Horizon Season 2014 Episode 5 How You Really Make Decisions

How You Really Make Decisions is the fifth episode of the 2014 season of the documentary series Horizon. This episode explores the science behind how humans make decisions.

The episode begins by introducing the concept of intuition – the idea that sometimes people make decisions without consciously thinking about them. The show explores how the brain is capable of making quick decisions based on patterns that it has learned over time. The episode also looks at how emotions can affect decision making, sometimes leading people to make choices that they later regret.

The show then delves into the research on decision making, including experiments that have been conducted to measure how people make choices. For example, one study involved asking people to choose between two different types of jam. The researchers found that when people were given only a few options, they were more likely to make a decision than when they were given many options.

The episode also explores the concept of choice overload – the idea that too many options can actually make it more difficult to make a decision. This is illustrated through an experiment in which people were asked to choose a book from a table with either six or 24 options. The researchers found that people were more likely to choose a book when there were fewer options to choose from.

The show also looks at the role that social influence can play in decision making. For example, the episode examines a study in which people were asked to estimate the length of a line after hearing the estimates of others. The researchers found that people were more likely to adjust their own estimates to match those of the group, even if the group was incorrect.

Finally, the episode explores the idea of decision making under uncertainty – the idea that sometimes people have to make choices without having all the information they need. This is illustrated through a game in which participants have to choose whether to invest in different stocks based on limited information. The show discusses how people can use heuristics – mental shortcuts – to make decisions without having to do too much analysis.

Overall, How You Really Make Decisions is an informative and thought-provoking episode that sheds light on the complex processes that go into decision making. The show gives viewers a fascinating look into the research on this topic and explores how factors like intuition, emotions, and social influence can affect the choices that people make.