Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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 When to use intuition, and when to analyze?

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