Positive Thinking, Positive Results.

So far in Blink, Malcolm Gladwell has discussed how the adaptive unconscious is powerful in making the right decisions. I was beginning to wonder if these quick judgments could ever be wrong. Then I read the chapter called the "Warren Harding Error". This chapter addresses how rapid cognition can go awry. It is entitled the "Warren Harding Error" after the US president Warren Harding. In the beginning everyone thought Harding would make an excellent president. Why? Just because he looked like one. Society put all of their trust in their snap judgments and elected him as a president. Evidently, according to historians, he ended up being one of the worst presidents. For the rest of the chapter Gladwell explains why these snap judgments can be so wrong.

Gladwell tells of a scientist who conducted an experiment and was able to prove that people can be “primed”-they could be subconsciously taught to think something. Through a series of tests these scientists discovered that with subtle hints, they could program the brain to subconsciously enter a stream of thought. I think this theory relates directly to the Harding Error. These unconscious biases influence peoples' decisions and the experiments of priming prove this.

When people thin slice, they take in little information and make assumptions about the situation. What can get in the way of this are negative first impressions. The cars salesmen is a significant example Gladwell used of how to control snap judgments. The successful cars salesmen Bob Golomb, has learned to master his thin slicing by not letting his subconscious biases get in the way of his decisions. He does not try to spot the sucker, or “lay-down” as most cars salesmen do. He treats everyone equally, and with this positive outlook he actually achieves a more consistent result rather than gaining one big sale by forsaking the minor ones.

“…outside of awareness, does not mean outside of control.” (pg 96)

I think what Gladwell is trying to convey is rapid cognition or snap judgments, are influenced by what we are exposed to. However, we can control them by exposing ourselves to positive things. With the great power of snap judgments comes great consequences if not properly managed.