Difference between revisions of "Hindsight"
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==Description== | ==Description== | ||
'''Hindsight''', also known as the knew-it-all-along effect or creeping determinism, is the inclination to see [[events]] that have already occurred as being more [[predictable]] than they were before they took place. It is a multifaceted [[phenomenon]] that can affect [[different]] [[stages]] of designs, processes, [[contexts]], and situations. Hindsight bias may cause [[memory]] [[distortion]], where the recollection and reconstruction of [[content]] can lead to [[false]] [[theoretical]] outcomes. It has been suggested that the effect can cause [[extreme]] methodological problems while trying to [[analyze]], [[understand]], and [[interpret]] results in [[experimental]] studies. A basic example of the hindsight bias is when, after viewing the outcome of a potentially unforeseeable [[event]], a person believes he or she "knew it all along." Such examples are present in the [[writings]] of historians describing outcomes of battles, [[physicians]] recalling clinical trials, and in [[judicial]] systems trying to attribute [[responsibility]] and predictability of [[accidents]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindsight] | '''Hindsight''', also known as the knew-it-all-along effect or creeping determinism, is the inclination to see [[events]] that have already occurred as being more [[predictable]] than they were before they took place. It is a multifaceted [[phenomenon]] that can affect [[different]] [[stages]] of designs, processes, [[contexts]], and situations. Hindsight bias may cause [[memory]] [[distortion]], where the recollection and reconstruction of [[content]] can lead to [[false]] [[theoretical]] outcomes. It has been suggested that the effect can cause [[extreme]] methodological problems while trying to [[analyze]], [[understand]], and [[interpret]] results in [[experimental]] studies. A basic example of the hindsight bias is when, after viewing the outcome of a potentially unforeseeable [[event]], a person believes he or she "knew it all along." Such examples are present in the [[writings]] of historians describing outcomes of battles, [[physicians]] recalling clinical trials, and in [[judicial]] systems trying to attribute [[responsibility]] and predictability of [[accidents]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindsight] | ||
| − | + | ==See also== | |
| + | *'''''[[Foresight]]''''' | ||
[[Category: Psychology]] | [[Category: Psychology]] | ||
Revision as of 21:10, 22 April 2012
Definition
- perception of the nature of an event after it has happened
Description
Hindsight, also known as the knew-it-all-along effect or creeping determinism, is the inclination to see events that have already occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place. It is a multifaceted phenomenon that can affect different stages of designs, processes, contexts, and situations. Hindsight bias may cause memory distortion, where the recollection and reconstruction of content can lead to false theoretical outcomes. It has been suggested that the effect can cause extreme methodological problems while trying to analyze, understand, and interpret results in experimental studies. A basic example of the hindsight bias is when, after viewing the outcome of a potentially unforeseeable event, a person believes he or she "knew it all along." Such examples are present in the writings of historians describing outcomes of battles, physicians recalling clinical trials, and in judicial systems trying to attribute responsibility and predictability of accidents.[1]
