Present three options to build consensus

🌱April 7, 2021.
Last tended April 13, 2022.
budding 🌿
1 minute read ⏱

If only a single option is presented, people are unlikely to make a decision due to the single-option aversion bias. When two options are presented in sequence, people perceive the pros and cons of the second option to be more significant than reality. This is called the Contrast effect bias. When presented with a third option which is inferior to the second option in every way and inferior to the first option in several ways, preference for the second option is increased dramatically. When trying to drive consensus on an option, present three options:

  1. A good option
  2. The recommended/best option
  3. An option that was considered but deemed not worthwhile

References

Source Creator
List of cognitive biases - Wikipedia Wikipedia