{"id":15622,"date":"2020-10-03T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-03T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=15622"},"modified":"2020-10-12T18:02:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T22:02:13","slug":"what-is-mindlessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-mindlessness\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Mindlessness? Bad Choices Without Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is mindlessness? How does it prevent you from making good decisions<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindlessness is when your subconscious takes over. You’re not actively thinking about what you’re doing and you’re just on autopilot. This doesn’t always lead to good decision making<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is mindlessness? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Subconscious Desires<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cognitive biases<\/a> aren\u2019t the only culprits in our imperfect decision-making<\/a>; our conscious and subconscious desires play a role as well<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These desires become especially important when individuals or groups of individuals display \u201cdynamically inconsistent\u201d behavior\u2014that is, when we initially prefer A over B but later choose B over A<\/strong>. What is mindlessness? When we tell ourselves we\u2019ll go to the gym after work, but, when 5:00 rolls around, we head directly home to binge TV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temptation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To define \u201ctemptation\u201d adequately, it\u2019s essential to introduce two concepts: \u201chot states\u201d and \u201ccold states.\u201d When we\u2019re in a \u201chot state,\u201d our senses are aroused, and we\u2019re especially susceptible to particular stimuli<\/strong>. For example, if we\u2019re thirsty and come across a soda vending machine, we\u2019re in a hot state, primed to yield to a particular desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we\u2019re in a cold state, oppositely, our senses are subdued, and we\u2019re <\/strong>less <\/em><\/strong>susceptible to particular stimuli<\/strong>. For example, if we\u2019re sitting at our desk drinking a bottle of water and thinking about how much better water is for us than soda, we\u2019re in a cold state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something is \u201ctempting\u201d when we consume more of it when we\u2019re in a hot state than in a cold state<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the difficulties of resisting our temptations is that we devise methods of self-control when we\u2019re in a cold state and chronically underestimate the power of our hot states<\/em>. (Behavioral economists call this the \u201chot-cold empathy gap.\u201d) How many times have you promised to limit yourself to just one cookie and ended up eating three?<\/strong> That\u2019s the hot-cold empathy gap at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Mindlessness<\/strong>?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So what is mindlessness? A close relative of cognitive biases like loss aversion and status quo bias<\/a>, \u201cmindlessness\u201d signifies our tendency to go on autopilot when performing routine tasks<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of our most mindless behavior occurs when we\u2019re eating. Two studies illustrate the fact. In one, a behavioral economist gave moviegoers stale popcorn in either a medium bucket or a large one. No one liked the popcorn\u2014it was five days old!\u2014but the economist found that the people given the larger bucket ate <\/strong>53% more popcorn<\/em><\/strong> on average<\/strong>.
In the second study, the same economist presented subjects with a large bowl of Campbell\u2019s soup and told them they could eat as much as they wanted. Unbeknownst to the subjects, the bowl featured a mechanism beneath it that refilled the bowl automatically<\/strong>. The economist found that subjects ate a tremendous amount of soup without realizing how much they were consuming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is mindlessness? How does it prevent you from making good decisions? Mindlessness is when your subconscious takes over. You’re not actively thinking about what you’re doing and you’re just on autopilot. This doesn’t always lead to good decision making. So, what is mindlessness? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,9,43],"tags":[132],"class_list":["post-15622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-nudge","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Mindlessness? Bad Choices Without Thinking - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is mindlessness? 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