The Secret Life of the Mind: How Our Brain Thinks, Feels and Decides

This experiment illustrates a much more general concept. Many of our emotional and social decisions are much more stereotypical than we recognize. In general, this mechanism is masked by the mystery of the unconscious and, therefore, we do not perceive the process of deliberation. But it is there, in the underground workings of an apparatus that may have been forged long before we were able even to begin pondering these questions.

In short, decisions that are based on hunches and intuition, which because they are unconscious are often perceived as magical, spontaneous and unfounded, are actually regulated and sometimes markedly stereotypical. According to the mechanical virtues and limitations of our awareness, it seems wise to delegate ‘simple’ decisions to rational thought and leave the complex ones to our smell, sweat and heart.

Believing, knowing, trusting

When making a decision, in addition to carrying out the chosen option, the brain generates a belief. That is what we perceive as trust or conviction in what we are doing. Sometimes we buy a chocolate bar at a kiosk, certain that it’s exactly what we want. Other times we walk away hoping that the chocolate sweetens our frustration at knowing we haven’t chosen well. The treat is the same, but the bitter perception of having made a clumsy decision is very different.