{"id":63729,"date":"2022-03-29T19:27:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T23:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=63729"},"modified":"2023-04-12T13:00:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:00:26","slug":"blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is Malcolm Gladwell&#8217;s <em>Blink <\/em>about? What can Gladwell teach you about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/methods-of-decision-making-crucial-conversations\/\">decision-making<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book <em>Blink: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/power-of-thinking\/\">The Power of Thinking<\/a> Without Thinking<\/em> (2005), Malcolm Gladwell argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/snap-decisions\/\">snap decisions<\/a> made on the fly could be as good as decisions made through deliberate, rational thinking. <em>Blink<\/em> delves into how and why we make the gut decisions we do, when it\u2019s unsafe to trust our guts, and what we can do to make all our snap judgments smarter, less biased, and more efficient.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s an overview of <em>Blink <\/em>by Malcolm Gladwell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Blink<\/em> by Malcolm Gladwell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Should You Trust Your Instincts? | Blink by Malcolm Gladwell\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BQ9b0VmsCcA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us have been taught that to make good decisions we need to put in a lot of time and effort. In <em>Blink<\/em>: <em>The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gladwellbooks.com\/\">Malcolm Gladwell<\/a> questions this assumption, asking: <strong>How do our snap judgments compare to our rational, well-thought-out decisions? <\/strong>He finds that our snap judgments are often just as good as our deliberate decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <em>New Yorker<\/em> staff writer, Gladwell has made his name writing books that make social science research accessible and digestible to the layperson. His books include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-tipping-point\/1-page-summary\"><em>The Tipping Point<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>(2000), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/outliers\"><em>Outliers<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>(2008), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/david-and-goliath\"><em>David and Goliath<\/em><\/a> (2013), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/talking-to-strangers\"><em>Talking to Strangers<\/em><\/a> (2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gladwell\u2019s personal experience with racial stereotyping prompted him to research and write <em>Blink. <\/em>When Gladwell, who is half-Jamaican, let his hair grow, <a href=\"https:\/\/bookpage.com\/interviews\/8284-malcolm-gladwell-arts-culture#.YQL9TOhKhPY\">he noticed that police and security guards began to treat him differently<\/a>. He was issued more speeding tickets and targeted by the police as a potential rapist. This led him to think more carefully about the far-reaching effects of snap judgments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Power of Snap Judgments<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We usually think of snap judgments as lazy, superficial, and probably wrong. But are they really? Gladwell argues that snap judgments can be just as good as\u2014or even better than\u2014the decisions that we make by analyzing a situation carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Gladwell, <strong>both logical, conscious decision-making and snap judgments have their time and place. <\/strong>Our brain uses <strong>two broad strategies for making decisions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategy #1: Conscious Thinking&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This thinking is also known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/rational-decision-making-process\/\">rational decision-making<\/a>. When we think consciously, we use past experiences and current information to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/be-decisive\/\">make a decision<\/a> logically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategy #2: Unconscious Thinking&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This thinking is also known as the <strong>adaptive unconscious, intuition, <\/strong>or making <strong>snap judgments<\/strong>. When we think unconsciously, we make decisions without understanding why, or sometimes even without realizing we\u2019ve made them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gladwell says <strong>we use these two different thinking strategies in different situations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Benefits of Snap Judgments<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Gladwell, snap judgments have two main benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1) They\u2019re unconscious.<\/strong> To make snap judgments, our unconscious minds \u201cthin-slice\u201d: They find patterns in situations based on small snapshots of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Snap judgments don\u2019t require a lot of information. <strong>When we thin-slice, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-unconscious-mind\/\">unconscious mind<\/a> picks out the relevant information and leaves the rest. <\/strong>This allows us to ignore distracting, superficial details and get to the heart of a problem or choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we thin-slice, we take small segments of experience and generalize them to make broader judgments. For example, when you meet someone for the first time, you might use his mood, outfit, or voice to make judgments about his personality and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/likeability-charisma-charm-influence\/\">likeability<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Gladwell doesn\u2019t attribute the term \u201cthin-slicing\u201d to anyone in particular, and he\u2019s often credited with coining it. But the idea of \u201cthin slices\u201d of experience first appears in <a href=\"https:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/download?doi=10.1.1.1001.7628&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf\">a 1992 paper by Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal<\/a> that Gladwell draws on in some of his examples.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2) They\u2019re fast. <\/strong>The unconscious mind processes little bits of information and makes decisions about them all the time without our awareness. This frees up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-subconscious\/\">the conscious mind<\/a> to focus on tasks that only it can complete, like those involving logic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <em>Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em>, Kahneman explains that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thinking-fast-and-slow\/part-1-3\">snap judgments\u2014his System 1\u2014are fast because they work associatively<\/a>. Associations, for example associating the word \u201clettuce\u201d with salads and the color green, happen at lightning speed in the brain. They\u2019re so fast and automatic that we can\u2019t block them even if we try.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Drawbacks of Snap Judgments<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Gladwell notes, we need to beware of the downside of snap judgments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1) We can get distracted by superficial information.<\/strong> To illustrate this problem, Gladwell gives the example of the 29th president of the United States, Warren Harding. Harding had an undistinguished political career. He wasn\u2019t particularly smart, rarely took a stance on (or interest in) political issues, gave vague speeches, and spent much of his time drinking and womanizing. But still, he became president. How did he get the position in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gladwell notes, Harding <em>looked <\/em>like a president. His distinguished appearance and deep, commanding voice won voters over. They unconsciously believed that good-looking people make competent leaders. Harding\u2019s looks and presence triggered associations so powerful they overrode voters\u2019 ability to look below the surface, at his qualifications (or lack thereof).<strong> When we\u2019re similarly influenced by superficial but irrelevant qualities, Gladwell says we\u2019re making a \u201cWarren Harding error.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: \u201cWarren Harding errors\u201d are known in psychology as the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/halo-effect-meaning\/\">halo effect<\/a><\/em>. This is our tendency to allow positive impressions of someone (based on their appearance, clothing, or voice) to influence our judgments about other personal characteristics such as intelligence and morality. Psychologists have found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humintell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Todorov_Science2005.pdf\">competent-looking faces predict positive election outcomes<\/a> and that <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2Fs12144-006-1013-5\">both physical and vocal attractiveness affect candidate ratings<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/halo-effect-bias\/\">The halo effect<\/a> applied in reverse\u2014for example, the fact that unattractive people are judged as more likely to commit crimes\u2014is known as the \u201chorn effect.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2) We can fall prey to unconscious biases we don\u2019t even know we have. <\/strong>As Gladwell points out, <strong>our snap judgments can be both the product and the root of prejudice and discrimination. <\/strong>Our attitudes about race and gender, for instance, operate on two levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Our <strong>conscious attitudes <\/strong>are what we choose to believe and how we choose to behave. They are the source of our deliberate decisions.<\/li><li>Our <strong>unconscious attitudes<\/strong> are our unthinking, automatic associations.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Mismatches between these two levels can lead us to behave in a biased manner even when we think we\u2019re being impartial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: One example of how our unconscious attitudes influence our thinking is the \u201cname-letter effect.\u201d Research has shown that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/How-do-I-love-thee-Let-me-count-the-Js%3A-implicit-Jones-Pelham\/80db791fde33a15adc4eadecdb251fd462231b27\">we favor romantic partners whose names contain similar letters to our own names<\/a>. Why do we do this? It\u2019s probably because of implicit egotism: We like ourselves, therefore we like the letters in our own names. But this motivation is hidden from our conscious minds.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gladwell points out, when we act automatically, we depend on our implicit attitudes. If you have strong pro-white associations, you\u2019ll act differently around someone who\u2019s Black, probably without even being aware that you\u2019re behaving differently. You might show less positive emotion or make less eye contact. If the Black person starts to mirror your behavior, you might then judge them negatively based on their lack of eye contact. This vicious circle has particularly detrimental effects in high-stakes situations, for example job interviews or police stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3) We\u2019re susceptible to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/priming-meaning\/\">priming<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPriming,\u201d a technique in which you\u2019re exposed to something that affects your responses for a short period of time, may also influence our snap decisions. Gladwell points to research evidence on priming that finds <strong>our unconscious minds to be extremely suggestible.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the classic studies on priming use images presented subliminally. However, there are other ways to trigger this effect: For example you can use particular words in the lead-up to a task, or ask for particular information about the participants (sto influence the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These experiments show us that priming can have devastating effects on our unconscious attitudes and, consequently, our lives. But they also show us a path forward. <strong>If we can negatively influence our hidden attitudes, we can also positively influence them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The effectiveness of priming is debatable, and priming-related findings have been one of the major casualties of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/533452a\">reproducibility crisis in scientific research<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/replicationindex.com\/2017\/02\/02\/reconstruction-of-a-train-wreck-how-priming-research-went-of-the-rails\/comment-page-1\/#comment-1454\">Many follow-up studies on priming have failed to replicate the original results<\/a>, suggesting that the results were either cherry-picked to yield the best results, statistically manipulated, or, at worst, fabricated. At best, priming is a more complex phenomenon than was thought at the time Gladwell wrote <em>Blink<\/em>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Snap Judgments Are a Mystery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A further problem with snap judgments is that we don\u2019t have a good understanding of how they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gladwell points out, we\u2019re often unable to explain why or how we arrive at a snap judgment, even if that judgment is correct. We know something, but we don\u2019t know how we know it, and that\u2019s frustrating. It\u2019s hard to trust something that you can\u2019t explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because most of us don\u2019t feel comfortable if we don\u2019t know exactly what made us arrive at a particular snap judgment, we tend to rationalize, or invent inaccurate explanations for our actions or thoughts.. But instead of helping us to uncover the truth, rationalizing often takes us further away from it. We don\u2019t lie on purpose, though: <strong>We actually believe the lies that our conscious minds construct to explain the decisions of the unconscious mind.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are <strong>two problems with rationalizing our snap judgments:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Problem #1:<\/strong> <strong>Rationalizing leads to inaccurate explanations of our decisions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gladwell discusses the Problem of the Two Ropes to demonstrate how far our rational explanations can veer from the truth. In a 1931 study, psychologist Norman Maier <a href=\"https:\/\/content.apa.org\/record\/1931-04367-001\">hung two ropes from the ceiling<\/a> in a room that also contained various items of furniture and other tools. The ropes were far enough apart that if you held one rope in your hand, you couldn\u2019t reach the other. He asked volunteers to come up with as many ways to tie the two ropes together as they could. There were three obvious solutions using the furniture and tools provided, which most people figured out fairly easily. There was also a fourth, non-obvious solution: set one of the ropes swinging, go stand next to the other, and grab the swinging rope before tying them together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a volunteer was having trouble producing this fourth solution, the psychologist walked across the room and casually bumped into one of the ropes, causing it to swing. <strong>The move was so subtle that volunteers\u2019 unconscious minds picked up on the suggestion while their conscious minds didn\u2019t.<\/strong> After that, most people came up with the fourth solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>When asked to explain how they came up with the fourth solution, volunteers said, for example, that the solution came to them when they thought of monkeys swinging in trees, they recalled something from a physics lesson, or the idea just popped into their head.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These people weren\u2019t lying. <strong>They were just automatically producing explanations that their conscious brains found most plausible.<\/strong> They had no idea the psychologist had given them the answer when he bumped the rope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Problem #2: Rationalizing leads to worse decision-making and performance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gladwell points out that language is the primary tool of the rational mind. Using language (and therefore activating our rational minds) when a task is better completed by the unconscious mind can snuff out insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about any stranger you saw today, maybe the barista who made your morning coffee. Suppose someone asked you to describe the barista in as much detail as possible, including facial features, hair color, clothing, and jewelry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you had to pick this person out of a lineup, you\u2019d do much worse <em>after<\/em> describing him or her than before. <strong>The act of describing erases the image from your mind by pulling it forward from the unconscious to the conscious.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/verbal-overshadowing\/\">verbal overshadowing<\/a>. Instead of remembering what you <\/strong><strong><em>saw<\/em><\/strong><strong>, you\u2019re remembering your description<\/strong>, which, due to the limits of language, will always be less accurate than your visual memory. When you explain yourself, you override the complex experience that you\u2019re explaining. (Shortform note: Verbal overshadowing doesn\u2019t only apply to faces. <a href=\"https:\/\/labs.psych.ucsb.edu\/schooler\/jonathan\/research\/verbal-overshadowing\">It also affects other visual memories, as well as our memories of tastes and sounds.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to Counter the Problems Caused By Rationalization<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>You have two options to stop rationalization from getting in the way of good decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gladwell\u2019s Option #1: <\/strong>Don\u2019t try to explain your snap decisions. Honor the mysteries of the unconscious mind and admit that you don\u2019t always have the answers, even those pertaining to your own choices. Once you\u2019ve created a story to explain an unconscious decision, that story is hard to shake. We believe the stories we tell ourselves and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Gladwell\u2019s suggestion that you avoid explaining your decisions is easier said than done, and <em>Blink<\/em> doesn\u2019t offer further advice. However, Daniel Kahneman does offer strategies for countering the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thinking-fast-and-slow\">narrative fallacy<\/a>,\u201d or the tendency to explain random or irrational events with coherent stories. First, apply your explanation to other outcomes. If it can explain more than one distinct outcome, it\u2019s probably flimsy. Second, be wary of highly consistent patterns in your own narratives and those of others. This should alert you to cherry-picking of examples or buried information.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gladwell\u2019s Option #2: <\/strong>Attempt to enhance your conscious perception through technology or recording techniques that slow down the flow of information. For example, use slow-motion videos for sports technique analysis. This allows your conscious mind to catch up to your unconscious, giving you a chance to double-check your unconscious judgments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note:This idea underlies the increasing use of slow-motion replays in sports umpiring. In the past, umpires had to make fast calls based only on what they saw in real time. Slow-motion replays allow for a more fine-grained analysis of exactly what happened\u2014and <a href=\"https:\/\/cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s41235-018-0105-8\">there\u2019s evidence that they can materially change umpires\u2019 decision-making processes<\/a>, leading them to penalize fouls more harshly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why We Don\u2019t Always Know What We Like<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How do we determine our own preferences? It turns out that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/thin-slicing-malcolm-gladwell-blink\/\">thin-slicing<\/a> also applies when deciding what we like and don\u2019t like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our preferences might seem fairly context-independent. But, as Gladwell notes, <strong>thin-slicing can go awry when it comes to knowing what we like. <\/strong>There are three reasons for this: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sensation-transference\/\">sensation transference<\/a>, unfamiliarity, and lack of expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reason #1: Sensation Transference<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In sensation transference, aspects of the environment we\u2019re in influence our perception of a particular object. This phenomenon is commonly applied in marketing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, we have trouble distinguishing between a product and its packaging. Changing things like the <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/j.1365-2621.1983.tb14899.x\">color<\/a> of the food or its packaging, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5636136\/\">weight<\/a> of the packaging, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1509\/jmkr.46.6.725_JMR6B\">location of the product image on the packet<\/a> can influence our assessments of a particular product. We experience the packaging as <em>part<\/em> of the product, not independent of it. (Shortform note: The influences of packaging on our expectations about product flavor can be very specific. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0950329313002310\">rounded typefaces can lead us to expect sweet flavors, while sharper typefaces lead us to expect sour flavors<\/a>.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reason #2: Unfamiliarity<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gladwell notes, sometimes we dislike something for no other reason than that it\u2019s unfamiliar. We taste, hear, or watch something different and the unconscious mind automatically registers it as bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thin-slicing fails when the unconscious mind has no previous experiences with which to compare the new experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reason #3: Lack of Expertise<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A third reason Gladwell gives for the failure of thin-slicing judgments is that we lack relevant expertise. Experts aren\u2019t fooled by a product\u2019s packaging and they aren\u2019t put off by unfamiliarity. Experts have the training to know what they like and the vocabulary to explain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Any field of expertise incorporates technical vocabulary that allows for finer distinctions, and therefore supports more precise communication, than lay speech. Sometimes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/become-an-expert\/\">becoming an expert<\/a> involves \u201cunlearning\u201d word associations that we may have formed in more general contexts. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/aapt.scitation.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1119\/1.1607802\">physics teachers can help their students to understand concepts by teaching them the physics-specific meaning of key technical words<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Can We Improve Our Snap Judgments?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us think we can\u2019t control our instinctive reactions. This assumption is both wrong and defeatist. <strong>Gladwell argues that we <\/strong><strong><em>can<\/em><\/strong><strong> improve our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gut-decision\/\">instinctive decision-making<\/a> through deliberate training and by slowing down.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to gaining expertise, Gladwell proposes <strong>two strategies<\/strong> for improving our snap decisions: We can rehearse and we can practice mind reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategy #1: Rehearse<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Gladwell suggests that you practice making decisions, especially in environments and circumstances that mimic stressful situations. For example, rehearse your upcoming job interview or presentation in an environment that mirrors the actual event as closely as possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Norman Doidge argues in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/291041\/the-brain-that-changes-itself-by-norman-doidge-md\/\"><em>The Brain That Changes Itself<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>that when you practice something, you\u2019re increasing your brain\u2019s efficiency in executing the task. New tasks are cognition-heavy, recruiting a massive number of neurons across different brain areas. Practice helps our brains determine which networks or neurons are best suited for the task and lock in their responses, freeing up cognitive capacity for more and more challenging versions of the task.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategy #2: Practice Mind Reading<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gladwell explains, we read people\u2019s minds by gathering information from their faces. <strong>We can get better at understanding others, and consequently make more accurate snap judgments about them, by practicing reading people\u2019s facial expressions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Humans are highly social animals. Our brains are tuned to cues that can help us navigate the complex social world. An important part of this is being able to make good guesses about what\u2019s going on in other people\u2019s minds. (Shortform note: In psychology, this ability to construct a model of someone else\u2019s mind is called \u201cTheory of Mind.\u201d It includes keeping track of the other person\u2019s knowledge\u2014do they have the same information as I do?\u2014as well as guessing at their emotional state.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In improving mind reading, Gladwell recommends that we use microexpressions as clues to what other people are thinking. <strong>Microexpressions are expressions we make unconsciously.<\/strong> They\u2019re <em>almost <\/em>imperceptible, lasting a fraction of a second. You might be good at broadly controlling the expressions your face makes, but you\u2019ll still make involuntary expressions that betray your true thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The effectiveness of microexpression analysis, especially for lie detection, is controversial. First, lies aren\u2019t always associated with microexpressions: <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2008.02116.x\">One study found them in only around 20% of participants who had been instructed to mask or neutralize their natural expressions.<\/a> When microexpressions did occur, they were often inconsistent with the emotion being hidden.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Additional Advice on Fast Decision-Making<\/strong><br><br>Throughout the book, Gladwell suggests several ways we can make better snap decisions. We should limit the amount of information we consider, avoid rationalizing, and rehearse (particularly in stressful situations). We should also be aware of how unconscious biases\u2014for example, the Warren Harding effect, sensation transference, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/mere-exposure-effect-example\/\">mere exposure<\/a> effect\u2014get in the way of good snap decisions and do our best to counter these biases. How else can You improve your decisions? You can:<br><br><strong>Be aware of the effects of transient emotions on decision-making. <\/strong>Daniel Goleman points out in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/emotional-intelligence\/1-page-summary\"><em>Emotional Intelligence<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>that when you\u2019re in a good mood, you tend to make more optimistic decisions; when you\u2019re feeling down, you make more pessimistic decisions.<br><br><strong>Consider the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cognitive-heuristics\/\">cognitive biases<\/a> you\u2019re bringing to a decision. <\/strong>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thinking-fast-and-slow\"><em>Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em><\/a>, Daniel Kahneman describes some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/common-biases\/\">common biases<\/a> in human cognition that relate to our thinking about money. First, we tend to judge outcomes based on a fixed cognitive reference point that feels \u201cneutral\u201d (usually our current situation). Second, we evaluate our finances in relative terms rather than absolute ones (for example, a $100 increase feels much better if you start with $100 than if you start with $900). And third, while gains feel good, losses of the same amount feel disproportionately bad. Be careful of snap decisions that come from these biases, as they may lead you astray.<br><br><strong>Learn to distinguish when snap decisions are appropriate and when they\u2019re not. <\/strong>Some decisions are more suited to a fast approach, while others benefit from a more considered one (as an extreme example, consider choosing which flavor muffin to buy with your morning coffee vs. deciding whether to ask someone to marry you). For muffin decisions, snap away. For marriage decisions, a more conscious process is usually desirable.<br><br><strong>Consider your approach to the decision-making process itself. <\/strong>In <em>The Paradox of Choice<\/em>, psychologist Barry Schwartz argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-paradox-of-choice\/chapter-4\">there are two main ways that people approach making decisions<\/a>: They either try to pick the very best option from a large range of options (\u201cmaximizers\u201d), or they carry a set of criteria into a decision and choose the first option that acceptably satisfies the criteria (\u201csatisficers\u201d). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-more-is-less\/\">Maximizing<\/a> may seem like the best approach, but it turns out that compared to satisficers, <a href=\"https:\/\/media.rickhanson.net\/home\/files\/papers\/ChoosingHappiness.pdf\">maximizers are less happy, less satisfied with their lives, more depressed, and more prone to regret<\/a>. If you\u2019re a maximizer, consider test-driving the satisficer method.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion-the-lessons-of-blink\"><strong>Conclusion: The Lessons of <\/strong><strong><em>Blink<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Blink<\/em>\u2019s conclusion tells the story of trombone player Abbie Conant to highlight ways we can prompt ourselves to make better snap decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sensation-transference-and-female-trombone-players\"><strong>Sensation Transference and Female Trombone Players<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As Gladwell recounts, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra invited Conant to audition in 1980, not realizing she was a woman. Conant played behind a screen during the first round of the audition. The director was floored by her talent until he found out she was a woman. The trombone was thought to be a \u201cmasculine\u201d instrument, played in military marching bands. The director didn\u2019t believe a woman could play it as well as a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The committee reluctantly allowed Conant to join the orchestra, but a year later demoted her to second trombone. <strong>In a classic case of sensation transference, the same playing that had astounded them when they listened to her blind suddenly didn\u2019t sound so good when they knew it was coming from a woman.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then, many orchestras have instituted <strong>safeguards against sensation transference<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>At auditions, musicians are identified by a number rather than a name.<\/li><li>Musicians audition behind a screen.<\/li><li>If any sound that could identify gender, such as a clearing of the throat or the sound of heels on an uncarpeted floor, comes from behind the screen, the musician leaves and is assigned a new number.<\/li><li>Audition decisions are made by committee rather than by a single conductor or director.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Since these safeguards have become common, <strong>the number of women in major orchestras has increased fivefold.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lessons-for-working-with-snap-decisions\"><strong>Lessons for Working With Snap Decisions<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This and the book\u2019s other examples demonstrate what Gladwell sees as the two primary lessons of<em> Blink<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lesson #1:<\/strong> We depend on the power of our first impressions, forgetting that in addition to being powerful, they\u2019re fragile. We need to acknowledge both the power and the corruptibility of our intuition, and take both seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lesson #2: <\/strong>When we realize how fragile our first impressions are, we can take steps to fortify them. We tend to believe that what happens in the blink of an eye is inevitable. However, we have unacknowledged control over our intuition. If we can control the environments in which we rely on snap judgments, we can also control those snap judgments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Additional Advice on Fast Decision-Making<\/strong><br><br>Throughout the book, Gladwell suggests several ways we can make better snap decisions. We should limit the amount of information we consider, avoid rationalizing, and rehearse (particularly in stressful situations). We should also be aware of how unconscious biases\u2014for example, the Warren Harding effect, sensation transference, and the mere exposure effect\u2014get in the way of good snap decisions and do our best to counter these biases. To improve your decisions, you can also:<br><br><strong>Be aware of the effects of transient emotions on decision-making. <\/strong>Daniel Goleman points out in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/emotional-intelligence\/1-page-summary\"><em>Emotional Intelligence<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>that when you\u2019re in a good mood, you tend to make more optimistic decisions; when you\u2019re feeling down, you make more pessimistic decisions. The effects of these decisions <a href=\"http:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/download?doi=10.1.1.154.4488&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf\">can continue long after the emotion has passed<\/a>. For example, a classic 1974 study found that we often translate anxiety into sexual attraction: <a href=\"http:\/\/kokdemir.info\/courses\/psk102\/docs\/DA1974.pdf\">Men who had just crossed a rickety suspension bridge were more likely to call an attractive female interviewer than men who had crossed a sturdy wooden bridge<\/a>.<br><br><strong>Consider the cognitive biases you\u2019re bringing to a decision. <\/strong>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thinking-fast-and-slow\"><em>Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em><\/a>, Daniel Kahneman describes some common biases in human cognition that relate to our thinking about money. First, we tend to judge outcomes based on a fixed cognitive reference point that feels \u201cneutral\u201d (usually our current situation). Second, we evaluate our finances in relative terms rather than absolute ones (for example, a $100 increase feels much better if you start with $100 than if you start with $900). And third, while gains feel good, losses of the same amount feel disproportionately bad. Be careful of snap decisions that come from these biases, as they may lead you astray.<br><br><strong>Learn to distinguish when snap decisions are appropriate and when they\u2019re not. <\/strong>It\u2019s often tempting to make a quick decision and be done with it, especially when you\u2019re tired or stressed. But some decisions are more suited to a fast approach, while others benefit from a more considered one (as an extreme example, consider choosing which flavor muffin to buy with your morning coffee vs. deciding whether to ask someone to marry you). For muffin decisions, snap away. For marriage decisions, a more conscious process is usually desirable.<br><br><strong>Consider your approach to the decision-making process itself. <\/strong>In <em>The Paradox of Choice<\/em>, psychologist Barry Schwartz argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-paradox-of-choice\/chapter-4\">there are two main ways that people approach making decisions<\/a>: They either try to pick the very best option from a large range of options (\u201cmaximizers\u201d), or they carry a set of criteria into a decision and choose the first option that acceptably satisfies the criteria (\u201csatisficers\u201d). Maximizing may seem like the best approach, but it turns out that compared to satisficers, <a href=\"https:\/\/media.rickhanson.net\/home\/files\/papers\/ChoosingHappiness.pdf\">maximizers are less happy and less satisfied with their lives, more depressed, and more prone to regret<\/a>. If you\u2019re a maximizer, consider test-driving the satisficer method.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Malcolm Gladwell&#8217;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\u2019s unsafe to trust our guts, and what we can do to make all our snap judgments smarter, less biased, and more efficient.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s an overview of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":40054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,9,160],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-63729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-psychology","category-science","tag-blink","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Gladwell is your complete guide on how to make good snap decisions. Here&#039;s a brief overview.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Gladwell is your complete guide on how to make good snap decisions. Here&#039;s a brief overview.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-29T23:27:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-12T17:00:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/choosing-a-book.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1227\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"19 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-29T23:27:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T17:00:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/\"},\"wordCount\":4362,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/choosing-a-book.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Blink\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Psychology\",\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/\",\"name\":\"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/blink-the-power-of-thinking-without-thinking\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/choosing-a-book.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-29T23:27:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T17:00:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Gladwell is your complete guide on how to make good snap decisions. 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