Rapid Decision-Making and Intuition Vocabulary

A comprehensive vocabulary review set covering key terms, psychological concepts, influential researchers, and illustrative case studies from the lecture on rapid decision-making.

Adaptive unconscious

The mental system that rapidly processes information outside conscious awareness and produces automatic judgments.

Thin-slicing

Making judgments based on a small amount of information.

Snap judgment

An immediate decision or impression.

Intuition

An immediate feeling or judgment without deliberate reasoning.

Implicit bias

An unconscious association that can influence behavior.

Explicit bias

A consciously held attitude or belief.

Priming

When exposure to one stimulus influences later thoughts or behavior.

Verbal overshadowing

When describing an experience verbally interferes with accurate memory or recognition.

Microexpression

A very brief facial expression that may reveal an emotion.

Somatic marker

An emotional/physical response associated with an experience that helps guide decisions.

Warren Harding Error

Judging a person based on superficial characteristics, especially appearance.

Expertise

Knowledge/skill developed through experience that can improve rapid pattern recognition.

Overthinking

Using excessive conscious analysis that can interfere with effective decision-making.

Frugality

Using only the necessary information rather than processing everything.

Getty statue

An artifact that experts recognized as fake almost immediately, demonstrating how expertise allows people to recognize patterns without consciously explaining their reasoning.

IAT

Implicit Association Test; a test designed to reveal unconscious associations between different concepts.

Millennium Challenge

A simulated war game in which Paul Van Riper's opposing force defeated a technologically superior U.S. military force, illustrating the advantages of flexibility, intuition, and decentralized decision-making.

Goldman Algorithm

A simple decision-making rule based on a few important variables that can sometimes outperform complicated professional judgment.

New Coke

A product launch that demonstrated how controlled testing may fail to capture emotional, cultural, and contextual factors influencing real-world choices.

Diallo case

An event illustrating how stress, unconscious bias, and rapid perception can distort judgment and produce disastrous consequences.

Abbie Conant

Trombonist whose blind audition demonstrates how removing irrelevant information—such as appearance—can reduce bias and improve decision-making.

Malcolm Gladwell

Author and journalist who explains the psychology of rapid decision-making.

John Gottman

Psychologist studying relationships and marriage prediction.

Vic Braden

Tennis coach known for predicting double faults.

Antonio Damasio

Neuroscientist who studies the relationship between emotion and decision-making.

Warren G. Harding

U.S. president used as an example that an attractive appearance does not equal competence.

Anthony Greenwald

Psychologist associated with the Implicit Association Test.

Paul Van Riper

Marine Corps general who commanded the opposing force in the Millennium Challenge.

Lee Goldman

Cardiologist who developed a simple heart-attack algorithm.

Paul Ekman

Psychologist who specializes in facial expressions and microexpressions.

Gavin de Becker

Threat-assessment expert specializing in reading warning signs.