Psychology

Do you ever make decisions on the fly, without taking the time to consider their potential consequences? Can snap decisions—decisions made by the unconscious mind—be better than decisions made with deliberation? Throughout our lives, we’ve been taught that our decisions are sounder if a lot of time and effort has gone into making them. But unconscious decisions can actually be just as good as—or even better than—the decisions that we make by analyzing a situation carefully. Learn about the benefits of unconscious decision-making and how snap decisions work in the brain.

How does the brain make decisions? Are decisions made through conscious deliberation always better than intuitive decisions made on the fly? Our brains use two broad strategies for making decisions: conscious or deliberate decision-making and unconscious or intuitive decision-making. We usually think that deliberate decisions should be the way to go. But according to Malcolm Gladwell, both logical, conscious decision-making and snap judgments have their time and place. Here’s why deliberate decisions aren’t necessarily the best decisions.

How do you approach decision-making? Is the right decision always the most informed decision? Most of us have been taught that to make good decisions, we need to consider as much information as possible. But sometimes the right decision is a less-informed decision. Too much information can overwhelm you with details and obscure the bigger picture. Here’s how to make the right decision by considering less information.