This discussion reminds me of the research suggesting that those suffering from depression tend to have a more realistic view of themselves than “the healthy,” who, purportedly due to egocentric bias, overestimate themselves and their future prospects (and the value of their personal possessions?).

I wonder if you have done work in this area or whether you credit that research.

You seem to focus on “predictably irrational” decision-making that is counter-productive, that creates inefficiencies, but some (particularly egocentric bias? maybe the endowment effect is related?) may be important net-positive “cognitive errors”?

My wife and I went through this exact scenario. We purchased our house two years ago for $239k. Four months ago we went to refinance and the appriaser came back with an appraisal of $235k. This seemed “unfair”. My wife and I were thinking $250k.

It was based on a property on our street that was originally listed for $285k. An offer was made of $259k and the owner decided this was too low. He hung in there and eventually sunk $20k into a new kitchen. He continued to hold out and was then transferred out of town. In a hurry to sell his house, he unloaded it for $239k.

I was sanguine about this, (and I hadn’t even read your book yet), but my wife was livid. Like you said above, we had put a lot into our new house (Carpet, fixtures etc) and we thought we “deserved” more.

Richard

Fundamentally what you’re asking is: Can anyone control their thoughts when they look at something? …You can discover the answer for yourself by sincerely practicing what sages have implored us to practice over millennia: Don’t just look; rather, be also aware of yourself looking. In other words, include yourself in the experience of looking.

Is this Self-awareness hard to achieve? …Well, it’s an act of Will — so each person will find it easy or difficult according to the current state of his Will. One way to become aware of yourself looking is to pay attention to the shapes & colors in your peripheral vision. You’ll notice that your thoughts cease — you have temporarily overcome the ego and are simply seeing things as THEY are, not as YOU are. …As the house actually is, rather than “from the perspective of our own preferences.”