Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Wikipedia

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005) is Malcolm Gladwell's second book. It presents in popular science format research from psychology and ... Blink:ThePowerofThinkingWithoutThinking FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch 2005bookbyMalcolmGladwell Blink:ThePowerofThinkingWithoutThinkingPaperbackeditionAuthorMalcolmGladwellCountryUnitedStatesLanguageEnglishSubjectPsychology,popularpsychologyGenreNon-fictionPublisherBackBayBooks,Little,BrownPublicationdateJanuary11,2005Media typePrint,e-book,audiobookPages320p.(paperbackedition)ISBN0-316-17232-4OCLC55679231DeweyDecimal153.4/422LC ClassBF448.G532005Preceded byTheTippingPoint,2000 Followed byOutliers,2008  Blink:ThePowerofThinkingWithoutThinking(2005)isMalcolmGladwell'ssecondbook.Itpresentsinpopularscienceformatresearchfrompsychologyandbehavioraleconomicsontheadaptiveunconscious:mentalprocessesthatworkrapidlyandautomaticallyfromrelativelylittleinformation.Itconsidersboththestrengthsoftheadaptiveunconscious,forexampleinexpertjudgment,anditspitfalls,suchasprejudiceandstereotypes. Contents 1Summary 2Researchandexamples 3Reception 4Topicsmentioned 5Seealso 6References 7Externallinks Summary[edit] Theauthordescribesthemainsubjectofhisbookas"thin-slicing":ourabilitytouselimitedinformationfromaverynarrowperiodofexperiencetocometoaconclusion.Thisideasuggeststhatspontaneousdecisionsareoftenasgoodas—orevenbetterthan—carefullyplannedandconsideredones.Toreinforcehisideas,Gladwelldrawsfromawiderangeofexamplesfromscienceandmedicine(includingmalpracticesuits),salesandadvertising,gambling,speeddating(andpredictingdivorce),tennis,militarywargames,andmoviesandpopularmusic.Gladwellalsousesmanyexamplesofregularpeople'sexperienceswith"thin-slicing,"includingourinstinctiveabilitytomind-read,whichishowwecangettoknowaperson'semotionsjustbylookingathisorherface. Gladwellexplainshowanexpert'sabilityto"thinslice"canbecorruptedbytheirlikesanddislikes,prejudices,andstereotypes(evenunconsciousones).AparticularformofunconsciousbiasGladwelldiscussesispsychologicalpriming.Healsodiscussestheimplicit-associationtest,[1]designedtomeasurethestrengthofaperson'ssubconsciousassociations/bias. Gladwellalsomentionsthatsometimeshavingtoomuchinformationcaninterferewiththeaccuracyofajudgment,oradoctor'sdiagnosis.InwhatGladwellcontendsisanageofinformationoverload,hefindsthatexpertsoftenmakebetterdecisionswithsnapjudgmentsthantheydowithvolumesofanalysis.Thisiscommonlycalled"Analysisparalysis."Thechallengeistosiftthroughandfocusononlythemostcriticalinformation.Theotherinformationmaybeirrelevantandconfusing.Collectingmoreinformation,inmostcases,mayreinforceourjudgmentbutdoesnothelpmakeitmoreaccurate.Gladwellexplainsthatbetterjudgmentscanbeexecutedfromsimplicityandfrugalityofinformation.Ifthebigpictureisclearenoughtodecide,thendecidefromthiswithoutusingamagnifyingglass. Thebookarguesthatintuitivejudgmentisdevelopedbyexperience,training,andknowledge.Forexample,Gladwellclaimsthatprejudicecanoperateatanintuitiveunconsciouslevel,eveninindividualswhoseconsciousattitudesarenotprejudiced.Oneexampleisthehaloeffect,whereapersonhavingasalientpositivequalityisthoughttobesuperiorinother,unrelatedrespects.TheexampleusedinthebookisWarrenG.Harding.HenryDaughertywasimpressedbyHarding'sappearanceofrespectability,andhelpedhimbecomepresidentoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,thoughHardingdidnothingextraordinaryforhispoliticalcareer.[2] Gladwellusesthe1999killingofAmadouDiallo,wherefourNewYorkpolicemenshotaninnocentmanonhisdoorstep41times,asanotherexampleofhowrapid,intuitivejudgmentcanhavedisastrouseffects.[3] Researchandexamples[edit] ThebookbeginswiththestoryoftheGettykouros,whichwasastatuebroughttotheJ.PaulGettyMuseuminCalifornia.Itwasthoughtbymanyexpertstobelegitimate,butwhenothersfirstlookedatit,theirinitialresponseswereskeptical.Forexample,GeorgeDespinis,headoftheAcropolisMuseuminAthens,said"Anyonewhohaseverseenasculpturecomingoutofthegroundcouldtellthatthatthinghasneverbeenintheground".Gradually,theargumentforthelegitimacyofthekouros'provenancefellapart.Theletterstracingitshistoryturnedouttobefakes,referencingpostalcodesandbankaccountsthatdidnotexistuntilafterthelettersweresupposedlywritten.However,expertstothisdayareunsurewhetherthekourosisauthenticornot.Themuseumnotesthat"anomaliesoftheGettykourosmaybeduemoretoourlimitedknowledgeofGreeksculptureinthisperiodratherthantomistakesonthepartofaforger."[4] JohnGottmanisaresearcheronmaritalrelationshipswhoseworkisexploredinBlink.Afteranalyzinganormalconversationbetweenahusbandandwifeforanhour,Gottmancanpredictwhetherthatcouplewillbemarriedin15yearswith95%accuracy.Ifheanalyzesthemfor15minutes,hisaccuracyisaround90%.Butifheanalysesthemforonlythreeminutes,hecanstillpredictwithhighaccuracywhowillgetdivorcedandwhowillmakeit.Thisisoneexampleofwhen"thinslicing"works.[5] ThestudiesofPaulEkman,apsychologistwhocreatedtheFacialActionCodingSystem(FACS),indicatesthatalotof"thinslicing"canbedonewithinsecondsbyunconsciouslyanalyzingaperson'sfleetinglookcalledamicroexpression.Ekmanclaimsthatthefaceisarichsourceofwhatisgoingoninsideourmindandalthoughmanyfacialexpressionscanbemadevoluntarily,ourfacesarealsodictatedbyaninvoluntarysystemthatautomaticallyexpressesouremotions.[6]OneexampleofhowmovementsofthefaceresultinemotionsisshowninanexperimentfromPaulEkman,WallaceV.FriesenandRobertLevenson.Theyaskedtheirtestsubjectstoremembernegativeorburdeningexperiences.Anothergroupwasaskedonlytomakefacesthatresemblednegativefeelingslikeanger,sadnessandthelike.Bothgroupswereconnectedtosensorswhichmeasuredtheirphysiologicalreactions(pulseandbodytemperature).Interestinglythelattergroupshowedthesamephysicalreactionsasthefirstgroup.[7] InastudydonebyFritzStrackandhiscolleagues,studentshadtowatchamovie.Onegroupdidsowithapenbetweentheirteethwhiletheothergrouphadtoholdthepenwiththeirlips.Thefirstgroupinterpretedthemoviefunnierthanthesecond,becausethemusclesresponsibleforsmilingwereusedandthenmadethebrainreleasehormonesrelatedtobeinghappy.[7]Thesestudiesshowthatfacialexpressionsarenotonlytheresultofemotionsbutcanalsobetheircause.[7] ThebookfinisheswiththecaseofsexismsufferedbyAbbieConant,whenshewasthetrombonesoloistoftheMunichPhilharmonic,anditsdirector,SergiuCelibidache,relegatedhertominorpositions,madeherreceivealowerwagethanhermalecolleaguesandlookeddownonherfrom1980to1993,whenshefinallylefttheorchestra. Reception[edit] RichardPosner,aprofessorattheUniversityofChicagoandajudgeontheUnitedStatesCourtofAppealsfortheSeventhCircuit,arguesthatGladwellinBlinkfailstofollowhisownrecommendationsregardingthin-slicing,andmakesavarietyofunsupportedassumptionsandmistakesinhischaracterizationsoftheevidenceforhisthesis.[8]TheDailyTelegraphreviewwrites,"Rarelyhavesuchboldclaimsbeenadvancedonthebasisofsuchflimsyevidence."[9] InThink!:WhyCrucialDecisionsCan'tBeMadeintheBlinkofanEye(SimonandSchuster,2006),MichaelLeGaultarguesthat"Blinklike"judgmentsarenotasubstituteforcriticalthinking.HecriticizesGladwellforpropagatingunscientificnotions: Asnaturopathicmedicinetapsintoadeepmysticalyearningtobehealedbynature,Blinkexploitspopularnew-agebeliefsaboutthepowerofthesubconscious,intuition,eventheparanormal.Blinkdevotesasignificantnumberofpagestotheso-calledtheoryofmindreading.Whileallowingthatmind-readingcan"sometimes"gowrong,thebookenthusiasticallycelebratestheapparentsuccessofthepractice,despitehostsofscientifictestsshowingthatclaimsofclairvoyancerarelybeattheoddsofrandomchanceguessing.[10] NobelprizewinnerDanielKahneman,authorofThinking,FastandSlowwhichspeakstorationality'sadvantagesoverintuition,says: MalcolmGladwelldoesnotbelievethatintuitionismagic.Hereallydoesn't...Butherehisstoryhashelpedpeople,inabeliefthattheywanttohave,whichisthatintuitionworksmagically;andthatbelief,isfalse.[11] Inanarticletitled"UnderstandingUnconsciousIntelligenceandIntuition:BlinkandBeyond",LoisIsenmanagreeswithGladwellthattheunconsciousmindhasasurprisingknackfor'thinkingwithoutthinking'butarguesthatitsabilitytointegratemanypiecesofinformationsimultaneouslyprovidesamuchmoreinclusiveexplanationthanthin-slicing.Shewrites: Gladwelloftenspeaksoftheimportanceofholismtounconsciousintelligence,meaningthatitconsidersthesituationasawhole.Atthesametime,hestressesthatunconsciousintelligencereliesonfindingsimpleunderlyingpatterns.However,onlywhenasituationisoverwhelminglydeterminedbyoneorafewinteractingfactorsisholismconsistentwithsimpleunderlyingsignatures.Inmanysituations,holismandsimpleunderlyingsignaturespullindifferentdirections.[12] Topicsmentioned[edit] AeronchairproducedbyHermanMiller AmadouBailoDiallo CookCountyHospital Gettykouros KeithJohnstone'sbookImpro:ImprovisationandtheTheatre Kenna MillenniumChallenge2002andPaulK.VanRiper PepsiChallengeandNewCoke AllintheFamily TheMaryTylerMooreShow TheGoldmanAlgorithm[13] AbbieConant Seealso[edit] GavindeBecker PaulEkman JohnGottman Interpersonalperception References[edit] ^Greenwald,AnthonyG.;et al.(1998)."Measuringindividualdifferencesinimplicitcognition:Theimplicitassociationtest".JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology.74(6):1464–80.CiteSeerX 10.1.1.489.4611.doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1464.PMID 9654756. ^Gladwell,Malcolm,1963-(2007).Blink!dieMachtdesMoments.München:Piper.pp. 78ff.ISBN 9783492249058.OCLC 180710604.{{citebook}}:CS1maint:multiplenames:authorslist(link) ^Cooper,Michael(1999-02-05)."OfficersinBronxFire41Shots,AndanUnarmedManIsKilled".TheNewYorkTimes.Retrieved2010-04-26. ^"StatueofaKouros(GettyMuseum)".Getty.edu.2009-05-07.Retrieved2013-05-03. ^Gladwell,Malcolm(2005-01-07)."Excerptfrom'Blink'".USAToday.Retrieved2010-04-26. ^Gladwell,Malcolm(2007).Blink.BackBayBooks.p. 206.ISBN 978-0-316-01066-5. ^abcGladwell,Malcolm(2011).Blink!DieMachtdesMoments.München:PiperVerlagGmbH.pp. 202f.ISBN 9783492249058. ^Posner,RichardA.(2005-01-24)."UniversityofChicagoLawSchool>News01.17.2005:PosnerReviewsBlink".TheNewRepublic.Tnr.com.Retrieved2013-05-03. ^Skidelsky,Edward(2005-02-06)."Goodintuitiontakesyearsofpractice".TheDailyTelegraph.London. ^LeGault,Michael(2006).Think!:WhyCrucialDecisionsCan'tBeMadeintheBlinkofanEye.NewYork.ISBN 9781416524663. ^CharlieRoseShowbroadcastFebruary28,2012at27:05.US.2012.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMarch15,2012.Retrieved2012-03-16. ^Isenman,Lois(2013)."UnderstandingUnconsciousIntelligenceandIntuition:BlinkandBeyond."PerspectivesinBiologyandMedicine56(1):148–166p.160.http://people.brandeis.edu/~lisenman/PBM.2013.pdf ^Qamar,A(Oct1999)."TheGoldmanalgorithmrevisited:prospectiveevaluationofacomputer-derivedalgorithmversusunaidedphysicianjudgmentinsuspectedacutemyocardialinfarction".AmericanHeartJournal.138(4):705–09.doi:10.1016/s0002-8703(99)70186-9.PMID 10502217. Externallinks[edit] Officialwebsite vteWorksbyMalcolmGladwellBooks TheTippingPoint(2000) Blink(2005) Outliers(2008) WhattheDogSaw(2009) DavidandGoliath(2013) TalkingtoStrangers(2019) TheBomberMafia(2021) Podcasts RevisionistHistory(2016–2021) Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blink:_The_Power_of_Thinking_Without_Thinking&oldid=1040196420" Categories:Psychologybooks2005non-fictionbooksWorksbyMalcolmGladwellPopularpsychologybooksHiddencategories:CS1maint:multiplenames:authorslistArticleswithshortdescriptionShortdescriptionmatchesWikidata Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English Views ReadEditViewhistory More Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Languages DanskEspañolBahasaIndonesiaРусскийSuomiSvenskaУкраїнська中文 Editlinks