There’s a reason you keep making emotional decisions and it’s simpler than you might think

HAVE you ever made an important decision in a hurry? It turns out you’re not alone and there’s a reason you keep doing it.

13/7/05.. Generic photo for Depression , mentaly ill , Mental health Picture: SIMON DEAN Picture: Dean Simon

HAVE you ever made an important decision in a hurry? It turns out you’re not alone and there’s a reason you keep doing it.

Consider bidding for a house. Or buying a car. Or sleeping with a new partner for the first time. The rational part of your brain might tell you “no” but the emotional part of your brain is in charge.

Peter Ellerton, director of the Critical Thinking Project at the University of Queensland, said: “Our brains are hardwired to give us quick solutions otherwise we’d never get anything done.

“It makes sense that we make snap decisions and move on,” he told news.com.au.

Ellerton said as humans we convince ourselves that a decision is the right one even if it might be the wrong one.

“For the most important decisions in our lives we’re happiest to make snap judgments. We reject or accept evidence in a hurry.”

He said politicians, salesman and advertisers understand better than most the way the human brain operates and take advantage of our reluctance to wade through complex messages.

Take this week’s Budget, for example.

In an article for The Conversation, titled “Why politicians don’t want us to think, but opinions are okay”, Ellerton suggests politicians want us to “judge” rather than “think”.

“One thing has become a given in Australian politics: we will not be asked to think,” he said.

“The last thing politicians want is for us to analyse, synthesise, infer and evaluate. We might end up insisting they do the same, or that they outline their thinking for us to evaluate.”

Instead, he said, they want us to judge the merit of a course of action. And while we think we might be, we’re actually jumping to conclusions.

“Rigorous engagement with a complex issue is difficult and time-consuming. Judgments are frequently instantaneous and satisfying. It is easy to imagine we are thinking critically when we are merely leaping to conclusions.”

So what can we do about it?

Ellerton says it’s the job of people who want to sell us things — products, ideas — to keep us from thinking critically. It is our job to do the opposite.

“Are there times when we should be more critical? Yes. As long as you’re aware and evaluating, you’re doing the right thing.

“Critical thinking is about understanding your own brain. If you understand how your brain works then you can have an insight into how others might think as well.”