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Unconscious thought not so smart after all

Nature volume 517, pages 537–538 (2015)Cite this article

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Study on decision-making stokes controversy over power of distracted mind.

If you have to make a complex decision, will you do a better job if you absorb yourself in, say, a crossword puzzle instead of ruminating about your options? The idea that unconscious thought is sometimes more powerful than conscious thought is attractive, and echoes ideas popularized by books such as writer Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling Blink.

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References

  1. Nieuwenstein, M. R. et al. Judge. Decis. Making 10, 1–17 (2015); available at http://journal.sjdm.org/14/14321/jdm14321.html

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Authors
  1. Alison Abbott
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Psychologists strike a blow for reproducibility 2013-Nov-26

Disputed results a fresh blow for social psychology 2013-Apr-30

Nobel laureate challenges psychologists to clean up their act 2012-Oct-03

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Many Labs Replication Project

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Abbott, A. Unconscious thought not so smart after all. Nature 517, 537–538 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/517537a

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