What the science says about unconscious decision making

Welcome to The Productivity Blueprint newsletter 🗞️

We hope you found last week's focus on time management beneficial! If you missed last week, you can catch up here 🙂

This week, we're peeling back the layers on unconscious decision-making. Let's take a look at what science has to say.

"The unconscious mind is a powerful thing, and it can help us make decisions in the blink of an eye. But these snap judgments can be educated and controlled.”

The article critically examines the concept of unconscious decision-making, particularly focusing on the theory that individuals can make better decisions through unconscious thought processes compared to conscious deliberation.

The discussion is rooted in the findings from a series of studies, including a notable experiment involving car choices where participants were said to perform better under conditions of unconscious thought. However, these results are challenged by the authors, where they highlight several subsequent studies that fail to replicate these findings, as well as flawed methodolgiies in the original study.

Overall, the idea that unconscious thought can lead to better decision outcomes is heavily contested. Studies attempting to replicate earlier findings generally do not support the superiority of unconscious decision-making. Even in diverse scenarios, including complex decision-making processes, unconscious thinking has not proven to be more effective than conscious deliberation 💭🤔

TL/DR: The notion that unconscious decision-making is superior to conscious deliberation is challenged by recent studies, which show no significant advantage in decision quality regardless of the thinking mode. This suggests a need for skepticism regarding the effectiveness of unconscious thought in complex decision-making scenarios.

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💡 Challenge of the week

Commit to 'Conscious Choices'. This week, approach every decision with a clear pro-con list and compare the outcomes. Were they more aligned with your goals and preferences?

That’s all for this newsletter! We hope you enjoyed learning more about unconscious decision making, and whether it is ultimately more effective.

Until next week,

The Productivity Blueprint Team

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