Insight by Psychology

Even if luck counts for only a small percent of evaluation, the chosen cohort can be dominated by high-luck realizations because adding a random luck term creates enough stochastic variation that the top-ranked picks disproportionately include those with extreme positive luck.

Authentic influencer endorsements inform because they reflect real experience and align with users' needs, while counterfeit endorsements (fake scarcity or cherry-picked claims) exploit heuristics and erode trust.

We downplay luck's role in our success because fortunate events are external and unearned, so they don't register as things we did and therefore get omitted from our explanations for outcomes.

People are more likely to comply with those they like because demonstrating similarity and giving sincere, specific compliments increases liking, which raises persuasive power.

Country of birth explains large global income differences because national institutions, economic conditions, and resource distribution shape the opportunities available from childhood, materially raising expected lifetime earnings for those born in wealthier countries.

Giving benefits or useful information first increases compliance because receiving a favor creates a felt obligation to reciprocate, which makes people more ready to say yes to later requests.

Admitting luck in your success increases perceived kindness because acknowledging external help signals humility and social awareness, which makes observers view you as more likable and trustworthy.

Items presented as rare or limited become more attractive because perceived scarcity triggers fear of missing out, which raises perceived value and demand.