Building Better Choices: How to Equip Students to Overcome Cognitive Biases

In today’s rapidly evolving world, children and adolescents are bombarded with complex choices earlier than ever, such as choosing extracurriculars and friend groups or navigating social media. Yet, despite the increasing demands placed on students’ decision-making abilities, we are failing to adequately train them for these responsibilities. The lack of Decision Education in our schools is leaving young people ill-prepared to navigate uncertainty and make choices that align with their values. This neglect is not without consequences—research shows that when children are not taught how to make informed decisions, they are more likely to engage in behaviors that are harmful to their social, emotional, and physical well-being.1

In this article, we'll discuss how cognitive biases impact young people's decision-making, why early Decision Education is essential, and how targeted interventions can empower students to make informed, value-aligned choices in an increasingly complex world.

References

Sources

  1. Weller, J. A., Levin, I. P., Rose, J. P., & Bossard, E. (2012). Assessment of Decision-making Competence in Preadolescence: Decision-making Competence in Preadolescence. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 25(4), 414-426. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.744 
  2. Albert, D., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Judgment and decision making in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00724.x 
  3. Suzuki, A., Megumi, A., & Yasumura, A. (2021). Developmental changes in cognitive bias. Psychology, 12(2), 293–303. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.122019 
  4. Weller, J. A., Moholy, M., Bossard, E., & Levin, I. P. (2014). Preadolescent Decision-Making Competence Predicts Interpersonal Strengths and Difficulties: A 2-Year Prospective Study. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 28(1), 76-88. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.1822 
  5. Parker, A. M., & Fischhoff, B. (2005). Decision-making competence: External validation through an individual-differences approach. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 18(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.481 
  6. Larrick, R. P. (2004). Debiasing: Improving judgments and decisions. In D. J. Koehler & N. Harvey (Eds.), Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making (pp. 316-337). Blackwell Publishing.  https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470752937.ch16
  7. Bjorklund, D. F., & Causey, K. (2017). Children's thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences (6th ed.). SAGE Publications. 
  8. Nisbett, R. E. (2009). Intelligence and how to get it: Why schools and cultures count. W. W. Norton & Company.
  9. Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism in Adolescence. Child Development, 38(4), 1025–1034. https://doi.org/10.2307/1127100

About the Authors

Ivy McDaniels

Director of Communications

Ivy is the Director of Communications at the Alliance for Decision Education. She brings over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, marketing, and communications. As the daughter of two teachers, and the daughter-in-law of two more, Ivy believes in the power of education to transform lives. Beginning with a service year through the AmeriCorps VISTA program, Ivy has held positions at several education-based nonprofits in the Philadelphia area, including a K-8 scholarship program and a postgraduate training center. She also serves on the board of Philadelphia’s largest adult literacy program and on an advisory board for her alma mater. Ivy earned an M.A. with distinction in Literature while on a Fulbright research award at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and holds a B.A. with distinguished honors in English from Ursinus College. Additionally, she has completed continuing education at the Bryn Mawr Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute. Ivy lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their young daughter. When not working or parenting, Ivy can be found outdoors in her community garden, the woods, or biking the city streets.

Ramin Mohajer

Deputy Director of Organizational Development

Ramin A. Mohajer is the Deputy Director of Organizational Development. He has worked at educational nonprofits for over a decade after beginning his career as a corporate attorney, and joined the Alliance for Decision Education in 2015. Before joining the Alliance, Ramin served as the Executive Director of Faces without Places (now UpSpring), a Cincinnati-based nonprofit that provides educational programs and services to children experiencing homelessness. In this role, Ramin worked to ensure the growth of the organization’s programs, improve its financial stability, and increase awareness about childhood homelessness. Prior to moving to the nonprofit world, Ramin worked as a corporate attorney for several years at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Philadelphia and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York. In those roles, he worked on a variety of cases focused on securities, intellectual property, and general commercial matters, in addition to several pro bono cases. Ramin received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies from Harvard University. At Harvard, Ramin was the President of Harvard Model Congress, a student organization and nonprofit that hosts national government simulation conferences for high school students. A native New Yorker, Ramin now lives in Center City Philadelphia with his wife and their three children. He is passionate about food, travel, and both playing and following sports (particularly basketball and fantasy football).

Man with short dark hair and beard standing with arms crossed, wearing a plaid dress shirt against a plain, gray background.

Hector Alvarado

Hector Alvarado is a Director at The Decision Lab. He holds a Masters in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford, an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelors in Actuarial Science. He is very interested in applying insights and his past experience to generating meaningful impact for vulnerable populations around the globe. Prior to joining The Decision Lab, Hector worked about 5 years as a Private Equity investor in the Infrastructure Sector in LATAM and over 6 years as a Management Consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. Hector has lead large transformation, growth strategy and integration projects in the Pharma, Consumer Goods and Banking Industries both in North and Latin America.

Dr. Maraki Kebede

Dr. Maraki Kebede

Maraki is a Project Leader at The Decision Lab. Her research focuses on social and spatial equity in education globally, and has been featured in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, and international conferences. Maraki has worked with several international organizations to craft pathways to empower underserved school-aged children and youth in Africa, including UNESCO, the World Bank, the Institute of International Education, and Geneva Global Inc.

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