Keeping the illusion of control under control: Ceilings, floors, and imperfect calibration

Gino, Francesca; Sharek, Zachariah S.

doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.10.002

Cited by 50 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…In a series of experiments, participants were given a probabilistically high degree of control over an annoying background timer that turned their computer screens black while they were working on a task. However, participants' estimates of control over the timer were much lower than their actual level of control (Gino, Sharek, & Moore, 2011). The researchers explained their findings by arguing that people's judgments are generally miscalibrated in ways that lead them to systematically overestimate ability, performance, or control in situations where ability, performance, or control are in fact very low, but underestimate ability, performance, or control in situations in which they are actually quite high.…”

Section: Theoretical Reconciliations Of the Two Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…We often have considerable influence over others' thoughts and behaviors. But according to recent research, in situations in which people have high levels of actual control, they may in fact underestimate the amount of control they have (Gino, Sharek, & Moore, 2011). In a series of experiments, participants were given a probabilistically high degree of control over an annoying background timer that turned their computer screens black while they were working on a task.…”

Section: Theoretical Reconciliations Of the Two Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As noted by Gino, Sharek, and Moore (2011), the underestimation of control is likely to occur in circumstances in which an individual has a significant degree of control. However, in situations where individuals have very little control, the overestimation of control is likely to occur.…”

Section: The Influencer's Actual Degree Of Influencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Underestimating our influence over others at work

Bohns

2013

Research in Organizational Behavior

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Employees at all organizational levels have influence over their subordinates, their colleagues, and even their bosses. But are they aware of this influence? We present evidence suggesting that employees are constrained by cognitive biases that lead them to underestimate their influence over others in the workplace. As a result of this underestimation of influence, employees may be reluctant to spearhead organizational change, discount their own role in subordinates' performance failures, and fail to speak up in the face of wrongdoing. In addition to reviewing evidence for this bias, we propose five moderators that, when present, may reverse or attenuate the underestimation effect (namely, comparative judgments, the objectification or dehumanization of an influence target, the actual degree of influence any one influencer has, the means of influence, and culture). Finally, we offer some practical solutions to help employees more fully recognize their influence over other members of the organization. Employees at all organizational levels have influence over their subordinates, their colleagues, and even their bosses. But are they aware of this influence? We present evidence suggesting that employees are constrained by cognitive biases that lead them to underestimate their influence over others in the workplace. As a result of this underestimation of influence, employees may be reluctant to spearhead organizational change, discount their own role in subordinates' performance failures, and fail to speak up in the face of wrongdoing. In addition to reviewing evidence for this bias, we propose five moderators that, when present, may reverse or attenuate the underestimation effect (namely, comparative judgments, the objectification or dehumanization of an influence target, the actual degree of influence any one influencer has, the means of influence, and culture). Finally, we offer some practical solutions to help employees more fully recognize their influence over other members of the organization.Underestimating Our Influence at Work 3 Contents

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Section: Theoretical Reconciliations Of the Two Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Theoretical Reconciliations Of the Two Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Underestimating our influence over others at work

Bohns

2013

Research in Organizational Behavior

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“…The results showed that subjects tend to underestimate their control when it is high and overestimate it when it is low. A similar experimental design was used by F. Gino, Z. Sharek and D. A. Moore (2011), who found that people underestimate their real control when they have it, but overestimate it when they do not. An experiment designed by Fenton-O'Creevy et al (2003) was adopted, with index values displayed on a graph step by step.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Illusion of Control and Information Overload within a Bayesian Updating Framework

Kubińska

Czupryna

Markiewicz

2017

PJOEP

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In this paper, the hypothesis that information overload causes the illusion of control is verified with Bayesian updating. Bayesian updating is considered the rationality model of individuals' perception of their impact on the process of generating results. Here, the Bayesian model of processing information, where different priors are applied, is validated. Information overload has been operationalised by introducing uncertainty about the function and parameter values of generating results. Streszczenie:W artykule za pomocą wnioskowania bayesowskiego została zweryfikowana hipoteza mówiąca o tym, że przeciążenie informacyjne zwiększa iluzję kontroli. Wnioskowanie bayesowskie jest uważane za racjonalny model, w ramach którego jednostki oceniają swój własny wpływ na proces generujący wyniki. W artykule weryfikujemy bayesowski model przetwarzania informacji poprzez zastosowanie różnych parametrów. Przeciążenie informacyjne zostało zoperacjonalizowane poprzez wprowadzenie niepewności co do funkcji i wartości parametrów procesu generującego wyniki. Słowa kluczowe: nadmierna pewność siebie, iluzja kontroli, przeciążenie informacyjne, wnioskowanie bayesowskie.

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“…There is, however, another form of illusory control over more concrete aspects of the choice itself. In the psychological literature this has been done, e.g., by allowing subjects to choose and trade their lottery ticket rather than being assigned one (Langer, 1975), or by asking subjects to press buttons that might or might not have consequences (Gino et al, 2011). In other words, a greater involvement can concern the choice of which lottery should be played, instead of how to resolve uncertainty of a given lottery (who should roll the die, which are the outcome numbers, etc.).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Click‘n’Roll: No Evidence of Illusion of Control

Filippin¹,

Crosetto²

2016

De Economist

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Evidence of Illusion of Control -the fact that people believe to have control over pure chance events -is a recurrent finding in experimental psychology. Results in economics find instead little to no support. In this paper we test whether this dissonant result across disciplines is due to the fact that economists have implemented only one form of illusory control. We identify and separately tests in an incentive-compatible design two types of control: a) over the resolution of uncertainty, as usually done in the economics literature, and b) over the choice of the lottery, as sometimes done in the psychology literature but without monetary payoffs. Results show no evidence of illusion of control, neither on choices nor on beliefs about the likelihood of winning. JEL Classifications: B49; C91; D81

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Keeping the illusion of control under control: Ceilings, floors, and imperfect calibration

Cited by 50 publications

References 56 publications

Underestimating our influence over others at work

Underestimating our influence over others at work

The Illusion of Control and Information Overload within a Bayesian Updating Framework

Click‘n’Roll: No Evidence of Illusion of Control

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