The Psychology of...

The human mind is funny and fascinating. We are designed with systematic biases for specific purposes. Usually these biases actually work in our favour but often the errors that they cause can be significant and when I say errors, I'm not just talking about occasional goofs, these are predictable patterns of error. Something Dan Ariely calls being "predictably irrational". In today's post I want to talk about a strong bias that we all have which is often called the "loss aversion" bias. The principle here is that we weigh potential losses as more severe than an equal amount of potential gain. We are more afraid of potential suffering than we are excited about potential pleasure. An example would be someone who invests in a low-risk guaranteed return rather than a higher risk but higher return investment. When we lose $100 it hurts about twice as much as winning $100 feels good. What does this have to do with politics? Political parties know that to mobil...

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." - Alexander Pope Hello everyone, I'm Zac Rhodenizer, the Alberta Party candidate for Lethbridge West and I'm sharing some tips from the field of psychology that can help us make sense of the election on the horizon. I'm going to start with the Dunning-Kruger effect which states that the more knowledge and expertise a person has in a given subject, especially one as complex and nuanced as politics, economics, or human behaviour, the less certain that person is in their assertions. This is because as you start to understand how complex the issues are you start to "know what you don't know" and it induces a sort of intellectual humility. You may have a better idea about what is likely to be the case but you avoid black and white statements of absolute truth, because you know better. In contrast, when you know a little bit in a given field, you tend to overestimate your competence level. Nobody knows more ...

On March 2nd, 2019 the Alberta Teacher's Association held an all party forum on education. It was moderated by Kim Trynacka and attended by Education Minister the Hon. David Eggen, Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel, Education Critic for the UCP Mark Smith, Liberal Party of Alberta leader David Khan, and Freedom Conservative Party candidate whose name I regrettably didn't note and I haven't been able to find online. The second I find his name I will amend this post. Admitting my biases, I nonetheless will try my best to objectively relay what happened and what the key messages of each party were on the subject of education. Initial Impressions : The UCP benefited from having Mark Smith there instead of Jason Kenney. He was overall quite likeable and did not seem as extreme as I expected. The most critical person on the panel award goes to David Khan with David Eggen as a close second. They were all informed and well-spoken. Eggen seemed the most like he had his ...

"Where they speak out for the rights of a puny group. I will shout for the rights of all mankind. When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me I shall draw a larger circle to include them." - Pauli Murray It's really tempting to support a candidate who says she will "fight" for me. I suppose it's good to have someone in a position of influence to fight for me right? But then I start asking, if she's fighting FOR me, then who is she fighting WITH? Who is she fighting AGAINST? If fighting for me means fighting against my neighbour then that will cost me in the end, perhaps more severely than the predicament I found myself in to begin with. I think Ghandi said that "an eye for an eye makes the world go blind." In Alberta, we're entering what is likely to be a highly contentious election with strong opinions and ideologies battling for political real estate. The right wing UCP and their leader Jason Kenney are attempting to establi...

"The only difference between medicine and poison is dosage." Since the days of Aristotle we have understood that there is such a phenomenon as "too much of a good thing," that virtue can become vice. For instance, it's good to care for others but what about compassion fatigue? It's good to eat protein but what happens when your diet consists entirely of steak? (Don't ask Jordan Peterson that question though). I think most people agree that all things in moderation is key for "the good life". But in politics there often isn't anything more distasteful than a "fence sitter" or a "people pleaser" that only says what he or she thinks will get them elected. It's disingenuous.  So why would I be running for MLA in Lethbridge-West as a self proclaimed moderate? Well first we need to look at this concept in political terms. The way I see it there are two kinds of moderates. The first is moderate when it co...

"Finding out what really improves lives and then acting on it is actually the serious business of government." - David Cameron So if you haven't heard yet, I'm running for MLA, hoping to represent Lethbridge West for the Alberta Party! Why would I submit myself to such public scrutiny? Bottom line, when I look at our overall well-being, I see some systemic problems that need to be addressed. I want to help Albertans have better lives. Politicians focus on money and rightfully so because it's hard to have a high quality of life if you're struggling financially. A strong economy boosts all of us, but there are also some key issues that a government needs to address, outside of dollars and cents, that could alleviate suffering and encourage flourishing in our province. I want to be at the table to help make these decisions. I also want politicians who have a greater allegiance to their constituency than their party, so in order to get a politician li...