The Four-Criteria Model for Choosing Actions in the Moment


## Notes

- Mental models are frameworks, worldviews, representations, or explanations of how something works. They're how we understand the world.

- They shape the connections we create among systems.

- They're thinking tools that we use to solve problems and make decisions.

- They help us overcome the [hyperbolic discounting](/zettelkasten/hyperbolic-discounting) problem.

- Without mental models, you rely on your current emotions or instincts.

- They're imperfect but helpful.

- The bigger your mental model toolbox, the more likely you're to have the suitable models to see reality.

  - If you look at the problem individually, you've got a blind spot.

- For instance, imagine that there is a party. We can see it in these ways:
  - Business: the profit by selling invitations or drinks.
  - Psychology: the music and the mood it creates on the participants.
  - Anthropology: the human interactions with the party and others.

## References

- [James Clear. Mental Models: Learn How to Think Better and Gain a Mental Edge](https://jamesclear.com/mental-models)

- [fs. Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (~100 Models Explained)](https://fs.blog/mental-models/)

- [Julian Shapiro. Mental models](https://www.julian.com/blog/mental-model-examples)

## Backlinks
- [The Four-Criteria Model for Choosing Actions in the Moment](/zettelkasten/the-four-criteria-model-for-choosing-actions-in-the-moment)

Hyperbolic Discounting

Mental Models


## Notes

The book [The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People](/b/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people) says three social maps explain human nature. These three theories are widely accepted, independent or in combination, to explain the nature of man.

1. **Genetic determinism**: it says that you're who you're because of your DNA.

1. **Psych determinism**: it says that your parents did it to you. Your upbringing and childhood experience essentially laid out your tendencies and character structure.

1. **Environmental determinism**: it says that your boss, spouse, economic or political situation, national policies are doing it to you. Someone or something in your environment is responsible for your situation.

## References

- [The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People](/b/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people)


Human Nature Explanations


## Notes

- It's a motivational theory in psychology comprising stages of human needs.

- [Abraham Maslow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow) proposed this theory in 1943 in his paper "A Theory of Human Motivation."

- From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are:
  - **Physiologica**l: the biological component for human survival, as air, water, food, sex.
  - **Safety**: personal, emotional, and financial security.
  - **Love and Social Belonging**: interpersonal and feelings of belongingness, including family, friendship, and intimacy.
  - **Esteem Needs**: status, recognition, fame, competency, mastery, self-confidence, and freedom.
  - **Cognitive**: creativity, predictability, curiosity, and meaning.
  - **Aesthetic**: extracting the world's beauty.
  - **Self-actualization**: the realization of one's full potential. Partner acquisition and pursuing goals.
  - **Transcendence**: spiritual needs.

## References

- [Dr. Saul McLeod. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs](https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html)

- [Wikipedia. Maslow's hierarchy of needs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs)


Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Anecdotal Evidence


## Notes

- A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern deviation of the norm or rationality in judgment because the individual constructed reality.

  - An individual's construction of reality may dictate their behavior in the world, not the objective input.

- Cognitive biases may lead to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, or irrationality.

- Some cognitive biases are presumably adaptive because some enable faster decisions in scenarios in which timeliness is more valuable than accuracy, for example, [recognition heuristic](/zettelkasten/recognition-heuristic).

## References

- [Wikipedia. Cognitive bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias)

## Backlinks
- [Dunning-Kruger Effect](/zettelkasten/dunning-kruger-effect)
- [Anecdotal Evidence](/zettelkasten/anecdotal-evidence)

Cognitive Bias


## Notes

- When faced with a problem, people tend to prefer solutions that add new elements rather than removing elements, even if removing is the more efficient solution.

- It can be considered as a [system mental model](/zettelkasten/system-mental-models) because it explains how our mind works.

- Experiments show that people tend to consider subtracting more if cues are given or if they had more time and opportunities to analyze the problem.

  - Subtractive solutions take more effort to find.

- Other reasons for this effect.

  - People tend to continue investing in things for which time, money or effort has already been spent, the sunk cost bias.

  - Greater likelihood that additive solutions will be appreciated.

## References

- [Nature. People systematically overlook subtractive changes](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03380-y.epdf)

- [Diana Kwon. Our Brain Typically Overlooks This Brilliant Problem-Solving Strategy](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-brain-typically-overlooks-this-brilliant-problem-solving-strategy/)


System Mental Models

People Systematically Overlook Subtractive Changes

From Reactive Planning Model to Natural Planning Model


## Notes

- The hyperbolic discounting theory states that humans discount the value of a later reward by the factor that increases with the length of the delay.

  - People tend to choose a smaller-sooner over a large-later reward as the delay occurs sooner than later.

- It's a [decision mental model](/zettelkasten/decision-mental-models) because it can help you evaluate the reward between two choices at different times.

- It's a [system mental model](/zettelkasten/system-mental-models) because it enables you to understand your and others' choices.

- It's mathematically described as:

$$
g(D) = \frac{1}{1 + kD}
$$

where $g(D)$ is the discount factor that multiples the reward's value, $D$ is the delay, and $k$ is the factor governing the degree of discounting.

- It explains why humans prefer short-term to long-term rewards.

- It reveals a tendency to make choices that are inconsistent over time.
  - We regret some decisions we made in the past, despite knowing the same information.

## References

- [Joseph P. Redden. Hyperbolic discounting](http://www.behaviorlab.org/Papers/Hyperbolic.pdf)

- [Wikipedia. Hyperbolic discounting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolic_discounting)

## Backlinks
- [From Reactive Planning Model to Natural Planning Model](/articles/from-reactive-planning-model-to-natural-planning-model)
- [Mental Models](/zettelkasten/mental-models)

Decision Mental Models


## Notes

- It was identified by psychologists [David Dunning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dunning) and [Justin Kruger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Kruger) in a 1999 study.
  - This identification derived from the criminal [case of McArthur Wheeler](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@rsc227/the-curious-case-of-mcarthur-wheeler), who robbed two banks while his face was covered with lemon juice because he thought that the juice would make it invisible.
- Is a [cognitive bias](/zettelkasten/cognitive-bias) hypothesis in which people with low ability at a given task overestimate their ability at that task.
  - Comes from people's inability to recognize their lack of ability and poor self-awareness.
  - Comes from people's ignorance of a given activity's standards of performance.
  - If you don't have the competency, you can't know you don't have competency in a task. The skills you need to produce the right response about your competency are the same skills you need to know what a right response is.
- Deficits in skill and expertise create a two-prolonged problem.
  1. People perform poorly in the domain in which they're incompetent.
  2. The incompetence makes them unable to recognize their mistakes.

## References

- [Dunning-Kruger Effect 101](https://twitter.com/SahilBloom/status/1350077522935832576)
- [Dunning–Kruger effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect)
- [The Dunning-Kruger Effect](https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-dunning-kruger-effect-4160740)


No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs

Last Mile in a Software Project

Skydiving Terminal Velocity

The 90-90 Rule


## Notes

- Is a mental state in which a person is performing an activity:
  - fully immersed;
  - high focus;
  - full involvement and enjoyment.
- It's the most efficient state when doing a task.
- Lose awareness of all other things.
- The person may lose the sense of time.
- Named by [Mihály Csíkszentmihályi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi) in 1975.
- Three conditions have to be met to achieve a flow state:
  1. Clear goals and progress.
  1. Clear and immediate feedback.
  1. The task difficult must match the person's skill level.
     - If task difficult < person skill: boredom.
     - If task difficult = person skill: **flow**.
     - If task difficult > person skill: anxiety.
- According to [Mihály Csíkszentmihályi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi), we can process about 110 bits of information per second.
  - Person in flow state decided to use all these bits on the task.
  - There is no more attention to be allocated.

## References

- [Flow (psychology)](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)>)
- [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow, the secret to happiness](https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness/transcript?language=en)

## Backlinks
- [No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs](/books/no-b-s-time-management-for-entrepreneurs)
- [Last Mile in a Software Project](/articles/last-mile-in-a-software-project)
- [Skydiving Terminal Velocity](/articles/skydiving-terminal-velocity)
- [The 90-90 Rule](/zettelkasten/the-90-90-rule)

Flow State (Psychology)


## Notes

- Currently, humans are living in what researchers call a **Delayed Return Environment**.
  - We worry about problems that won't be solved immediately by our actions - we work today to get a paycheck in a few weeks, for instance.
- The Delayed Return Environment causes chronic anxiety and stress because our brain was designed to live in an Immediate Return Environment.
  - Our brain has roughly the same size as our ancestors of two hundred thousand years ago.
  - On the other side, society became mostly a Delayed Return Environment about 500 years ago, which is a very small window of time for our brain to evolve.
- The Immediate Return Environment creates some stress and anxiety. It was necessary to help our ancestors (and some wild animals) to survive.
  - A lion appears -> you feel stressed -> you run away to survive -> the stress is relieved.
- Nowadays, we still expect the same process, except that the relived part doesn't occur immediately.
  - We imagine our future -> we need money to live well -> we study to get a good job -> but we **don't** get a job (and money) immediately. This causes chronic stress and anxiety because it isn't relieved.
- Living and Delayed Return Environment means you're surrounded by uncertainty. We can do two things to minimize it:

  1. **Measure something**. When we measure something, we transform the unknown quantity and make it known, and you became more certain of something.
     - For instance, if you're looking for a job, count how many companies you sent your resume to.
  2. **Shift your worry**. Instead of worrying about a long-term problem, focus on a daily routine that will solve your problem.
     - Instead of worrying about living longer, focus on doing some exercises today.

## References

- [James Clear. The Evolution of Anxiety: Why We Worry and What to Do About It](https://jamesclear.com/evolution-of-anxiety)


The Evolution of Anxiety


## Notes

- The fight or flight response is a biochemical reaction in animals that enables them to rapidly produce sufficient energy to flee or fight in a threatening situation.

- Walter Cannon discovered this biological reaction.

- When presented with an immediate stressor, the body releases [adrenaline](/zettelkasten/adrenaline), [noradrenaline](/zettelkasten/noradrenaline), and [cortisol](/zettelkasten/cortisol). As a result, the heart rate increases, and blood is directed away from the organs and toward the arms and legs to fight or flee.

- The body spends less energy on functions such as thought, which can prejudice [short-term memory](/zettelkasten/short-term-memory) formation.

## References

- [GoodTherapy. Fight or Flight](https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/fight-or-flight)


Short-Term Memory

Fight or Flight

Procrastination


## Notes

- It's the instinctive seeking of pleasure and avoiding of pain to satisfy biological and psychological needs.

## References

- [Wikipedia. Pleasure principle (psychology)](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasure_principle_(psychology)>)

## Backlinks
- [Procrastination](/zettelkasten/procrastination)

Pleasure Principle (Psychology)


## Notes

- Psychological triggers are the stimulus that creates a reaction in a brain and/or body without the person notices.

- We don't know exactly how triggers are formed, but some theories exist.

## References

- [Trigger](https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/trigger)

- [](https://www.icfyb.com/four-ways-to-take-control-of-your-psychological-triggers/)

## Backlinks
- [No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs](/books/no-b-s-time-management-for-entrepreneurs)

Psychological Trigger


## Notes

- Some psychological addiction terms:

  - FOMO: Fear of Missing Out.
  - ATUS: Addiction to Useless Information.
  - PROM: Pleasure of Receiving Messages.

- The existence of such terms shows that exists a psycho-emotional manipulation engineered into social media.

- Social media creates to users a sense of belonging and redefines their way of being.

- Anxiety, depression, loneliness, and addiction are problems caused by social media addiction.

- It's good for social media companies that the users spend much time as possible on their platforms.

  - Most of the money these companies made is directly tied to the time users spend on their platforms.

- Swiping right, double-clicking to like a post, receiving likes, and others generate ephemeral [dopamine](/zettelkasten/dopamine) bursts.

## Questions

- How do you know if you're social media addicted?

## References

- [Mark D. Griffiths Ph.D. Addicted to Social Media?](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201805/addicted-social-media)

## Backlinks
- [No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs](/books/no-b-s-time-management-for-entrepreneurs)

Dopamine

Social Media Addiction


## Notes

- People are becoming more digital in modern society.
  - We spend more time on the Internet than on TVs or newspapers.
- People use the Internet to connect to others, entertainment, or to be informed.
- The digital content that informs has three levels of relevance, from the less to more relevant:
  1. Only informs.
  2. Informs and does some analysis.
  3. Informs, does some analysis, and gives a recommendation.
- If you want to increase the importance of your content, you may add some [psychological trigger](/zettelkasten/psychological-trigger.md), also described as [psychology of selling by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D](/zettelkasten/-robert-b-cialdinis-psychology-of-selling.md).
  - For instance, if the content author is an authority, his/her recommendation will have more relevance.


#psychology