A checklist for better decision-making

In The Psychology of Human Misjudgment, Charlie Munger outlines 25 human tendencies that can lead to poor decision-making. To combat these tendencies, he recommends making a checklist you can reference when you’re making an important decision.

I’ve converted my notes to this simple checklist. I hope it helps me avoid bad decisions by helping me become aware of how these tendencies might be affecting me.

Feel free to take this or repurpose it for your own use.

❒ Reward and Punishment Superresponse Tendency. Am I making this decision so I can gain a reward or avoid a punishment?

❒ Liking/Loving Tendency. In making this decision, am I ignoring the faults of, distorting facts in favor of, or seeking admiration of someone I like or love?

❒ Disliking/Hating Tendency. In making this decision, am I ignoring the virtues of, distorting facts against, or facilitating hatred against someone I dislike or hate?

❒ Doubt-Avoidance Tendency. Am I making this decision to avoid the presence of doubt?

❒ Inconsistency-Avoidance Tendency. Am I making this decision to avoid dealing with inconsistencies, to avoid change of belief, or to be right? 

❒ Curiosity Tendency. Am I making this decision out of curiosity? 

❒ Kantian Fairness Tendency. Am I making this decision to maintain fairness, to reward fairness, or to punish someone who I believe hasn’t acted fairly?

❒ Envy/Jealousy Tendency. Am I making this decision out of envy or jealousy of someone else?

❒ Reciprocation Tendency. Am I making this decision to reciprocate a favor or disfavor?

❒ Influence-from-Mere-Association Tendency. Am I making this decision due to associated value or actual value?

❒ Simple, Pain-Avoiding Psychological Denial. In making this decision, am I denying reality to avoid pain? 

❒ Excessive Self-Regard Tendency. Am I making this decision because of ego, because I overvalue what I possess, or because I’m favoring people who are like me?

❒ Overoptimism Tendency. Am I making this decision based on gut or optimism instead of mathematical probability?

❒ Deprival-Superreaction Tendency. In making this decision, am I overreacting to a loss or threatened loss of value? 

❒ Social-Proof Tendency. Am I making this decision because it is what everyone else is thinking and doing?

❒ Contrast-Misreaction Tendency. In making this decision, am I overreacting to high contrast or under-reacting to low contrast?

❒ Stress-Influence Tendency. In making this decision, am I overreacting due to heavy stress?

❒ Availability-Misweighing Tendency. In making this decision, am I overvaluing what is easily available and recent or undervaluing what is not?

❒ Use-It-or-Lose-It Tendency. In making this decision, am I failing to obtain fluency in a skill I want to maintain or failing to practice a skill I want to keep?

❒ Drug-Misinfluence Tendency. Am I making this decision under the influence of drugs or alcohol?

❒ Senescence-Misinfluence Tendency. Is my age affecting my ability to make a good decision?

❒ Authority-Misinfluence Tendency. In making this decision, am I overvaluing the views of someone in authority? 

❒ Twaddle Tendency. Am I making this decision to pretend I know something I don’t?

❒ Reason-Respecting Tendency. Am I making this decision for valid reasons?

❒ Lollapalooza Tendency. In making this decision, am I suffering from more than one of these tendencies?