The World's Best Book Summaries
What is the mere exposure effect? Why do we like things that are familiar and dislike what’s unfamiliar? The mere exposure effect occurs when we start to like things just because we’ve been exposed to them before. It applies to everything from the people we interact with to that song that keeps playing on the radio. Here’s why we like the familiar and try to stay from the unfamiliar.
What is the function of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)? What happens when the vmPFC brain region is damaged? The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is an area of the brain which has been extensively studied with regard to value computation. Observing patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage has yielded some intriguing insights into the way the brain makes decisions. Learn about vmPFC’s role in decision-making, and what happens when it’s damaged.
What is priming? What are the different kinds of priming? In psychology, the priming effect occurs when exposure to a previous stimulus influences one’s reaction to the subsequent stimulus. Priming has been extensively researched in studies of a wide range of social and psychological phenomena, including memory, motivation, stereotyping, and prejudice. Learn about the psychology of priming.
What is the “left brain interpreter”? How does the brain assimilate new information? The left brain interpreter is a neurophysiological concept that refers to the brain’s process of making sense of new information by relating it to existing knowledge. Although the concept was based on the studies of split-brain patients—patients who had their corpus callosum severed—it applies to neurotypical populations at large. Keep reading to learn about the left brain interpreter and its role in sense-making.
What is the Implicit Association Test (IAT)? How does the IAT measure bias? In psychology, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) is an assessment designed to gauge mental representations that are outside conscious control. It is supposed to measure unconscious bias by measuring how fast a person can assign descriptors to certain categories (e.g. race or gender). Learn about the Implicit Association Test, how it works, and what it’s supposed to measure.
What is Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink about? What can Gladwell teach you about decision-making? In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), Malcolm Gladwell argues that snap decisions made on the fly could be as good as decisions made through deliberate, rational thinking. Blink delves into how and why we make the gut decisions we do, when it’s unsafe to trust our guts, and what we can do to make all our snap judgments smarter, less biased, and more efficient. Here’s an overview of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
How accurate are snap judgments? What are the dangers inherent in making snap judgments—sizing up a situation based on superficial information, without much conscious deliberation? Snap judgments can go wrong for a few reasons: First, we can be overly superficial when making a judgment. Second, we can fail to recognize when our conscious and unconscious attitudes don’t match, which leads us to make decisions that are inconsistent with our conscious beliefs. And third, we’re far more susceptible to the effects of priming than we think. Learn about the psychology of snap judgments and how they can go wrong.
How do we make snap decisions? In what circumstance is it a good idea to make a snap decision, trusting your gut? Snap decisions are made on the fly—unconsciously, without rational deliberation. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. According to Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Blink, in some circumstances, it’s better to decide on the fly than to deliberate on how to proceed. Keep reading to learn about the power of snap decision-making, why some snap decisions are better than others, and how to make better snap decisions.
Why is irrationality so uncomfortable? Can knowledge that is not backed by a rational explanation ever be true? Why do we feel such a strong urge to rationalize our decisions and behaviors? Knowledge without a rational explanation is a double-edged sword. This type of knowledge can be the truest, deepest kind, but it can also harbor biases. Because most of us don’t feel comfortable if we don’t know exactly what made us arrive at a particular judgment or decision, we tend to rationalize. But instead of helping us to uncover the truth, rationalizing often takes us further away from it.
Are you having trouble remembering things? What are some brain exercises to improve memory? Forgetting memories is completely normal for humans, but sometimes you want to remember special moments or important skills. Thankfully, Dr. John Medina has six brain exercises to improve memory so you won’t have to worry about forgetting them. Learn more about Medina’s six techniques for memory improvement.