Blink by Malcolm Gladwell Review by Tania Vikki EPSY 5180 Summer 2009

What the book is about Blink is about snap judgments. Not how to make them, but how they are made, who makes them the best, and what factors are involved. Blink uses a good author’s voice, and shows its meanings through many, many examples. It is not well organized, in terms of nonfiction, and its ideas loop or are not clearly stated or summarized.

Main ideas of Blink Experts can judge things in a few moments, called thin-slicing, very accurately. Our snap decisions are influenced heavily by bias, stereotype, and stress. Less is more. The less information we have, the better our decisions can be. Otherwise we can be overwhelmed with information. Our thinking happens behind a ‘locked door’. Analysis can block our intuition. We must learn the weaknesses of our decision-making, and try to correct for them. Sometimes thoughtful analysis is best, especially for minor, straightforward decisions. Other times, intuitive decisions are best, such as when there is a lot of information, or the decision is complicated.

Examples of Expert Opinion Thin-Slicing Determining a fake ancient Greek statue of a kouros. Prof. Gottman’s prediciton of successful marriages Morse code ‘voice’ interpretation during WWII Film directors Bird Watchers A tennis expert predicting a ‘double fault’ Van Riper, a military general Taste testers Music entertainment leaders judgment of Kenna Dr. Ekman’s determination of emotions based on facial features Experienced cop Experienced Firefighter

Bias, Stereotype, and Influence Examples: Museum curators Effects of priming Power of suggestions - rope activity Warren Harding - best-looking worst President ever IAT tests - your subconscious is a racist, so prime yourself! Why are so many CEO’s tall? Car dealers are unfair, except for one… Aeron chair - works great, looks awful. Will it sell? No women in the orchestra

Less is more, examples Curators confused by a large amount of data Cook County heart attack prediction formula JFCOM vs. Van Riper in the military game Battle of Chancellorsville Selecting a car from 12 choices, not just 4

The Stress Factor People think best between 115 and 45 bpm under stress. After that, it all breaks down, stereotypes have more influence, and we stop reading people’s faces (like temporary autism) Examples: good athletes, good-call cops vs.Diallo shooting cops, Rodney King beating cops, other bad-call cops White space - the time and distance between you and the event or threat, determines your effective/good response. No white space in Diallo case, or Reagan assassination attempt.

Locked Door: We can’t tell how we think. Double fault prediction Rope activity Speed-dating choices Red vs. blue deck selection Fireman sensing basement fire IAT testing

Analysis can block intuition Improv comedy - accept all possibilities JFCOM actions, and Hooker’s Introspection can lead to dissonance resolution, rather than true recall Face recognition vs. description Speed-dating reflections Rope activity reflection

Correcting for Weaknesses Screen for music auditions Screen for defendants in trials? Experienced cop’s decision to wait to shoot One-man instead of two-man cop patrols. Positive priming for IAT test Stress exposure for bodyguards Sports statistics vs. fan beliefs Intentional fairness of a car dealer Using a heart attack formula Control first impressions, where possible

When to use intuition, and when to analyze? Analyze: Simple, small decisions: Simple kitchen appliances (Dutch) 4 car choice When a machine or formula is proven correct Cook County Hospital Intuition: Big, complicated decisions IKEA furniture (Dutch) 12 car choice “a mate or a profession” -Sigmund Freud

Conclusion Blink is about judgments, how they are made, what influences them, and their quality.