Why do we exaggerate some details of a story, but minimize others?

Leveling and Sharpening

, explained.
Bias

What is Leveling and Sharpening?

Leveling and sharpening are concepts that have been introduced by early Gestalt psychologists as memory distortions that occurs when we fail to remember details of a certain memory. In psychology, leveling occur when some details are lost or it can also happen when we want to tone down certain moment.

Where this bias occurs

Leveling and sharpening is most commonly associated with the idea of selective memory, especially when it comes to storytelling and narration. Suppose you’re telling a friend a funny story about a time you tripped and fell in public. You might exaggerate some aspects to create a sense of drama, saying, for example, something like “so many people saw it happen!” You may, however, omit some minor details, such as the fact that it was actually a busy street, and the chances are, nobody really noticed your humiliating stumble. This occurs because our brain likes to engage in leveling and sharpening: cognitive controls that help us to manage information and details so they align with our cognitive assumptions and goals. Leveling consists of omitting what we have judged to be ‘minor’ details in memory recollection, whereas sharpening is the exaggeration and intense recollection of small details that mean a lot to the overall narrative.

Related Biases

Sources

  1. HeroX. (2021). Good Rumors, Bad News. Retrieved 18 March 2021, from https://www.herox.com/blog/617-good-rumors-bad-news
  2. Ganske, K. H., & Hebl, M. R. (2001). Once upon a time there was a math contest: Gender stereotyping and memory. Teaching of Psychology, 28(4), 266-268.
  3. Morgan, H. (1997). Cognitive styles and classroom learning. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  4. Allport, G. W., & Postman, L. (1947). The psychology of rumor. New York: Henry Holt.
  5. Holzman, P. S., & Klein, G. S. (1954). Cognitive system-principles of leveling and sharpening: Individual differences in assimilation effects in visual time-error. The Journal of Psychology, 37(1), 105-122.
  6. Suzuki, Y. (1979). Study of the leveling and the sharpening response in the schematizing test. Tohoku psychologica folia.

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

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Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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