We have to make decisions literally at every step. What to cook for lunch? Which dress to choose? Sit on this bus or wait for the next one? Every day we make dozens and hundreds of decisions, but usually do not even notice it. When it comes to everyday things, not very significant events for us, the majority of people cope with the task almost instantly.
Be careful not to reason with patterns of the past, the needs of the present can be completely different. Keyword: submit. When they connect cognitive concepts to an emotion it becomes immediately clear how this can be a situation in practical life. The deeper the message about the consequences of choice is the ability to perceive our deep emotions and project ourselves into the future that will be realized. Translated to facts, this means that the more you present your feelings in a certain situation, the more you will understand whether this is really the ideal option for your needs.
But as soon as we are faced with a choice that is of great importance to us and can significantly affect our lives, our ability sometimes seems to dissolve in space. We are painfully weighing the pros and cons. We consult with family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances. Reread everything that we only find on the Internet. The process is delayed, it becomes more and more difficult. Finally, it starts to seem like any decision would be wrong.
Heuristics are mental abilities during evolution. In many situations, it was impossible to afford the luxury of stopping to think about the best strategies to achieve a specific goal; you had to act while making heuristic decisions. Even for less important and everyday actions, when we deal with our heuristic set, we have little time to decide what we like and dislike, or for an instant idea of the situations we are in, making heuristic decisions.
Our mind can be viewed as a set of tools, full of rules, created and transmitted genetically, culturally and evolutionarily. In critical situations, like the one shown in the figure, if a person stopped to calculate how much time a lion would reach, it would be extinct for thousands of years. Like Gerd Gigerentser, a psychologist who has been studying heuristics for a long time, “our mind can be viewed as an evolutionary toolkit, full of rules thumbcreated and transmitted genetically, culturally and evolutionarily. "
Some people remain at this stage - weeks, months, years. Someone makes decisions so uncomfortable that he refuses to change anything in life at all, adhering to once and for all the chosen tactics.
How to be, how to learn to make quick decisions, so that you don’t harass yourself with doubts about their correctness?
Gigerentser wrote that “good intuitions go beyond the bounds of logic,” but the statement must be complemented by an explanation: it applies only to experts. In fact, only instructors with previous experience and knowledge in a particular domain can decide instantly: only when you are good in a certain area, can you afford the luxury of stopping to think.
Each person has a “toolkit” where heuristics obtained in a genetically gifted way are found in his environment. Whenever they are in a state of choice in limbo, they automatically save him if his cognitive system makes no effort.
Fear of error
First you need to figure out what prevents you from making decisions. Why do some people do it quickly and easily, while others pull, torture themselves, others, but usually take a step only under the influence of compelling circumstances?
The reason, in most cases, lies in fears. The most common fear is to make a mistake, that is, to make the wrong decision. But this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Psychologist Leda Kosmides and anthropologist John Tubi, who are considered the founders of evolutionary psychology, associate the modularity of the human mind with a Swiss knife, which has many tools, each of which is suitable for solving a particular problem. But the human mind is even more flexible than the knife, because it deeply combines the use of various functions.
Short interview with psychologist Gerd Gigersentser about the importance of using intuition under certain conditions. From the supernatural mind to the theory of probability: four visions of human rationality. Men and animals survive in their own world, constantly drawing conclusions and illusions in limited time and with limited knowledge. Nevertheless, many logical models created by man represent the mind as something supernatural, with demonic rational forces, with unlimited knowledge and infinite time for decision-making.
Many beliefs can be fertile ground for the formation of fear of being wrong: 
- - someone is afraid that he will be punished for the mistake (by parents, teachers, society, god, himself); this happens because in childhood he was, indeed, more than once punished for something he, in the opinion of others, was doing wrong; the man concluded that it is better to do nothing at all;
- - the other has a strong need to do everything well, correctly, in order to feel good, that is, valuable, loved; if he makes the wrong decision that does not lead him to the expected success, then consider yourself good will not work; it means you can forget about love, attention, care, respect for other people;
- - the third is simply afraid to take responsibility, preferring to remain in the role of a child, for whom someone else decides; it gives him a sense of security or some other benefits.
To learn how to make decisions quickly, you should first understand the origins of "sluggishness." Understand where your legs grow from and change your attitude towards these things. This can be done with the help of specialists or independently: today there are many methods.
Such visions of rationality often contradict reality, according to Gerd Gigerentser, the probabilistic revolution canceled the dream of authenticity by suggesting a calculation of uncertainty. The diagram shows two alternative forms of human rationality. First, it is those who believe that the human mind has unlimited rationality, the second is the one who believes that human rationality is limited. There are two types of demons: those that offer unlimited rationality and those who optimize it according to constraints.
Where is the landmark?
How do we understand that some decisions are right and others are wrong? By what signs and criteria do we define it? Where do we get the scale on which we measure the degree of correctness of the decision? How to make decisions quickly?
Usually this “measuring device” we acquire in childhood and adolescence. Parents, teachers, other people tell us what is right and what is not. True, usually no one clarifies - and for whom it is exactly that right. For mom, dad, for school, for society or for us? This moment is missing. As a result, a “right - wrong” pattern is formed in our consciousness, woven on the basis of anyone’s worldviews and interests, besides ourselves.
There are also two forms of bounded rationality: satisfactory heuristics, requiring solutions using a variety of alternatives, and fast and economical heuristics, which use little information and calculations to make various decisions.
The main heuristics mentioned by Gigerentser: recognition, a look, conformism, ability to read, imitation, satisfaction, average analysis. Here are a few examples, leaving those who want to deepen the reading of the book by many others. Knowing the basic heuristics and how they operate, it is important how to know how the human mind works, and avoid mistakes when we make decisions in uncertainty.
The influence of the points of view of other people, society, mass media continues throughout life. Often these points diverge. A person, trying to take into account the opinion of different people and groups, is torn between different “landmarks”, unable to understand how best to make what decision to take.
Where is the “beacon” that can show us the way to the right decision, will help you make the right decisions as quickly as possible? The answer may surprise many - within us, in our own heart.
The heuristic of the gaze explains why we intercept so well and do not do any calculations when moving objects. Gigersentser asks. How does a player capture a ball in flight in baseball or cricket? Calculating the trajectory of the ball is not a simple thing. Theoretically, the balls have parabolic trajectories, and in order to predict the correct trajectory, the player’s brain must estimate the initial distance, initial speed and throwing angle of the ball. But in the real world, the balls spin on themselves and are subject to air resistance and wind direction, so they never resort to parables.
Ask the heart
Only our heart, which is considered the reservoir of the soul, knows what is best for us. It is there that answers all our questions. It is to him, and not to the Internet, friends, parents and television, should be addressed when you need to make a decision.
The “voice” of the heart is also called differently - intuition. People with whom it is well developed, called intuitive. Their differences from others only in that they know how to listen to their heart and trust it.
This ability is with each of us. When we were children, we heard our heart very well, trusted our intuition. Infant baby impossible to cheat. He knows exactly what he wants.
The player's brain must have a huge amount of complex calculations at the very least time to know where the moving ball will move: it cannot, but all players will be able to intercept the moving ball. Gigerentser assumes that we use the heuristics of the view that describes this method.
Fix your gaze on the ball, control yourself by adjusting the speed to maintain a constant angle of the eyes. Angle of view means the angle between the eye and the ball relative to the ground. A player using this rule does not need to measure wind, air resistance, rotation effect, or other causal variables, since all relevant facts are already present in “one variable: the angle of the eye”.
Growing up, children absorb many stereotypes, including those that say that you need to follow logic. Others insist: our heart is too vulnerable, it is better to lock it, it is better to refuse to hear it at all.
As a result, many people simply do not know their true desires. What they take for their desires is actually just stereotypes imposed by society. And since a person subconsciously feels this, he does not want to make the decisions that are expected of him. After all, they are not his, they do not come from his heart.
The choice between two objects always selects what is recognized. Why does the company invest in this type of advertising? To make the brand more recognizable, this is important because consumers rely on heuristics recognition. When heuristics do not work: the role of cognitive bias.
What led their research was the conviction that intuitive judgment is intermediate between the automatic functioning of perception and the conscious rational. This belief has matured in finding systematic errors of intuitive judgments with the participation of statistical researchers. What struck them most was the discrepancy between their own statistical intuition and statistical knowledge: how were people who knew theories and statistical concepts systematically insulted when they made intuitive conclusions about statistics?
How to be? Learn to listen to yourself, your heart, intuition. Learning to see one's desires is what pleases, what brings pleasure, not “spoiled” by hard work in earning it, not poisoned by the fear of making a mistake or being unsuccessful.
Silence time
Hearing the voice of your heart in the boiling sea of the metropolis, in the constant cacophony of various other voices: the opinions of other people, society, television, the press, is impossible.
This requires silence. Not in the literal sense of the word, but as an opportunity to be alone with himself. Psychologists offer to be in nature, to arrange evenings or days when you do not communicate with anyone, turn off the TV, phone, computer, set aside books and focus on communicating with yourself.
For work on this problem, they conceived, based on previous studies of many others, a model called a two-system representation in an attempt to emphasize the differences between the model of intuitive and rational thinking. The diagram in the figure on the right summarizes the characteristics of the two systems of thinking described by Daniel Kahneman in the book Slow and Fast Thoughts. The book describes, with an amplitude of detail and examples, conflicts between the two types of thought that dwell in each person. System 1 operation: fast, automatic, easy, associative and difficult to manage or modify.
A good helper in this business is meditation. When a person is meditating, his mind slows down his work, partially removes his control. This allows you to look into your soul, to understand what the heart wants.
The ability to listen to yourself, to understand your true desires almost completely removes the issue of decision-making. When we have this “tuning fork” inside and, most importantly, we hear it, it is easy to make a decision that is right for us.
System 2 is slow, consistent, tedious, and consciously controlled. Diagram of two systems of human thinking and the action of cognitive bias. The composition of intuitive and rational thinking patterns in the story of Daniel Kahneman from the book “Slow Thoughts and Quick Thoughts”.
A very common cognitive error. We would always be rational, but it is tiresome and, often, useless. We think that we are always rational, but this is too tiring and, in most cases, also useless. Rationality is necessary when we are in a complex and unknown world: it is time to slow down and make an effort to think, not being overwhelmed with emotions. In fact, even intelligent and open-minded people reject self-esteem, such as evidence of injury or the effect of priming.
A lot of time for this is not required. After all, there is no need to think about what is good and what is not. There is no need to choose between the opinions of different people. Because we ourselves already know exactly what is better for us, what will bring us joy. The decision comes by itself.
Advantages and disadvantages
Of course, all this does not negate the use of various "improvised means" that are proposed to make a decision.
For example, you can imagine how events can develop with different solutions. Make a list of the pros and cons that you see in each of them (based on your own understanding of the benefits to yourself). Understand, feel your feelings, which you can experience, having received one or another result of your decision. Based on this analysis, we can conclude where to go, what decision to make.
This is how Kahneman describes two systems of thought. Attentive system 2 is what we consider. They belong to a heuristic judgment team: a heuristic of representativeness, accessibility, simulation, affection, and location. These heuristics, although they are very useful in conditions of uncertainty, because they allow us to quickly create a first impression, lead to systematic errors and, if you know the problem, are predictable.
Representative heuristics are a label used to classify objects, individuals, and events. It uses stereotypes and similarity criteria, neglecting the calculation of probabilities. The following table describes in detail the experiment conceived by Kahneman.
Square solutions
Another technique can help in making a decision. It is proposed to divide a sheet of paper into four parts, writing down such questions in them:
Each of the questions should be answered as detailed as possible. At the same time it is important to maintain sincerity to yourself.
When all parts are complete, a clear picture will be formed that will help decide what to do.
Episodes of his life, related to the predictable, more emotionally attractive will have a predominant role in determining the forecast. Modeling heuristics is a variant of accessibility heuristics, and it is that as a result of a negative event, alternative scenarios can be presented that could avoid this. This simulation emotionally conveys the predictor, changing the perception and memory of the event.
Heuristics of binding and placement are used in cases where we have to express an opinion on a specific topic. To do this, we evaluate our position on this issue compared to the control point, and then, adjusting, we ripen the final decision. The problem is that the point that we initially choose as a reference strongly condenses the final decision, because we can no longer get rid of this “mental outlook”.
Methods that are designed to help make a decision, many. All of them are interesting and good in their own way. However, we must not forget that all these are only tools. For them to work, you need a master - the one who will send them where they need to achieve the best result. This master is you. And your skill depends on whether you know what you want, whether you are ready to take responsibility for your decisions and take actions to implement them.
The triumph of prejudice: an experiment in representative heuristics. To illustrate how representativeness heuristics work, Kahneman and Tversky described an experiment they did. Happening. Consider a man named Steve, who is described by an old neighbor: Steve is a very timid person who tends to look. He is always ready to help others, but does not show much interest in the world and the people around him. He is quiet, remitting and feels the need for an order; he also has a passion for detail.
How will people assess the likelihood that he will have one of the following professions: a farmer, a salesman, a pilot plane, a librarian or a physicist? How will people determine whether Steve is more or less likely to work among the listed opportunities? Result. Using representativeness heuristics, the likelihood that Steve was a librarian was rated by the experiment participants as the most likely, because Steve's description made him representative of the "librarian stereotype."
Don't let the decision making process steal your time.
Script you know. Before making a decision, you must weigh the pros and cons. Take into account the uncertainty, time factors, security issues. Decisions need to be made in the office, in the bedroom, in the kitchen and in the classroom. All day. Everyday. It puts pressure on our brains every time we try to decide whether to let our children play in the park, get on the bus, or better walk. You spend too much time making decisions. Below are 6 practical ways to speed up this process. And they also provide a unique opportunity to look into the decision-making process itself.
1. Try not to get it.
You know the situation when you start thinking about a solution. You spend too much time arguing over all these “ifs,” “but,” and “what ifs.” There is one practical way to avoid all this: a deadline must be set. You tell yourself that you must make the decision within half an hour, an hour, or a little more. This circumstance will force you to make a decision and avoid unnecessary delays.
2. Try to narrow the problem
Write down what exactly makes the decision so difficult. It is likely that things are complicated by the lack of proper motivation, peer pressure, parental intervention. Then take some time to think about your goals. Finally, think about all the consequences of the decision you make.
3. Try to simulate a failure
We all make the wrong decisions. Sometimes we remember our lives, and we are horrified by the number of bad decisions that we made. However, we must be able to learn from them. We should expect failure, and learn from it. One day you will realize that a bad decision is a real opportunity, and this will help you speed up the decision making process.
4. Try to recognize your cognitive biases and allow yourself to process and accept other points of view.
"Our brain accepts what the eyes see and the eye searches for everything the brain wants," Daniel Gilbert
The subjective way in which we perceive the world is known in psychology as “cognitive distortion.” This affects our decisions. This is very well explained in the book of Daniel Gilbert. This type of cognitive prejudice can take many forms. One example is the so-called "confirmation bias".
Maybe you do not know about it, but you are attracted to people whose views are similar to yours. You visit sites or news sources confirming your worldview. The problem is that while it is convenient for you, you often ignore or miss the views that are just as relevant, but do not fit into your picture of the world.
Because of the Internet, this problem has become even more, because it has become much easier to find a huge number of people who share your point of view, and as a result your picture of the world will become even stronger.
When we have to decide something, we don’t know exactly how much this confirmation bias will affect the decision making.
Awareness of the limitations of our worldview and the search for other opinions will allow us to take a more rational and less subjective decision.
5. Try to save time, focusing on the experience of other people, rather than repeating your own mistakes.
Before you buy a car of a certain model, you can talk to someone who already has this model. The opinion and experience of this person can save you time to make a decision. If you have to decide on which treatment option to choose, if you are sick, it is often useful to know the personal impressions of those who have already gone through such treatment. Researchers say that it helps a lot to make decisions, but at the same time they warn you that the information you receive must be based on facts.
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