Psychological scientists acknowledge the mystery behind human optimism and unrealistic ambitions, as illustrated by Danny Kahneman's concept of the planning fallacy. Kahneman's experience with creating a high school curriculum revealed how individuals, even Nobel laureates, tend to underestimate the time and challenges involved in completing projects, leading to overly optimistic planning and extended timelines for completion.
Are fantasies helpful or harmful? How is daydreaming like a drug? And what did Angela fantasize about during ninth-grade English class?
- RESOURCES:
- "Dreamscrolling," by Empower (The Currency, 2024).
- "Most Americans Can’t Afford a $1,000 Emergency: Survey," by Travis Schlepp (The Hill, 2024).
- "Positive Fantasies and Negative Emotions in Soccer Fans," by A. Timur Sevincer, Greta Wagner, and Gabriele Oettingen (Cognition and Emotion, 2019).
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott (2017).
- "Pleasure Now, Pain Later: Positive Fantasies About the Future Predict Symptoms of Depression," by Gabriele Oettingen, Doris Mayer, and Sam Portnow (Psychological Science, 2016).
- "Positive Fantasies About Idealized Futures Sap Energy," by Heather Barry Kappes and Gabriele Oettingen (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2011).
- "Self-Regulation of Goal Setting: Turning Free Fantasies About the Future Into Binding Goals," by Gabriele Oettingen, Hyeon-ju Pak, and Karoline Schnetter (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001).
- "Intuitive Prediction: Biases and Corrective Procedures," by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (DARPA Technical Report, 1977).
- Anarchy, State, and Utopia, by Robert Nozick (1974).