Top of Mind: With Guests John Farrell & Manasvini Singh

Choiceology with Katy Milkman

When someone asks, "What's your favorite restaurant?" odds are you're inclined to recommend a place you've eaten at recently—even if it's not really your favorite.

It's just top of mind.

Why do we weigh recent events so heavily? And how does this tendency impact important decisions, like whom to vote for or how to conduct medical procedures?

In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at a phenomenon that can cause us to overweight recent events compared to earlier events and make suboptimal decisions.

The 1968 presidential election was one of the closest elections in American history. Following an eventful year of civil unrest, war, and high-profile assassinations, eleventh-hour political machinations from Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon majorly impacted results. "October surprises," or last-minute revelations in the days before a November election, can weigh heavily on voters' minds at the polling booths. John A. Farrell documents the surprising events leading up to 1968 Election Day and President Richard Nixon's narrow victory.

John A. Farrell is a historian and celebrated political biographer. He is the best-selling author of Richard Nixon: The Life, and his latest book is Ted Kennedy: A Life.

Next, Katy speaks with Manasvini Singh about her research on recency effect and its impacts on physician decision-making in the delivery room. You can learn more in the Science paper Manasvini authored, titled "Heuristics in The Delivery Room."

Manasvini Singh is an assistant professor of social and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on topics at the intersection between decision theory and health policy.

Choiceology is an original podcast from Charles Schwab.

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