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Why we're right to trust our gut instincts: Scientists discover first decision IS the right one | Mail Online

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Whywe'rerighttotrustourgutinstincts: ScientistsdiscoverfirstdecisionIStheright one

ByLeonWatson UPDATED:18:05GMT,30August2011

54 View comments

Goonyourgutfeelingwhensettinggoalsbecausemoreoftenthannotit'llberight,researchershave revealed. AccordingtoastudybyCanada'sUniversityofAlberta,whenitcomestoworkingoutwherethefuture liesyourunconsciousmindisbothsmarterthanyouthinkandcanbeagreatmotivator. AlbertaSchoolofBusinessresearcherSarahMooreandcolleaguesfromDukeandCornelluniversities sayunconsciousfeelingsaboutobjectsintheenvironmentinfluencethepursuitoflongtermgoals.

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Why we're right to trust our gut instincts: Scientists discover first decision IS the right one | Mail Online

Exploringthemind:Arepresentationofaman'sbrain

Gowithyourinstinct:Researcherssayourfirstthoughtisoftenourbest

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Why we're right to trust our gut instincts: Scientists discover first decision IS the right one | Mail Online

Theirstudyexploreshowtheunconsciousmindrespondstoobjectsinrelationtoanindividual'sgoals andhowtheunconsciouscontinuestoinfluencefeelingsabouttheseobjectsoncethegoalsare reached,whetherornottheoutcomehasbeensuccessful. 'Inthepastfewyears,werecognisedthatsomeof[Sigmund]Freud'sideasontheunconsciousmind were,infact,correctandthatalotofourdecisionmakingandalotofourfeelingsarebasedonthings thatwe'renotreallyawareof,'saidMoore,whoisanassistantprofessorintheAlbertaSchoolof Business. 'Inourstudy,welookedathowourunconsciousfeelingsaboutobjectsintheenvironmentinfluence howwepursuegoals.' Moorenotespreviousstudieshaveshownwhenitcomestoshortterm,finitegoals,suchasresponding tobasicneedslikethirstorhunger,theunconsciouswillevaluateobjectsandformpreferencesbased onwhethertheobjectwillhelpanindividualachievethegoal. Shesaysinthecaseofthirst,itemssuchasawaterfountainorabottleofCokewillbeseenfavourably, whileachocolatebarorKFCsignwouldnot.

Psychoanalyst:ResearcherssaytheirstudyconfirmstheoriesabouttheunconsciousmindbySigmundFreud,pictured

However,sheexplainsthat,oncethegoalisreached,thosesameobjectswillbeevaluateddifferently. 'Onceyourthirstisquenched,youdon'tevaluatethewaterfountainpositivelyanymorebecauseyou've accomplishedthegoal,'shesaid.'Buttherearedifferenceswhenwelookatlongtermgoals.'

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Why we're right to trust our gut instincts: Scientists discover first decision IS the right one | Mail Online

Moore'sresearchfocusedonlongertermgoals,suchasgettinginshapeorundertakingeducational pursuits. Forbothtypesofgoals,shesays,theprocessissimilarinthattheunconsciousidentifiesandresponds topositivelytoobjectsandtriggersintheenvironmentthatsupportthegoal. However,theunconsciousdealsdifferentlywiththeseobjectsduringprogresstowardslongtermgoals. Mooresays,unlikewithshorttermfinitegoals,theunconsciouswillcontinuetopositivelyvalueobjects relatedtothelongtermgoalsevenafteralevelofsuccesshasbeenachieved. Shesaysthisphenomenonpointstotheindeterminatenatureofthegoal. 'Insomesense,we'renever"finished"longtermgoals,'saidMoore. 'Ifwesuccessfullyfinishthesmallstepstowardourlongtermgoals,itbecomesacycle:wetakeasmall step,wesucceed,wefeelgoodaboutittherefore,wecontinuetofeelgoodaboutthelongtermgoal. 'Thisprocessmakesusmorelikelytotakethenextsmallsteptowardachievingthatgoal.' Whatwassurprisingfortheresearcherswashowparticipantsintheirstudyreactedtoobjectsaftera failure. Whiletheresearchersexpectedtheparticipantswhofailedtoreactnegativelyorexpressdislikefor objectsrelatedtotheirtestgoal,Mooreandhercolleaguesfoundthatfailureresultedinaneutralview oftheobjects. 'Youdon'thatetheobjectsrelatedtothegoalbecausethatgoalisveryimportanttoyouinthelong run,'saidMoore. 'Yourunconsciousistellingyou'nowisnotthetimetopursuethegoal.Youjustfailed,let'sleaveit aloneforawhile. 'We'renotgoingtopursuetheseobjectsintheenvironmentwe'regoingtoswitchtosomeothergoal.' FROMTHEWEB
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Comments(54)
Sharewhatyouthink Newest Oldest Bestrated Worstrated Viewall Reportcomment M.Coates,PRESTON,2yearsago Seemslikethatstrue.TheTorypartyshouldhavegonewiththeirfirstvoteforleaderoftheparty,DavidDavies,andwe would'nthaveendedupwiththecomedyduowearenowlumberedwith. 1 5 Clicktorate Reportcomment na,uk,2yearsago FoxMulderalwayswentwithhisgutinstinctandwasalwaysright 1 12 Clicktorate

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Why we're right to trust our gut instincts: Scientists discover first decision IS the right one | Mail Online

Reportcomment JeddMcHead,Jeddville,USA,2yearsago Mygutfeelingisthatthisstudywasahorridwasteoftaxpayerfundedresearchgrantmoney. 12 7 Clicktorate Reportcomment LukeJohn,LosAngeles,CA,2yearsago SoIreallyshouldhavefollowedmyinstinctsandmadewild,passionatelovetothatmoviestarIsawatLAXtheother day....NicethoughtforaslowWednesdayanyway.o) 5 5 Clicktorate Reportcomment ErnestoDePesto,ColumbiaS.C.USA,2yearsago Myinitialgutfeelinguponreadingthisisthatitwassomewhatcircularandchaoticandthereforehaslittlemerit.Which lendscreedencetotheideathatthebasisofthesefindingswerederivedassubjectparticipantsweresimplyOBSERVED inspecificandcontrolledcircumstances.ThenagainI'vefoundmereobservationinandofitselftobeatadrudimentary! SometimeswehavetodigdeepertominetheTRUEemotionalpaydirt!Thuswecandiagramthesourceofthepain,then liveit............ 8 3 Clicktorate Reportcomment commonsense,SanDiego,CAUSA,2yearsago Isagutfeelingbasedonemotion,intellect,orboth...? 2 2 Clicktorate Reportcomment Ace,Kauai,2yearsago Duh!Ittookauniversityresearchteamtolearnwhathasbeenuniversallyacceptedforacouplethousandyears.If researchgrantfundsareavailablethesestinktankswillstudyanything 3 4 Clicktorate Reportcomment BenS.,RockyHill,USA,2yearsago AssoonasIsawthegoofymulticoloredbraingraphic,Iknewthisstorywasgoingtobewrittenatalowintellectuallevel.I guessyoucouldsaythatsupportsthetitleofthearticle,whereasthebodyofthearticledoesnot.Theresearchers,tothe extentthattheirresearchisdescribed,explainhowemotionalresponsescanaidthepursuitofgoals.Thereisno evidencementionedthatsnapdecisionsbasedsolelyontheseresponsesaresuperiortothosemadeaftermore reasonedconsideration,whichwouldhavetobetruefor'goingwithyourgut',ratherthanyourmind,tobeadvisable.It wouldcertainlybehelpfulifMr.Watsonwouldprovidethetitleoftheoriginalresearchpaperunfortunately,itwouldbe morehelpfulthanthemajorityofscience'journalists'are. 4 14 Clicktorate Reportcomment JohnBurson,UnitedStates,2yearsago

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Why we're right to trust our gut instincts: Scientists discover first decision IS the right one | Mail Online

Mostlyalotofbs.RemindsmeofthehighlyratedbutlatershowntobeabsurdstudiesfromDukeafewdecadesagoon paranormalbehavior.Thereisstilllittleinthewayofquantifiableandreproduciblestudiesintheseareas. 4 2 Clicktorate Reportcomment gram,USA,2yearsago Sciencewouldhavearrivedatthisconclusionsooner...buttheywouldn'tlistentotheir..ahem..gutfeelingaboutit. 2 29 Clicktorate TheviewsexpressedinthecontentsabovearethoseofourusersanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsofMailOnline.

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