Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Review by Tania Vikki

EPSY 5180

Summer 2009

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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.

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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.

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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

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Bias, Stereotype, and InfluenceExamples:• 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

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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

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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

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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

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Conclusion

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

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