Magda Osman, a senior lecturer in psychology, has recently written about popular ideas about the unconscious mind and conscious thought. For complex decisions involving a wide range of parameters, is it best to decide using your ‘gut’ (more unconscious) instinct or conscious thought? Despite popular psychology advocating a trust your instincts approach, the evidence to date is quite mixed and it is difficult to find any reliable work which consistently demonstrates an advantage for unconscious thinking. Instead mental rehearsal of plans for action and imagining various alternative plans and their consequences, both improves physical activities in sport and mental activities involved, for example, in surgery or flying planes. The most effective way of making choices is to think through the consequences of the actions we plan, evaluate the information from the situation and be aware of our own motivations.
She concludes that the most reliable evidence to date demonstrates the importance of conscious thought in making the best decisions. Conscious processing, thinking about things, has an important role in supporting our decision making.
This article finds additional support in the real world by Richard Branson, who has recently written;
“One vital component of decision-making that is often overlooked is quiet contemplation. After looking at all the stats, speaking to all the experts and analysing all of the angles, then take some time to yourself to think things through clearly. Take a walk, find a shady spot, or simply sit and think for a while. Don’t delay unnecessarily — but don’t rush either. Get that balance right, and you are far more likely to make the right call.” (Pulse, LinkedIn 2015)
(full article: Magda Osman, Does our unconscious rule?, The Psychologist, p.114, 2015.)
By Dr Adrian Morton, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
