Illusion of Control
The tendency to believe you have more influence over outcomes than you actually do, especially in situations governed by chance.
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Origin
Named by psychologist Ellen Langer in a 1975 paper where she showed that people behave as though they can influence purely random outcomes. In one experiment, people valued lottery tickets they chose themselves more than randomly assigned ones — despite identical odds. The bias is amplified by personal involvement, familiarity, and early success.
Updated February 22, 2026