Friday, February 17, 2006
the best way to make tough decisions is to forget about them
Can't Decide? Study says forget about it.
By Margaret Munro
CanWest News Service
Deciding whether to slap down $40,000 on a new car or $1million for a house should be left to your unconscious, indicates new research that suggests the best way to make tough decisions is to forget about them.
Collect the relevant information, it says, then let the unconscious churn through the options. In the end, it makes for better decisions.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not always advantageous to engage in thorough conscious deliberation before choosing," say psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis and his colleagues at the University of Amsterdam, who make a strong case in the journal Science today for listening to gut feelings and intuition.
Their work on "unconscious thought theory" taps into the brain's hidden - and many psychologists say unappreciated - ability to juggle and weigh complicated situations and options.
"In short, consciousness should be used to gather information, the unconscious to work on it," says Dijksterhuis.
A similar approach was proposed in Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling book Blink:The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
The new study focuses on consumer choices, but Dijksterhuis and other psychologists say politicians, managers and negotiators would also be well advised to delegate tricky decisions to the unconscious.
"This process of just 'sleeping on it' and 'letting it sit' is not just procrastination, but is a valuable, productive technique that is drawing on cognitive processes that seem to really exist," says psychologist Jonathan Schooler of the University of British Columbia, who has done extensive research in the field.
"At a minimum, people should include this in their tool kit of decision-making."
The Dutch studies suggest simple choices like deciding on shampoo can be safely left to the conscious mind. But complex decisions are best left to the unconcious.
By Margaret Munro
CanWest News Service
Deciding whether to slap down $40,000 on a new car or $1million for a house should be left to your unconscious, indicates new research that suggests the best way to make tough decisions is to forget about them.
Collect the relevant information, it says, then let the unconscious churn through the options. In the end, it makes for better decisions.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not always advantageous to engage in thorough conscious deliberation before choosing," say psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis and his colleagues at the University of Amsterdam, who make a strong case in the journal Science today for listening to gut feelings and intuition.
Their work on "unconscious thought theory" taps into the brain's hidden - and many psychologists say unappreciated - ability to juggle and weigh complicated situations and options.
"In short, consciousness should be used to gather information, the unconscious to work on it," says Dijksterhuis.
A similar approach was proposed in Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling book Blink:The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
The new study focuses on consumer choices, but Dijksterhuis and other psychologists say politicians, managers and negotiators would also be well advised to delegate tricky decisions to the unconscious.
"This process of just 'sleeping on it' and 'letting it sit' is not just procrastination, but is a valuable, productive technique that is drawing on cognitive processes that seem to really exist," says psychologist Jonathan Schooler of the University of British Columbia, who has done extensive research in the field.
"At a minimum, people should include this in their tool kit of decision-making."
The Dutch studies suggest simple choices like deciding on shampoo can be safely left to the conscious mind. But complex decisions are best left to the unconcious.
# posted by TerreLite : 1:24 PM
