Chosen

The science of why people do what they do. Mind, behaviour, and everything underneath it

[Chosen @Chosencog]

This is why overt pressure so often backfires. A parent who forbids a habit outright can make it more appealing, not less. A brand that oversells can make people trust it less, not more.

The threat to freedom is doing more work than the message.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

Someone tapes a sign over a button: "DO NOT PRESS."

You have never wanted to press a button more in your life.

That's not curiosity. It's a named psychological effect, and it explains way more of your behavior than you'd like to admit.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

Here's the part that matters for anyone trying to influence people: heavy-handed persuasion can trigger the exact same reaction.

The harder a pitch pushes, the more it can read as "your choice is being taken from you" — and reactance kicks in against the pitch itself.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

I write about the actual mechanics of why people think, feel, and act the way they do — not generic advice. Full breakdown here: https://t.co/vmlER0ryWy

[Chosen @Chosencog]

Find $20 on the sidewalk and you're pleased for about ten minutes.

Lose $20 and you're irritated with yourself for the rest of the day.

That's not you being dramatic. It's a measurable asymmetry in how your brain values things — and it quietly runs most of your decisions.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

Try this: next time a choice feels obviously risky, ask what you're actually comparing. Is the "safe" option only safe, or are you just avoiding the label "loss" — even when staying costs you more than changing would?

[Chosen @Chosencog]

I write about the actual mechanics of why people think, feel, and act the way they do — not generic advice. Full breakdown here: https://t.co/897tTb0vVo

[Chosen @Chosencog]

You closed the laptop an hour ago.

The email is still open in your head.

Not because it's important. Because it's unfinished. That's a specific, documented glitch in how your brain handles incomplete tasks — not a focus problem.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

Try this: pick one thing that's been quietly nagging at you today. Don't do it yet. Just write down exactly when and where you'll finish it.

Notice how much quieter it gets, almost immediately.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

I write about the actual mechanics of why people think, feel, and act the way they do — not generic advice. Full breakdown here: https://t.co/X7jxEhql9u

[Chosen @Chosencog]

You look right at it. You know the answer.

Then everyone else in the room says something else — and your certainty just... wobbles.

That's not you being weak. That's a documented switch in how your brain processes what you're looking at.

[Chosen @Chosencog]

Practical version: get your own read down first, before you hear anyone else's — in writing, out loud, whatever.

Ask the most junior or least-invested person in the room for their opinion before the group's opinion has formed. It changes what actually gets said next.