Snap Decisions: Do they work?

[proteanmix]

Do people think just because a decision is made quickly it's a bad decision?

I make what could be called "snap decisions" and I'm not right all the time but my success rate is pretty good. I don't think it's impossible to go into a situation and size what's going on fairly quickly and arrive at an accurate conclusion.

ETA:
BBC NEWS | Health | Snap decisions sometimes the best
Why Snap Decisions Work

Gigerenzer cites this investment case study in his new book, Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious, to bolster his central point: that intuition often trumps more considered reason. The author is director of the Center for Adaptive Behavior & Cognition at the renowned Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. If his thesis sounds a lot like that of the 2005 best-seller Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell, it's because Gladwell drew heavily on Gigerenzer's research. But the scientist goes a step further by explaining just why our gut instincts are so often right. Gigerenzer is not nearly as clever a writer as Gladwell, a star at The New Yorker, but the new book does serve as a useful and clearly written tutorial on decisions and how to make them.

Intuition, it seems, is not some sort of mystical chemical reaction but a neurologically based behavior that evolved to ensure that we humans respond quickly when faced with a dilemma (e.g., fight or flight). Too much data, however, throws a monkey wrench into the process. The more variables we consider, the harder it is to make the "right" decision--as anyone who has faced an aisle full of shampoos knows.

 

[disregard]

Decisions are rather easy for me to make because of what you cite--intuition. My subconscious is constantly collecting information and rearranging my perception of the world, and so when it comes time to make a decision, I often know just what to do and am comfortably confident in my choice.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

*Hesitates*



YES!



NO!!



WAIT, YES!!

 

[Valiant]

"A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow"
- General George S. Patton (ESTP).

Pretty much gives my view on the matter
Delaying decisions are generally bad. You can always alter the plan while it is being executed or after, if it's wrong.

 

[proteanmix]

Decisions are rather easy for me to make because of what you cite--intuition. My subconscious is constantly collecting information and rearranging my perception of the world, and so when it comes time to make a decision, I often know just what to do and am comfortably confident in my choice.

I don't think they mean intuition in the MBTI sense, although I did get the idea for this thread from here.

If we were to try and match to MBTI, I'd think that EJs would have an advantage party2: ) in snap decision making. I also want to emphasize that snap decisions aren't necessarily uninformed decisions it deals mostly with initial sense impressions. If that's the case, wouldn't sensors have an advantage over intuitives in this regard?

 

[disregard]

I wasn't talking about intuition from an MBTI sense.

 

[Seanan]

It all depends on the gravity of the decision's impact. If I'm looking a rather pricey purse and assessing its feasibility with my existing wardrobe... I might make a snap one. If, on the other hand, the decision is whether or not to remove life support, not so. I guess, pre-existing familiarity of the subject also applies. If I'm already in some way experienced, with one or two new variables, it might appear to be a snap one but that would be debatable. This reminds of another thread. I addressed Army Officers there. In school they are encouraged to make "snap" decisions, particularly in combat, but are they really since they've been through training?

Edit: While I can take forever to make a decision sometimes (usually) because I gather so much info and paralyzed by it, I also have a reputation for being someone you want present in an emergency... like someone getting injured... during that kind of situation, I seem to shift into some gear that allows me to act immediately and decisively while others around me seem paralyzed. If have not had special training for this though... I do, however, seem to go to pieces when the emergency is over. lol

 

[Totenkindly]

EJ's and sensors might have a benefit, but it's hard to tell -- there are many many factors.

For example, Si-primary people -- are their sensory impressions more apt to help them (if they are in a situation similar to their past experience) or go against them (if they are in a new situation)?

Will Se people do better in just responding to the environment, rather than instinctively connecting it up with past experience that might or might not be true?

I am thinking that both Se and Ne people might do better in this regard, because they are naturally looking for external data (whether the data itself or the patterns of the data) and thus responding [actually, FLEXING] to it.

Context also changes things. If someone's in a situation where they are afraid or otherwise feel they HAVE to take an action, they might just go with instincts and be locked in. If there is less imperative to act, some people might get into analysis paralysis or just second-guess their inclinations.

Still, I know I've read of experiments where people are basically encouraged to go with their hunches (such as when evaluating a teacher based on a few seconds of video), and it seemed remarkable that we can often "catch the essence" of someone or something (regardless of type) based on just a short snapshot.

 

[nightning]

Snap decisions work most of the time for complex problems... Studies have been done on this. (Published in Science oh 2 years or so ago... in an experiment selecting the car with the best overall attributes... one group was told to rationalize their way through the problem, the other group was only given enough time to read it then was assigned mental distraction tasks. The two groups then make the selection. The non-rationalizing group did better for more complex problems). Obviously knowledge of the subject at hand influence your success rate. The more knowledgeable you are, the better you're at making snap decision on that subject. Afterall, if you know nothing about the problem... a snap decision is no better than random guessing.

Tying that to type... ooo that's a fun one.

I agree with Jennifer that Se types probably do better at task requiring interaction with the environment.
Not sure how Si comes into play... well I guess if they remember seeing the same type of problem coming up. They'll be quick to apply the same method to solve it.
I know for INFJs, we're quick at making snap judgments about people. Especially for assigning people to groups and tasks. Everything else for me though is a slow and laborious process.

Perhaps it has to do with knowledge? That different types pay more attention to different things and thus pick up knowledge in different areas... making them more accurate in certain types of snap decisions.

 

[Maverick]

I tend to trust my gut reaction to things so I can go with what can seem a snap decision alot of the time. It does work out for me 90% of the time and I rarely regret.

As night said, there are a series of studies that show this. I've read some papers saying that people perform better in card games if they take into account their visceral reactions. Also, there is a theory in psychology called "unconscious thinking" which states that people are better at making decisions involving many criteria after "not thinking" rather than "consciously thinking" about them. In other words, have a good night sleep before choosing which house or car you're going to buy.

 

[Jae Rae]

Mav, it's funny you mention both of those. I chose my first car, which I drove for 22 years, by test driving a Subaru and no other car. It had great handling and "felt" right. I didn't do research on cars ahead of time.

We chose our house in a very similar way - it just felt right and seemed to fit us. Over the years we've found many reasons why it was a good choice - quiet neighborhood, wonderful neighbors, great schools nearby, shops and libraries in walking distance, etc. But we didn't research any of that.

Jae Rae

 

[substitute]

I tend to trust my gut reaction to things so I can go with what can seem a snap decision alot of the time. It does work out for me 90% of the time and I rarely regret.

Ditto.

I know an ISTJ who is very sure of what's The Right Choice when he makes it, but GOOD GRIEF does he ever take his time making it!!! To so much as begin using hand cream for his chapped skin, he requires WEEKS of researching medical journals and papers to discover the true efficacy and best method of use of dry skin treatments, then he has to research all the alternative hand creams in order to find The Best One, then he has to find the Right Shop to buy it from, and calculate which SIZE of bottle he should buy based on price per gram compared to use by date and estimated time the amount should last and whether or not getting a bigger bottle would actually waste money because there'd be some left over past its use by date before he used it up and... oh my word!!!

 

[disregard]

I know for INFJs, we're quick at making snap judgments about people. Especially for assigning people to groups and tasks. Everything else for me though is a slow and laborious process.

Perhaps it has to do with knowledge? That different types pay more attention to different things and thus pick up knowledge in different areas... making them more accurate in certain types of snap decisions.

Now as for snap judgments.. that is something I do not do. I've noticed I suspend judgment indefinitely.. I never put people in a category.. I guess because it's not useful to do so, unless that is your number one means of protecting yourself.

 

[nightning]

Ditto.

I know an ISTJ who is very sure of what's The Right Choice when he makes it, but GOOD GRIEF does he ever take his time making it!!! To so much as begin using hand cream for his chapped skin, he requires WEEKS of researching medical journals and papers to discover the true efficacy and best method of use of dry skin treatments, then he has to research all the alternative hand creams in order to find The Best One, then he has to find the Right Shop to buy it from, and calculate which SIZE of bottle he should buy based on price per gram compared to use by date and estimated time the amount should last and whether or not getting a bigger bottle would actually waste money because there'd be some left over past its use by date before he used it up and... oh my word!!!

That... is ridiculous for buying some hand cream... but the studies do suggest that with simple decisions like that people are more likely to be satisfied if they do research on it. Whatever floats his boat I suppose...

 

[6sticks]

The best decisions are made quickly and decisively. Vacillation guarantees failure.

I mean, just look at the whole omg is he a prick nonsense.

 

[sammy]

For practical things, like buying a car or other purchases, I come to decisions very quickly, and I rarely regret them. When picking out colleges for my graduate studies, I know I will be taking my time researching the school's area for residential opportunities, travel accommodations, population demographics, cultural outlets, the academic environment, etc.

Making a decision about people, for me, takes some more time. I'm often giving people multiple chances to show me their nature within states of happiness, stress, neutrality, etc. I like to see as much of the person as possible before coming to a conclusion about them, but the few times I have had to come to "snap decisions" about people based on very little visceral data, I have not been disappointed.

 

[Mort Belfry]

No!

- that was a snap decision.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Do people think just because a decision is made quickly it's a bad decision?

I make what could be called "snap decisions" and I'm not right all the time but my success rate is pretty good. I don't think it's impossible to go into a situation and size what's going on fairly quickly and arrive at an accurate conclusion.

ETA:
BBC NEWS | Health | Snap decisions sometimes the best
Why Snap Decisions Work

It depends on what the consequences are for a bad decision. Most of the time the consequences of choosing something less than optimal are fairly small. For the sake of efficiency snap decisions are more practical.

On the other hand when there could be great consequences for a bad decision, then the decision should be made slowly and carefully. For example a President should not declare war simply because of a "gut feeling". Likewise I'd doubt most people would want their surgeon speeding through open heart surgery no matter how many times they've done it before. A person who doesn't stop to consider whether or not they should buy condoms that night might end up suffering life long consequences. Ultimately it depends on the situation.

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

Haven't read all in here, just wanted to quickly share what I was thinking I've recognized the importance of impulsive decisions long time ago. I've been a little weak on acting on them - but I love it, and I've long thought the best moods I can have is one where I'm in the flow, doing constant snap decisions

I can rarely make big snap decisions correctly, but I have a great practice for small things I love. It's cleaning It's easy, so I won't fear a failure. I just clean and organize some items as they pop into my mind, seeing something that needs to be done.. and do it. Next I just need something where I can practice some bigger tasks in a safe environment..

I've already practiced with business, but it cost me 30,000eur50,000eur so I'll resort to cheaper practice next But, it's awesome when it works and very much worth of trying to do.

 

[INTJMom]

Do people think just because a decision is made quickly it's a bad decision?

I make what could be called "snap decisions" and I'm not right all the time but my success rate is pretty good. I don't think it's impossible to go into a situation and size what's going on fairly quickly and arrive at an accurate conclusion.

ETA:
BBC NEWS | Health | Snap decisions sometimes the best
Why Snap Decisions Work

A decision can seem like a snap decision, but can sometimes actually be based on foundational data accumulated over a long period of time.

I wonder how consistently successful that stock buying experiment would turn out to be. A lot of stock success is about social image so I'm not exceedingly surprised that their method was successful.

Generally speaking though, I can see how not constantly second-guessing yourself might turn out to be more successful.