The Cost of Conviction: How Our Deepest Values Lead Us Astray

By Steven A. Sloman

Book Overview

A timely and important perspective on how people frame decisions and how relying on sacred values unwittingly leads to social polarization.

When you are faced with a decision, do you consider the best outcome, or do you consider your deepest values about which actions are appropriate? The Cost of Conviction contrasts these two primary strategies for making decisions: consequentialism or prioritizing one's sacred values. Steven Sloman argues that, while both modes of decision making are necessary tools for a good decision maker, people err by deploying sacred values more often than they should, especially when it comes to sociopolitical issues. As a result, we oversimplify, grow disgusted and angry, and act in ways that contribute to social polarization. In this book, Sloman provides a new understanding of today's societal ills and grounds that understanding in science.

Drawing on historical and current examples of the two decision-making strategies in action, the author provides a thorough overview of the psychology of decision making, including work on judgment, conscious and unconscious decision-making processes, the roles of emotion, and even an analysis of habit and addiction. With its unique emphasis on sacred values, The Cost of Conviction is an eye-opening must-read for all decision makers, especially those who wish to understand judgment, social decision making, and leadership.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262049821
• ISBN13: 9780262049825
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.1"