might happen … after the fact  (opens in a new tab). It’s called hindsight bias, and it’s a real thing. A key example of where this shows up? Elections, when we tend to convince ourselves after the fact that we supported the winner all along. This can have negative effects, according to Perry. “One consequence is myopia. By biasing us toward the incorrect cause of an event, our hindsight bias can interfere with our ability to learn from experience,” she explains. The election is one thing — but there’s real danger in doing this in a business context. How can you avoid it? (ht @vincefavilla  (opens in a new tab))

A TripAdvisor for Events

Event Library: Will a Trip Advisor Work in the Meetings Industry? http://t.co/iKA2Yf28  (opens in a new tab) #pmpi  (opens in a new tab), #mpi  (opens in a new tab), #eventprofs  (opens in a new tab), #meetings  (opens in a new tab), #conventions  (opens in a new tab)

— MPI Potomac (@MPIPotomac) November 7, 2012  (opens in a new tab)

Could events use a review format? According to Meetings & Conventions’ Michael J. Shapiro  (opens in a new tab), there might be. Shapiro, in a glance of a new site called Event Library  (opens in a new tab) — which he says is interesting but very limited as far as actual reviews go — says there may be room for such a site, but the real problem is the lack of content. “I’ve likewise heard a number of discussions about the challenges of getting sufficient planner input for public, meetings-specific sites and forums, in order to reach a comfortable and regular rate of growth to keep such a site vital,” he explains. Would you use a site like Event Library — if things got moving a little more? (ht @PMPI1  (opens in a new tab))

See anything cool today? Let us know in the comments.

(Photo by tonyamaker/SXC.hu)