Revealing Cognitive Biases in Everyday Decision Making
“Girl Math” is a term that has gained popularity over the last couple of weeks on social media. This trend focuses on how women justify their financial decisions to rationalize their purchases. The TikToks I have come across showcase women’s “irrational” spending habits; however, this phenomenon does not only affect women and can be explained by behavioral science.
Behavioral science is a multidisciplinary field that encompasses knowledge from psychology, sociology, economics, among others, helping us understand human behavior. As human beings, we have limited cognitive bandwidth, meaning we cannot rationally think about every single decision we make.
As a result of this limited bandwidth, our brains rely on heuristics and cognitive biases to make decisions. In this article, we will explore how “Girl Math” and behavioral science are one and the same by providing examples that illustrate the prevalence of cognitive biases in our day-to-day decision-making.
— Girl Math: Returning an item means that you're making money.
This is an example of mental accounting.
When we return an item that we have already purchased, it feels as if we are making money. This is because of mental accounting, a term coined by Richard Thaler, which describes how people think about money relatively rather than in absolute terms. According to mental accounting, we view money differently depending on its intended purpose. In this case, the money that was spent was intended for the item that was already purchased, so when the item is returned, there is a disconnect in our brain, making it feel like we are gaining something.
Girl Math: If I use this $3,000 purse every day for a year, then I’m only spending $8.22 a day.
This is an example of the denomination effect.
When we make any purchase, humans feel the pain of paying, which means we tend to experience negative emotions when making a payment. These negative emotions can impact our decision to make the purchase. To justify the purchase and reduce these negative feelings, our brains employ the denomination effect, which states that when a large amount of money is broken down into smaller amounts over a period, we perceive the purchase as less painful.
— Girl Math: It's cheaper to buy more items than it is to pay for shipping.
This is an example of the power of free.
Girl math suggests that when shopping online and the item you want to purchase is $50, and shipping costs $20 this equates to $70, but if you spend $100 with free shipping then you feel like you have saved money. This happens because humans are particularly susceptible to the word "free," which is rooted in loss aversion, a phenomenon where humans feel losses twice as much as they do gains. If we miss out on the free benefit, we may feel negative about our purchase. By opting to spend more, we feel that we have gained the free benefit, creating the illusion of spending less.
Understanding these cognitive biases and heuristics allows us to recognize and critically assess our decisions. By doing so, we can make more informed choices, regardless of gender or social media trends. "Girl Math" serves as a poignant reminder that our decision-making processes are complex, and behavioral science provides valuable insights that can help us navigate the intricate web of everyday choices.
In conclusion, "Girl Math" may be a term that has recently gained traction on social media, but its underlying principles have deep roots in behavioral science. Our daily decision-making processes are profoundly influenced by cognitive biases and heuristics, as our cognitive bandwidth is limited, making it impossible to rationally evaluate every choice we make. This article has shed light on the ways in which "Girl Math" mirrors the workings of behavioral science.
