Optimism bias

There was a terrific conversation on NPR last week about something called the Optimism Bias. This bias has been studied by neuroscientists and it's effects are hindering efforts to stem the tide of obesity in American children.

Here is the article and transcript of the NPR interview with science correspondent Shankar Vedantam about research conducted by Tali Sharot and others. The research shows that when it comes to negative outcomes we will raise our perceived odds of avoiding that outcome, even in the face of facts that contradict our position.

What does this have to do with veterinary medicine and your practice? Everything. The article (in a nutshell) discusses how people underestimate their chances and their family's odds of getting sick, even if all the evidence contradicts their stance.

This is why smokers continue to smoke and our client's pets remain obese in spite of our efforts to educate them about the dangers. After listening to the conversation on NPR, I went into the hospital where I am working and I put "optimism Bias" on the agenda for the next staff meeting.

The upshot of the research is that all of our efforts to tell people the negative effects of certain actions or inactions fall on deaf ears, because all of the bad things will not happen to them. If you read off a litany of bad things that can happen to a pet that isn't vaccinated, or isn't on heartworm prevention, or has to lose weight, people think, "Wow, that sounds bad, I mean my pet is fine, but all those other people need to protect their pets."

Tali's recommendation on how to outwit this bias is not to dwell on negative outcomes, but to dwell on the positive effects that can occur. In the case of obesity (our biggest battles in human and pet health), instead of focusing on the negative aspects of what can happen, discuss the great things their pet will do if it loses weight. It can play like a kitten again, or chase frisbees, or go hiking with the grandkids. Create a positive outcome worth striving for as opposed to a negative outcome to avoid.

It's easy to see how this can work with something like obesity, but it is harder to address things like vaccines or heartworm prevention. But, spending some time with your team looking at the various ways that positive outcomes can be created through owner compliance will not only help you better communicate with your clients, but will help your staff remain flexible in how ideas are presented.

 The book by  Tali Sharot on her work: The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain.

Thank you for reading. You can follow 4 Dogs Veterinary Services on Twitter @4dogsvet. Call us for all of your veterinary management needs.