Intentionally Interrupt the Automacy of Heuristics

• Heuristics are an automatic mode of thinking, mental shortcuts that enable quick, effortless and often unconscious decisions and judgments.

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Impulses stem from the stimuli your senses detect and then these prompt you into decision-making. The impulse to make a snap decision is a natural function of human beings. It is due to the way the brain processes information. In automatic processing, the goal of the brain is to expedite the processing of incoming information so you take swift action. Similar to, but not quite like, natural instincts such as the instinct for self-preservation - known as the "survival instinct".

 

An impulse is like taking a short cut. Your brain defaults to the use of memory rather than thought. The brain generates the impulse for you to act in a way that you have used in the past to resolve a similar stimuli, even when the choice did not prove itself to be a thorough or long-term solution. Thus the difference between instinct and intention is a deliberate choice. Your brain is so efficient it just jumps into the action that you have normally taken. Both physical and mental heuristics combine to make everyday, snap decisions so you aren't weighed down with analyzing details for each of the thousands of decisions made per day. This is the efficiency of the brain, but it is not effective when trying to make change.

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The picture of the frog/horse head is an example that shows how quickly your brain produces snap judgements. It happens so fast you hardly know it's a process taking place. It's not until conscious awareness breaks through that you will interrupt the automacy so there is time to move from impulse to intentionally selecting thoughts with which to make a decision. The pictures above are an example of this ability of your mind to correct it's thinking. At first, you may have taken the picture of the frog at face value and didn't give it a second thought. (This may be one reason why you can't understand why old habits are hard to break.) It is not until someone points out an alternative view-the picture is a horse head- that prompts you to take a second look at the picture and make an intentional decision to respond to it. 

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Think of perception as shaping the way you interpret stimuli. Consider a black and white picture as a neutral, objective viewpoint. Now consider it as a color picture. The color, if you will, makes it vulnerable to a subjective, biased view. This is what skews your human perspective, giving its personal uniqueness. The stimuli (or trigger) moves your brain to assess the situation in a way that draws upon a memory of how you took prior action to a similar feeling or circumstance in the past. The brain automation process channels and organizes details so that it can take swift action on all the random triggers that pop up in your life over and over again. It is perception that colors the TV screen. Your perception cannot change the channel, but it can decide to remain engaged in what's on. It takes a second thought to produce the action of changing the channel.

 

Applying Snap Judgements to Intentional Living

At best, perception can be an efficient and effective way to deal with an issue. Where it becomes misleading is when you are trying to do something new and you have not yet developed the visual and physical habits that can replace the old ones. This could be one reason your anticipated change regarding addiction doesn’t materialize. For example, one of the thoughts that may have sprang up in your head in response to a certain stimuli might be a  memory, one in the form of a familiar habit. It could be as simple as being at a party and seeing a keg of beer. Before you know it, you've poured yourself a glass without even giving your brain an intentional direction.

 

Perception - your personal reality - cushions and shades how you interpret stimuli so you can react with a quick decision. You (We) may sometimes implement a thought because it feels comfortable ... like something you saw modeled in your home in childhood (dysfunctional or not). The brain's goal is efficiency; its method is impulsive, not intentional. Past decisions become automated responses unless you think otherwise. This is somewhat easier to see when applied to your body language; facial expressions, posture, etc.. Until this pattern is intentionally interrupted, it won't change.

• When someone draws your attention to the fact that the picture can also be a horse head, how do you react?

• Will you take a second look with a more open mindset and entertain a different conclusion?

• How do you feel about change?

 

Be Open to Growing Your Perception

Open-mindedness is a personality trait that describes a way in which some people consider things outside your frame of reference (another word for perception). The more open-minded you are, the more you are able to grow your own perspective. This sounds easy, like it's something you do automatically, but do you? There are a few biases that are formed in association with brain functioning that can alter snap judgements, these are mostly helpful short cuts. Being aware that snap judgements can be wrong and that biases exist will help you be more intentional to grow through life making better decisions, rather than getting stuck and spinning your wheels. Be open to giving some things a second look/thought.

 

For example, due to the comfort zone bias, you want to believe your that first initial interpretation of the stimulus is correct causing you to implement a decision in the present that you have used in the past, even when it didn't produce the best consequences. Even when you are aware that you use this comfort zone bias, another one to be aware of is the "belief perseverance" bias; continuing to apply the first solution you learned to a continuing problem (even though it's never worked). Together these cause a tendency for you to automatically choose a familiar, efficient action over the most appropriate action.

 

The dangers of a closed-minded or limited perspective is that when you are presented with information that is outside of your frame of reference or "comfort zone", your first impulse/thought may be to reject the information and, in so doing, inadvertently discard the Truth. Perception even shapes the way you anticipate the future and is why perception and attitude are so closely aligned. Knowing this tendency arms you with a readiness to address it.