Although humans are generally good at relative judgements, we show consisten errors in terms of our perceptions of our own risk. Most of us see ourselves as destined for a better future than our perrs, with less chance of bad things (early heart attack, cancer) and more chance of good things (being very successful, liking our job). This effect, called optimism bias, influences our risk perceptions, our adoption of precautions or risky behaviours. Optimism bias, it is suggested, arises from egocentric perceptions of our own behaviours, as well as motivated and cognitive errors.
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