Survivorship Bias: A Parenting Myth
- Feb 6, 2016
- 2 min read
Don't worry, I didn't know what survivorship bias was until a few weeks ago either. At least, I hadn't heard the term.
I stumbled across the term and I started doing some light research on this topic. With this new knowledge, my mind has been swirling and contemplating all the missed opportunities I've experienced due to my bias.
If you want to succeed, then you look at those who have found success. Right?
Surround yourself with the winning people and the winning processes and the winning projects to be your best. That's what we hear.
(I really want to insert a Donald Trump here, but I am restraining myself.)
Creating a distorted reality
Survivorship bias creates a distorted reality that the winner's story is the only story.
Since I am a parent of two energetic children, I will use this example:
Family A raises has a very enegertic four-year-old. Daycare has chatted with this family about how this child refuses to sit during story time and has trouble controlling his body. Family A decides that their child might participate in story time if he can have his favorite stuffed animal to hold in his lap. This works.
Family B has the very same issue. They try talking with their child and offering an extra book at bedtime (a favorite moment for this child) if this child can sit still and listen during story time. This method doesn't work and the child continues to be a distraction.
You are Family C and you have the very same problem. You look at Families A and B and their successes and failures. You are most likely to try the method from Family A and ignore Family B.
But what if the child from Family A is very attached to their stuffed animal and treasures the extra time with this special toy? The child from Family B might be too tired at the end of the night and unable to cooperate for another book. There are so many variables (to this very simplified example).
When we always pick the winner to model after, what are we missing? What lessons have gone unnoticed? Can we really find the true definition of Family A's success without also finding out what caused Family B to fail?
It's like saying someone is a good parent because they raised two children that became successful adults. The equation is much more complicated. We know that there is so much more to the story!
With parenting, I find that I look to others because there are so many times when I don't have the answer. I need to look deeper for the right answer for my family.
Contemplate and tackle your bias
Next time you are researching your next big idea or project at work or tackling another parenting roadblock, reach out to collect the entire story to build your own success story (personally, at work or with parenting).
Learn from them and tackle your survivorship bias.
(This is a very simplified version of survivorship bias and there is so much more to learn. I encourage to explore the topic).
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