The Illusion of Control

People love to feel in control of what happens in their lives. This desire extends beyond just emotions, feelings, and personal actions: ideally, we want to have control over external events that matter to us, even if we have no real influence over them. Of course, such control is rarely possible, and those who believe otherwise are subject to a cognitive bias known simply as the “illusion of control.” Read on to learn more about this phenomenon.

What Is the Illusion of Control?

All human actions are aimed at maximizing benefit. However, it’s difficult to maximize gains using only tried-and-true methods. For example, if someone wants to make a lot of money, they might take a risk and invest in a new startup. The chances of success are hard to guarantee: there are many external and internal factors that can affect the outcome. The challenge is that not all of these factors are under the investor’s control—it’s unlikely they can influence the stock market or prevent a company from going bankrupt.

In some situations, people may feel that everything is under control—both external and internal factors—no matter how difficult they are to manage. This feeling is a cognitive distortion called the “illusion of control.” The term was first introduced by Yale psychology professor Ellen Langer in the mid-1970s.

According to Langer, this illusion occurs when “the expected probability of personal success is inappropriately higher than the objective probability.” She suggested that people affected by the illusion of control cannot distinguish between two factors influencing an outcome—skill and chance—and believe they can control not only the former but also the latter.

How the Illusion of Control Affects Decision-Making

Langer and her colleagues tested the impact of the illusion of control in a series of experiments. In one, researchers organized a “lottery” where sometimes they handed out tickets to participants, and other times allowed participants to choose their own tickets. This was done to see if the value of the tickets would change depending on whether or not participants had a choice.

The results showed that when participants chose their own ticket, they found it much harder to part with it: when offered the chance to sell their ticket, they priced it eight times higher than those who were simply given a ticket. Even though winning the lottery was still a matter of chance, participants believed that by choosing their own ticket, they had gained the control necessary for success.

Thus, Langer demonstrated that people can genuinely believe they control circumstances beyond their influence—but only if the situation also involves factors they can actually control.

When Does the Illusion of Control Arise?

Of course, the illusion of control doesn’t only occur when everything depends on chance. Sometimes, a situation may seem hopeless to outsiders, but not to the person who feels—rightly or wrongly—that they have everything under control.

Subsequent research has shown that many factors can contribute to the illusion of control, even if they are more dependent on personal skills but still influenced by chance. These include confidence in success, familiarity with the situation (if someone has succeeded before, they believe they can do it again), and, perhaps obviously, the desire for control.

External circumstances can also affect confidence in success: if a person receives more positive feedback, their confidence grows; if they receive more negative feedback, it decreases.

The Positive Side of the Illusion of Control

The illusion of control is considered one of the “positive illusions” that allow people to think well of themselves, their abilities, and their environment—sometimes unrealistically so. For example, a company leader may continue to believe in the success of their business and employees, even as profits steadily decline.

This ability to ignore obvious failures may seem odd (as if the person is wearing rose-colored glasses), but psychological theory suggests that some positive illusions are directly linked to good mental health. According to research, the illusion of control is rarely seen in people with symptoms of depression.

The illusion of control is also a kind of positive thinking or even optimism. So if you often feel like everything is under control (even if it’s not), don’t worry: chances are, things really aren’t as bad as they seem.