Wishing Reveals Deep Cognitive Needs
Friday, January 2nd, 2009
Wishes reveal what we want to be true – something we long for or even covet but don’t really expect to happen. When we wish for something we think about it or even plan for it but don’t ever intend on taking action. Wishes are different cognitive creatures than beliefs, expectations, feelings, goals and wants. Designers sometimes miss that point.
Wishful thinking is a cognitive bias or logical fallacy that is driven by interpreting things as we want them to be rather than how they are. In its most naked form wishful thinking means wanting something to be true and therefore it is true. Catching people in acts of wishful thinking can provide interesting insights into their deepest cognitive needs.
Wishes, no matter how fanciful, can play a key role in how we think and feel and are therefore a useful tool for cognitive designers. This is true for children and adults.
Wishing is fundamental to how our minds work.
