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 Is your past really what happened—or just what your brain remembers last? In this episode of Choice Beyond Logic: The Science of Bias, Kellie Best explores the fragile science of memory. Discover how stress, mood, and even light bend recall, how identity is shaped by what rises and falls in memory, and why the past itself is never as stable as it seems.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Loftus, E. F. (2005). Planting misinformation in the human mind: A 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory. Learning & Memory.

•Schacter, D. L. (2012). Constructive memory and future simulation. PNAS.

•Cahill, L., & McGaugh, J. L. (1998). Mechanisms of emotional arousal and lasting declarative memory. Trends in Neurosciences.

•https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=2091065

•Xu, A. J., & Labroo, A. A. (2014). Incandescent affect: Turning on the light makes people feel warmer and act warmer. Journal of Consumer Psychology.

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Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

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Why do we cling to jobs, relationships, or projects that no longer serve us? Psychologists call it the sunk-cost fallacy, but in this episode of Choice Beyond Logic: The Science of Bias, Kellie Best calls it the Pull of the Past. Discover how fear, shame, hope, and biology keep us trapped, how environments exploit this bias, and how to break free by asking one powerful question.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

•Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk. Econometrica.

•Garland, H. (1990). Throwing good money after bad: The effect of sunk costs on decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

•Sharot, T. (2011). The optimism bias. Current Biology.

•American Psychological Association. (2016). Loss Aversion.

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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Episode 1 – The Bias We Can’t Escape: How the Mind Tricks Itself

What if your brain isn’t showing you truth—but shortcuts? In the Season 2 premiere of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best unpacks the science of bias, from confirmation and anchoring to optimism and negativity. With studies from Kahneman, Tversky, and beyond, discover how the mind tricks itself—and how noticing bias may be the first step toward freedom.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science.

•Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises. Review of General Psychology.

•Kaplan, J. T., et al. (2016). Scientific Reports.

•Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1979). Prospect Theory. Econometrica.

•Sharot, T., et al. (2011). Nature Neuroscience.

•Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

•Simonson, I. (1989). Choice Based on Reasons: The Case of Attraction and Compromise Effects. Journal of Consumer Research.

•Zajonc, R. B. (1968). Attitudinal Effects of Mere Exposure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

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Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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Is surrender weakness—or a hidden freedom? In the final episode of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best explores the paradox of control, the neuroscience of flow, the physiology of letting go, and the psychology of acceptance. Discover how surrender can open new choices, align us with synchronicity, and reveal freedom not in grasping—but in releasing.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Illusion of Control — Langer, E. J. (1975). “The illusion of control.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

•Flow States — Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

•Parasympathetic Activation & Exhale — Porges, S. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory.

•Synchronicity — Jung, C.G. (1952). Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle.

•Acceptance Research — Hayes, S.C., et al. (2003). “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.” Behavior Research and Therapy.

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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The Weight of Fatigue: When Energy, Pain, and Dreams Collide

Why does fatigue make it so hard to choose well—or to chase our dreams? In this season finale of Choice Beyond Logic: The Science of Bias, Kellie Best explores decision fatigue, pain cycles, and the nervous system’s survival mode. With relatable stories, science insights, and an Energy Ledger practice, discover how exhaustion shapes choice—and how presence can begin to break the cycle.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Baumeister, R. F., et al. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

•Vohs, K. D., et al. (2008). Making choices impairs subsequent self-control: A limited-resource account of decision making, self-regulation, and active initiative. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

•McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews.

•Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle?Psychological Bulletin.

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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Do the choices we don’t make shape us as much as the ones we do? In this episode of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best explores counterfactual thinking, the neuroscience of “what might have been,” and the psychology of regret. Discover how the ghost selves of our unlived lives influence our identity, and why acknowledging them may bring us closer to who we truly are.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Counterfactual Thinking

Roese, N.J. (1997). Counterfactual Thinking. Annual Review of Psychology

•Regret and Inaction

Gilovich, T., & Medvec, V. (1995). “The experience of regret: What, when, and why.” Psychological Review. APA

•Neuroscience of Imagined Outcomes

Schacter, D.L. et al. (2012). Episodic simulation of future and alternative events. PNAS

•Philosophical Reflections

Kierkegaard, S. (1844). The Concept of Anxiety.

•Narrative Therapy & Integration

White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends.

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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Does more choice really equal more freedom? In this episode of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best explores the paradox of choice, decision fatigue, and why abundance of options often leads to paralysis instead of liberation. With insights from psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, discover why fewer choices can actually make us freer.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Iyengar & Lepper (2000) — Jam Study on Choice Overload

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

•Barry Schwartz — The Paradox of Choice (2004)

TED Talk

•Decision Fatigue in Judges (Danziger et al., 2011)

PNAS

•Herbert Simon — Satisficing

Encyclopedia of Philosophy

•Streaming Choice Overload

The Paradox of Choice in Media Consumption – Pew Research

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

#Neuroscience

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What if your brain writes a first draft of reality—and you decide on the edit? In this episode of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best explores predictive processing, placebo and price effects, change blindness, and interoceptive prediction to reveal how expectations shape what you see, feel, and choose—often before awareness. Learn simple “decision hygiene” moves to loosen old predictions and let surprise (and freedom) back in.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Predictive Brain / Free Energy Principle — Friston, K. “The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory?” Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2010).  

•Expectation in Perception — Summerfield, C. & de Lange, F. “Expectation in perceptual decision making.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2014).  

•“Controlled Hallucination” — Anil Seth, TED Talk: Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality.   

•Interoceptive Inference / Constructed Emotion — Seth & Friston papers; Barrett, L.F. “The theory of constructed emotion.” (2016/2017).     

•Placebo / Expectation Effects — Ellingsen et al., PNAS (2013); Rosenkjær et al., review (2022).   

•Price Shapes Pleasure (Wine Study) — Plassmann et al., PNAS (2008).   

•Change Blindness (“Invisible Gorilla”) — Simons & Chabris, Perception (1999).  

•Free Energy Principle (updated overview) — Friston (2023) “made simpler” review.  

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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Is silence really empty—or is it carrying hidden wisdom? In this episode of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best explores the neuroscience of silence, the psychology of pausing before we act, and the mystery of what arises in the quiet. Discover how stillness reshapes the brain, transforms decisions, and opens the heart—and why your most important choices may live in the pauses you overlook.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Silence and Brain Growth

Kirste et al., 2013 – Brain Structure and Function

•Prefrontal Cortex & Decision-Making

American Psychological Association – Stress and the Brain

•Silence and Relationship Repair

John Gottman Institute – Pausing in Conflict

•Gregg Braden – Heart-Brain Coherence and Silence

greggbraden.com

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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Are your choices really rational—or are they shaped by emotions you can’t see? In this episode of Choice Beyond Logic, Kellie Best explores how fear, joy, anger, and sadness influence decision-making at every level. With insights from neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics, you’ll discover how emotions silently guide choices, how they spread between people, and why learning to work with them may be the key to freedom.

📚 References for Show Notes

•Antonio Damasio – Emotion and Decision-Making

Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (1994)

•Daniel Goleman – Amygdala Hijack

Emotional Intelligence (1995)

•Elaine Hatfield – Emotional Contagion Research

ResearchGate Overview

•Mirror Neurons – Giacomo Rizzolatti’s Research

Scientific American

•Lerner et al. (2004) – Fear, Anger, and Risk Perception

Psychological Science Abstract

•Kahneman & Tversky – Prospect Theory

Nobel Prize Summary

•Barbara Fredrickson – Broaden-and-Build Theory

UNC Chapel Hill Lab

Support the show

Choice Beyond Logic is hosted by Kellie Best.

📌 Have a question about why we do what we do—the quirks, the urges, the choices that don’t make sense? Send it to me. Your curiosity might become a future episode. [email protected].

For resources, references, and more, visit www.kelliebest.com .

💡 This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

#Newpodcast

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