tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10858948.post114127926074156239..comments2023-07-06T04:13:25.746-07:00Comments on ideas lab: On gut feeling as decision making toolfChhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08007305273044171670noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10858948.post-1141878825745397972006-03-08T20:33:00.000-08:002006-03-08T20:33:00.000-08:00... especially by those managers who want to hide ...... especially by those managers who want to hide their lack of argument or knowledge behind 'experience'-driven gut feelings. However, there is little if anything in their experience pointing to a track record. <BR/><BR/>MOVING ON<BR/>By JEFF ZASLOW<BR/><BR/>First Impressions Get Faster<BR/>February 16, 2006; Page D4<BR/><BR/>In 1900, when romantic suitors got to know each other on front-porch swings, a first<BR/>impression was something arrived at by the end of an evening.<BR/><BR/>By 2000, we were sizing each other up at a far faster clip. Self-help gurus focused on the<BR/>crucial first five minutes of a relationship, and research into first impressions led to books<BR/>such as "How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less."<BR/><BR/>Well, nowadays, even those 90 seconds seem awfully quaint. According to a new study by<BR/>researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa, people are registering likes and dislikes in as<BR/>little as 1/20th of a second.<BR/><BR/>"We are hard-wired to make up our minds very quickly," says Gitte Lindgaard, the<BR/>psychologist who led the study, in which people watched Web pages for a fleeting instant<BR/>and were able to form clear opinions about them.<BR/><BR/>Sure, humans have always made snap judgments. But as our culture swirls faster and<BR/>faster, first impressions are being indulged at hyperspeed. TV viewers can dispatch 60<BR/>unappealing shows in 60 seconds using a remote control. Singles engage in ultra-brief<BR/>encounters at "speed dating" sessions. Meanwhile, businesspeople are embracing the idea<BR/>that smart decisions can be made in seconds through "rapid cognition," a premise<BR/>explored in Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller "Blink."<BR/><BR/>Dizzy yet? You're not alone.<BR/><BR/>Some critics say it's time to slow down and reconsider our reliance on fast first<BR/>impressions. "They're important, but they're only part of our sensory data," says Michael<BR/>LeGault, author of "Think," a new book arguing that "crucial decisions can't be made in the<BR/>blink of an eye." He's concerned that we're now "a gut-level society," more apt to act on<BR/>impulse than to think things through.<BR/><BR/>It's as if we don't have time for second or third impressions. And that can lead to wrong<BR/>decisions, missed opportunities and an inability to recognize the potential love of your<BR/>life.<BR/><BR/>I once interviewed a woman who, in 1952, received a phone call from a man she'd never<BR/>heard of. He'd gotten her number from a mutual friend, and asked for a date. His efforts to<BR/>sweet-talk her didn't go well. He was cocky and full of "intellectual jive," she told me. But<BR/>she agreed to meet him for lunch.<BR/><BR/>When he picked her up, her first impression of him was "how short he seems" and "how<BR/>unimpressive he looks." Still, she decided to set aside those first thoughts, and as she<BR/>spent time with him, she saw through his wild confidence, and found a sincere sense of<BR/>purpose. "He grew in stature," she said.<BR/><BR/>I've told this story to my teenage daughters when they've been quick to dismiss someone<BR/>at first glance. The woman's name was Coretta Scott. The man, whom she eventually<BR/>married, was Martin Luther King Jr. Had they met in 2006, at a speed-dating night, he<BR/>might have offered her a two-minute burst of cockiness, and she might have rolled her<BR/>eyes and rejected him.<BR/><BR/>In St. Louis, Scott Ginsberg, 26 years old, is now testing theories about first impressions.<BR/>For more than five years, every day, he has worn a nametag that says, "Hello, my name is<BR/>Scott."<BR/><BR/>The former marketing student says the nametag allows people to develop a first<BR/>impression of him in seconds. His goal is to appear friendly and approachable, and to tap<BR/>into those instincts in others. Women who mock or ignore him probably aren't right for<BR/>him, he says. But those who engage in conversation about the nametag learn things about<BR/>him that lead beyond first impressions.<BR/><BR/>"I'll always wear the name tag. It's a lifelong experiment," vows Mr. Ginsberg, who now<BR/>gives lectures to corporations on "approachability." He's concerned that the first-<BR/>impression window keeps narrowing. "It's like a calculus equation. Will it eventually<BR/>approach zero?"<BR/><BR/>In a way, it has. These days, incoming college students check out each other's profiles via<BR/>Web sites such as MySpace. By the time they finally meet face to face on campus, no one is<BR/>new to each other, and it's too late to register a first impression. Opinions have been<BR/>formed. The opposite sex has been rated.<BR/><BR/>Within three minutes of meeting someone new, people today form an opinion about where<BR/>the future of the relationship is headed, according to a 2004 study co-written by<BR/>University of Minnesota-Duluth communications professor Michael Sunnafrank. "But it's a<BR/>self-fulfilling prophecy," he says. "The trajectory of the relationship is set."<BR/><BR/>This troubles him. "Look at all the failed marriages, where people thought they'd found<BR/>love at first sight." His research convinces him that "people need more time to make<BR/>lasting decisions."<BR/><BR/>So before you give a potential suitor a thumbs-down in 1/20th of a second, take at least<BR/>another 1/20th of a second to reconsider.<BR/><BR/>Write to Jeffrey Zaslow at jeffrey.zaslow@wsj.com1Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com