People often think that research in social psychology is just common sense, or something that we have known all along.  However, these conclusions tend to be drawn when we have the information available after the fact versus in the process of forming our perceptions.  While it is not unwise to rely on factual information, we also have to acknowledge that we tend to twist information in order to deceive ourselves and others into believing that we were originally right in our thinking, even when we were incorrect.  We may distort our own memories or believe that we could have accurately predicted an event, but in doing so, we are overestimating our decision-making skills.

• Read the article titled That Guy Won?  Why We Knew it all Along by Benedict Carey

• Write a 2-page double spaced reflection discussing a time when you experienced hindsight bias.  Did this experience prevent you from seeking to learn new information, or cause you to have detrimental overconfidence in future scenarios?  Propose some of the ways that you can prevent hindsight bias from occurring in your social interactions, as well as in your professional career.