People with autism make more logical decisions

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firemonkey
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13 Oct 2016, 3:11 pm

Decisions are based on the way choices are framed. This is because people use emotion when making decisions, leading to some options feeling more desirable than others. For example, when given £50, we are more likely to gamble the money if we stand to lose £30 than if we are going to keep £20.

Although both options are mathematically equivalent, the thought of losing money evokes a powerful emotional response and we are more likely to gamble to try to avoid losing money. This cognitive bias, first described by the psychologist Daniel Kahneman in the 1980s, is known as the “framing effect”. Despite this phenomenon being well documented, scientists are still trying to understand why our emotions have such a powerful influence on decision making.

https://theconversation.com/people-with ... ions-66946

That probably counts me out then . I'll use my head to some extent when making decisions, but wouldn't say I'm that good at logic.



mikeman7918
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13 Oct 2016, 4:26 pm

That may be true for some things but I for one can be quite illogical at times especially because of my atherrence to my routine. For example I usually have four eggs every morning but this morning my sister wanted an egg too so I spent like 10 minutes deciding weather to break my well timed and perfected egg cooking routine to add a fifth egg or to just make four as I usually do and give her one. I ended up doing the latter because it was more simelar to my usual routine. I picked that because it was emotionally easier for me to have one less egg then it is for me to break my routine. I just figured I would point that out.


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racheypie666
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13 Oct 2016, 4:47 pm

^^^ this is so me. My brother gets really annoyed when we have to cook in the same space because I'm so inflexible in my routine. I know what I'm doing, and minor adjustments which should be logical are sometimes a big deal to me.

I am more logical than most NTs I know on emotional issues, but sometimes that isn't appreciated so I have to keep it to myself! I find that I have a natural distance from a lot of problems and tasks so I can review them clearly and make informed decisions; from my observations (most) NTs don't do this for whatever reason.

If you're into personality types I'm an INTJ; basically I evaluate anything I come across and decide if it is viable. If so, I will apply myself to it totally. If not, I will remain detached from it. In my last work evaluation my manager said I seem to think and work 'in binary'; I think that's a fair assessment.



starkid
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13 Oct 2016, 6:36 pm

I really wish people would stop making this false distinction between emotionally based decisions and logically based decisions. "Logic" just means reasoning based on some information; there's no requirement that the information not be emotional information. Anything that anyone does for a specific reason is a logical decision; the only illogical decisions are decisions made randomly.

Our emotions are an integral part of who we are. Considering our own psychological well-being when we make decisions ensures that we have the most enjoyable life possible, so decisions based on what feels comfortable, happy, etc., are logical, assuming that people want to have enjoyable lives. Would you consider someone to be a logical decision-maker if she made choices that she didn't really like?



racheypie666
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13 Oct 2016, 6:51 pm

starkid wrote:
I really wish people would stop making this false distinction between emotionally based decisions and logically based decisions. "Logic" just means reasoning based on some information; there's no requirement that the information not be emotional information. Anything that anyone does for a specific reason is a logical decision; the only illogical decisions are decisions made randomly.

Our emotions are an integral part of who we are. Considering our own psychological well-being when we make decisions ensures that we have the most enjoyable life possible, so decisions based on what feels comfortable, happy, etc., are logical, assuming that people want to have enjoyable lives. Would you consider someone to be a logical decision-maker if she made choices that she didn't really like?


This is actually a really good point. Perhaps emotional decisions seem illogical to me because I personally don't connect to other people's emotions very well. I never thought of it as their own type of logic, because to me it does seem random, but you're right. Thanks for the insight :)

The only thing I would say is that sometimes I have observed people behave irrationally/erratically as a result of emotions, and that is illogical by definition. By that I mean I've seen people do things that contradict their own aims and convictions, to the point that they are confusing themselves with their own actions. But returning to your point, I will try to be more understanding of emotional decision making from now on when I encounter it.



starkid
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13 Oct 2016, 7:05 pm

mikeman7918 wrote:
That may be true for some things but I for one can be quite illogical at times especially because of my atherrence to my routine. For example I usually have four eggs every morning but this morning my sister wanted an egg too so I spent like 10 minutes deciding weather to break my well timed and perfected egg cooking routine to add a fifth egg or to just make four as I usually do and give her one. I ended up doing the latter because it was more simelar to my usual routine. I picked that because it was emotionally easier for me to have one less egg then it is for me to break my routine. I just figured I would point that out.


That was not illogical. You like your routine, and you used a reasoning process based on what's closest to what you like. That's perfectly logical.



firemonkey
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14 Oct 2016, 4:54 am

starkid wrote:
Would you consider someone to be a logical decision-maker if she made choices that she didn't really like?


Then you could make choices you liked that weren't good for you. Would that be logical?