Quite the game tonight. I have to say I was a little disappointed with the result, but it was a good game nonetheless. There were some major psych concepts brought out, especially in regards to risks for error that led me and others to draw wrong conclusions at times.
First, I see a picture of Ed Reed in a nice suit. Now, had I seen a picture of Ed Reed back in the day in this suit, the representative heuristic would have thrown me off. He is a muscly man with one of the meanest faces you've ever seen. Had I not known who he was, I would have guessed that he was a multi-millionaire bank robber. Any guy that rough would "have to be" a bank robber. But in truth, there are many more football players than multi-millionaire bank robbers, so the prototype of a bank robber in my mind threw me off and led me to ignore other relevant info.
Later on, there are four seconds left in the game, and Baltimore is punting to give the 49ers one last shot. The availability heuristic threw me off. I kept picturing the Giants game a couple years ago where Desean Jackson returned a last second punt for a touchdown. But that was only an available memory in my mind. The odds were much more likely that the 49ers did not return it for a touchdown, which was the result. Just look at the history books. You can also blame my overconfidence there, as I was certain Ted Ginn Jr. would be able to pull of something amazing for the 49ers. But he didn't.
Also during the game, one of the facts they flashed on the TV led me to have a certain belief. CBS bragged that they had broadcasted the Superbowl 18 out of the 47 games ever played. But had they said they had not been the broadcasters for over 25 of the games ever played, I would have seen them as much less impressive. Oh the power of words.
And then my belief perseverance turned to be futile as well. I was under the impression the entire game that the NFL would decide they had made a mistake and the Falcons were supposed to be in the Superbowl. And even when people told me that that was impossible, and it had never happened before, I kept on believing. Long story short, the Falcons were chilling at home and they didn't end up playing. Blame me and my stubborn belief perseverance.
Twas a good game tonight, but the psychology involved was mind blowing if you dig deep.
I agree! Especially on the Ted Ginn part. I was thinking about the Giants-Eagles and, I too, had an uneasy feeling that he may be able to pull off the MIRACLE AT THE SUPERDOME! But I was wrong, and the Ravens won.
ReplyDelete