Why do our expectations so often become our reality? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the self‑fulfilling prophecy — the psychological phenomenon where beliefs and assumptions influence behaviour until they make themselves true.

Discover how expectations shape actions, why other people’s beliefs can affect your performance, and how changing your internal predictions can shift the outcomes you experience.

Studies and links:

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In Psychology: Definition & Examples | Simply Psychology Self-Fulfilling Prophecy In Psychology: Definition & Examples

Pygmalion in the Classroom: Teacher Expectation and Pupils' Intellectual Development | Western Kentucky University people.wku.edu/steve.groce/RosenthalJacobson-PygmalionintheClassroom.pdf

Why does one good trait make someone seem completely brilliant - while one flaw makes them seem entirely flawed? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the halo effect and the devil effect - the biases that cause a single impression to shape how we judge someone's entire character.

Discover how first impressions spill over into assumptions about intelligence and competence, and how to recognise when one standout trait is distorting your overall judgement.

Studies and links:

Reboot Foundation | Everything You Need To Know About The Halo Effect Everything You Need To Know About The Halo Effect | REBOOT FOUNDATION

Ideal Role | The Halo Effect - The power of first impressions The Halo Effect - The power of first impressions

Why do unfinished tasks stick in our minds long after we've stopped working on them? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Zeigarnik Effect - the psychological phenomenon where incomplete tasks are remembered more clearly than completed ones.

Discover why open loops create mental tension, how unfinished work captures your attention, and how to use this effect to stay motivated.

Studies and Links:

The Art of Sustainable Performance: The Zeigarnik Effect | Research Gate (PDF) The Art of Sustainable Performance: The Zeigarnik Effect

Zeigarnik Effect Examples in Psychology | Simply Psychology Zeigarnik Effect Examples in Psychology

Why does losing something hurt more than gaining the same thing feels good? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore loss aversion - the psychological bias that makes losses feel more powerful, painful and important than equivalent gains.

Discover how fear of loss shapes decision-making and behaviour; why we cling onto what we already have; and how to overcome this bias to get rid of old ideals and create space for improvement.

Studies and Links:

Why do we buy insurance? | The Decision Lab Loss Aversion - The Decision Lab

Why do we value items more if they belong to us? | The Decision Lab Endowment Effect - The Decision Lab

Why are we likely to continue with an investment even if it would be rational to give it up? | The Decision Lab The Sunk Cost Fallacy - The Decision Lab

Loss aversion in riskless choice: a reference-dependent model | Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman | Oxford University Press | UFL Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model

Why do we choose short-term rewards even when we know waiting would be better? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore temporal discounting - the tendency to value immediate rewards more highly than future ones, even when the future payoff is larger or wiser.

Discover how time distorts our judgement, and how understanding this bias can help you make decisions that you future self will actually thank you for.

Studies and links:

Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review | Shane Frederick, George Loewenstein and Ted O'Donoghue | Journal of Economic Literature Vol. XL | Carnegie Mellon University TimeDiscounting.pdf

Does the way information is presented change how we decide - even when the facts stay the same? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the framing effect - the cognitive bias that causes our choices to shift depending on whether something is framed as a gain or a loss.

Discover how wording steers our decisions, how identical options can feel compltetely different, and what to do to improve your judgement, so that you don't fall for the frame and start seeing reality.

Studies and links:

The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice | Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman Untitled

Framing Effect in Psychology | Simply Psychology Framing Effect In Psychology

Why do people with the least experience often feel the most confident - while true expertise comes with doubt? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the Dunning-Kruger Effect - the cognitive bias that causes people with limited knowledge or skill to overestimate their ability, while more competent individuals feel less confident.

Discover how gaps in self-awareness distort confidence, why learning can initially make us feel worse before we get better, and how to spot when confidence is coming from ignorance rather than understanding.

Studies and links:

Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments | Research Gate | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (PDF) Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments

How the Dunning-Kruger Effect works | Very Well Mind The Dunning-Kruger Effect: An Overestimation of Capability

Why does making even small progress feel so motivating — and why do setbacks drain us so quickly? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the progress principle — the idea that consistent, meaningful progress is one of the strongest drivers of motivation, engagement, and well-being. When we feel like we’re moving forward, our confidence grows; when progress stalls, motivation collapses.

Discover how recognising small wins can transform performance, persistence, and morale — and how to structure your goals to keep momentum working in your favour.

Studies and links:

The Progress Principle | Psychology Fanatic Understanding the Progress Principle: Small Wins for Big Success - Psychology Fanatic

The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work | Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer (2011)