Misleading associations

What is it? This is the tendency of humans to be misled because of prior associations. This behaviour, says Munger, is a "responsive behavior, creating a new habit, is directly triggered by rewards previously bestowed." Take the example of a man buying a branded shoe polish. He has a good experience with it, and because of this experience he buys the same shoe polish when he needs another. A common form of influence from association comes from something we are well aware of. This is called blanket stereotyping. For example, if someone is a Punjabi, we assume that he will be a hearty eater; if a Bengali, he should be cultured in the arts; if a South Indian, he must be brainy; if an Indian, he must be argumentative in nature. Then there is another type of association - that of a news messenger and the bad news he delivers. "Another common bad effect of the mere association of a person and a hated outcome is displayed in the "Persian messenger syndrome." Ancient Persians actually kil