Body paragraph #3 is about your personal story of unconscious decision making.

2] After you post your paragraph, read some of your group mates’ work. Comment with a minimum of 5 sentences to help a group mate improve his/her paragraph, ask a question, and you can tell them specifically what they did well. You can talk about the topic sentence parts, transitions, main point sentences, context, quotations, and explanation sentences.

Body Paragraph #3 outline – your personal story of unconscious decision making

Transition + topic sentence: Agreeing or disagreeing with the author’s main idea that unconscious decision making can be very effective because of your personal experience of …

Explain the experience in vivid detail: Using transitions to move through time, tell us the story of the decision you had to make, why you needed to make it, how you made it, and the outcome. Include

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• Why?
• When?

After telling your story, connect it to an idea you learned in Gladwell’s text.

Transition + main idea sentence stating that unconscious decision making worked or or did not work in your situation and how this supports or negates the author’s claim. 

Context + quote from text that speaks to your main point.

Explanation of why you believe unconscious decision making worked / didn’t work/ or will work for you in future.

4C is:

1] Why is Vic Braden’s story important in terms of unconscious thinking?

Braden’s Blink explored how first impressions, intuitions, and judgments affect an individual’s rational thought. As humans, we are faced with the challenges brought by the world and sometimes, they can be quite difficult to overcome.

“The adaptive unconscious does an excellent job of sizing up the world, warning people of danger, setting goals, and initiating action in a sophisticated and efficient manner.” – Malcolm Gladwell, Blink, found on pg. 12

2] Why is the story of George Soros and his father important in terms of unconscious thinking?

George Soros is one of the most provocative thinker who values progressive ideals. This explains some of his failures and challenges that he went through in his career. 

“Our unconscious reactions come out of a locked room, and we can’t look inside that room. but with experience we become experts at using our behavior and our training to interpret – and decode – what lies behind our snap judgment and first impressions.”

3] Why is Bargh’s priming experiment important in terms of unconscious thinking?

Bargh’s priming experiment is important because it defines the unconscious. He also expounded on unconscious processing and the two steps needed to conduct the whole process.

We really only trust conscious decision making. But there are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world. The first task of Blink is to convince you of a simple fact: decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately.”

4] Why is the Steele & Aronson experiment important in terms of unconscious thinking?

Steele and Aronson’s Stereotype Threat suggests that it is a psychological threat that results from an individual doing something that is not what others expect. Usually, the act is related to a negative stereotype implied in the group. 

“I’ve been in auditions without screens, and I can assure you that I was prejudiced. I began to listen with my eyes, and there is no way that your eyes don’t affect your judgment. The only true way to listen is with your ears and your heart.” – Malcolm Gladwell, Blink, found on pg. 259

5] Why is Fisman and Lyengar’s experiment important in terms of unconscious thinking?

Fisman and Lyengar’s experiment showed that there are some things that we think about but are also unaware of. For instance, they defined the unconscious as a “locked room” where all of these feelings can be found.

“The answer is that we are not helpless in the face of our first impressions. They may bubble up from the unconscious – from behind a locked door inside of our brain – but just because something is outside of awareness doesn’t mean it’s outside of control.”

B] Considering what you have read about unconscious thinking, write down an experience in detail where you made a decision and went with your gut or instinct over a conscious decision process – what was the decision? Give lots of details about what you wanted and why you wanted it – be specific. Explain how you made the decision unconsciously – how did you feel? Did the decision work out well or go badly? Why?

I remember when I was applying to a school that I really like. I simply didn’t think of it much and I think I took inspiration from what I observed from my grandfather. I remember when I was younger, he always went for his instincts and I admire him for that. Maybe that’s why I had the guts to sign up and now I’m here! I would say that I’m proud of where I am now and I couldn’t be any happier.