← Giant Brain Candy
Giant Brain Candy: When a Coin Said ‘Change’. Thousands of people stuck on a big decision let a coin toss nudge them. Those it told to make a change were, on average, happier six months later, by their own ratings. Source: Coin tosses and big decisions.
Growing evidenceThe research
  1. Levitt, S. D. (2021). Heads or tails: The impact of a coin toss on major life decisions and subsequent happiness. The Review of Economic Studies, 88(1), 378–405.

Journey 7 · Uncertainty

When a Coin Said ‘Change’

Thousands of people stuck on a big decision let a coin toss nudge them. Those it told to make a change were, on average, happier six months later, by their own ratings.

Source: Coin tosses and big decisions · Growing evidence

Share this card

XFacebookLinkedInPinterestWhatsAppThreadsEmail
Download the picture

Instagram or TikTok: download the picture and post it.

30 days of All-Access, free — every journey and every feature. No card.

Start free — 30 days of All-Access

More from Uncertainty

Giant Brain Candy: A Maybe Can Hurt More. People learning when painful shocks might come felt and showed the most stress when a shock was a 50/50 toss-up, not when it was certain to come. Source: Uncertainty and stress.
Giant Brain Candy: The Worries That Never Came. People treated for chronic worry logged their worries for ten days and checked back 20 days later: 91.4% of the worries had not come true. Source: How often worries come true.
Giant Brain Candy: Check Again, Trust Less. People who checked a virtual gas stove again and again grew less sure they had checked it, as their memories grew less vivid, though their memory stayed just as accurate. Source: Repeated checking and memory.
All of Uncertainty’s Brain Candy, and every other journey’s →