Can you decide in a "blink" ?

Summary of “Blink” By Malcolm Gladwell - “through my eyes”

After a long time I picked up this book "blink" by Malcolm Gladwell because of an instigation from one of my friend :-) and I found some elements very intuitive and relevant to our day to day lives, thought of sharing it with you all. 

It is all about snap judgments, of the power inside us which helps us make a decision within a split second. Our “unconscious-self” is a powerful force but it’s fallible. So when is it that we should trust our instincts and when should we be wary of them? Is it by nature or can it be practiced? The book says - Yes very well, this can be learnt and practiced. The book doesn’t talk about the methodology of how to pick on it but blown up research in google should be able to take us there. Our snap judgments and first impressions can be educated and controlled.
There is a mention of reading expressions on our faces through the theory of “thin slices”. Thin-slicing refers to the ability of our unconscious mind to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices (nano seconds) expressions on our face. How is our mind able to thin slice with in split seconds to make a decision? A beautiful example expressed in the book is about how couples manage their relationships which impacts the endurance of a “marriage”. The most damaging emotion in any relationship is “indication of contempt” as it hurts the most and has the potential to break the relationship. It is told that for a relationship to be successful the ratio of positive emotions and negative emotions should be in the ratio of 5:1. The four major emotions in a relationship are said to be – defensiveness, stonewalling, criticism and contempt. Contempt is very qualitatively different from criticism. "It’s rather trying to put a person on a lower plane than you. It’s hierarchical." Contempt is all about rejecting and pushing someone out of equality. In general, it is observed that there is gender difference with negative emotions. Women are more critical and men are more likely to stone wall and when both meet, they go in circles. But in case of contempt, no gender difference at all.

Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions, we can alter the way we thin slice by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions. If we feel we are biased then expose more of self to the biased segments to avoid and reduce them, clarify more and should build ourselves up.

Snap decisions happen in locked door and one can’t peep in. There is an interesting concept explained about “Priming”. It is all about setting a stage for “to influence behavior” to the subject, people do this unconsciously or subconsciously as it is a trait for many. Try priming if you haven’t done yet :-).

There is a mention of “Warren Harding” error, which is the dark side of rapid cognition. It is at the root of a good deal of prejudice and discrimination.  There is a mention of us to be more selective, we should put up our antennae and thin slice “editing” out the physical appearance. Successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.

It is always complicated to find out what people think but there seems to be a system known as FACS (Facial Action Coding System) by Ekman and Friesen which has explanation of every emotion getting reflected as a combination of facial muscles resulting in expressions.

This is some thing I would like to mention specifically about and being aware of – getting “mind blind” or “autism”. There are many situations where in we (normal individuals) become mind blind or get into a condition called as “temporary autism” very easily happening at a high heart beat rate of 175+. This is an easy situation to be in for all of us in case of anger or emotional arousal and situations of stress. But it is important for us to develop our rapid decision making with training and experience.

It is sincerely worth a try to experiment and practice some or many aspects of this valuable book. If you want to become a face reader with 100% accuracy, learn FACS :).

PS - Some statements are picked ditto from the book to share the exact impact of what they mean.