Fast Thinking

A couple of weeks ago I read an article which was based on an interview with Professor Daniel Kahneman, Psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002.  Reading the article reminded me of a Horizon documentary I watched a couple of months ago called How You Really Make Decisions which was based on the work of Kahneman, who along with friend a collaborator, the late Amos Tversky, established a basis for common human errors which arise from biases.  At the heart of his work is the idea that when we think we use two systems; fast System 1 which is automatic, effortless and intuitive, and System 2 which comes into operation when we need to stop and think about more complex questions.  The problem is that System 2 is often lazy and will form mental shortcuts to simplify complex questions. The understanding of this led to the establishment of Behavioural Economics, the study of the effects of social, cognitive and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions, which is why Kahneman received the Nobel Prize for Economics rather than Psychology.

In his book, 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' Kahneman states that we are not rational creatures but instinctive ones and the decisions we make are fast and often innaccurate, based on systematic errors which recur predictably in particular circumstances without us being aware.  Therefore if we want to make better decisions, we should be aware of these biases. The good news is that we have the ability to reflect on our biases so that we can minimise their effect and overcome them.  It's important to realise that our beliefs are not always anchored in reason and we should know when to distrust fast thinking and use slow thinking to keep our natural impulse in check.

"It's far easier to identify and label the mistakes of others than to recognise our own"
Professor Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2012)

Further Reading
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-thought-father-nobel-prizewinning-psychologist-daniel-kahneman-on-luck-9199162.html

Mindsets

A while ago I came accross an article titled 'the right mindset for success' which was a transcript of an interview with Carol Dwek, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.  According to Dwek, people can be differentiated according to their views of where ability comes from.  Those with a 'fixed' mindset believe their basic abilities, intelligence and talents are just fixed traits, whereas those with a 'growth' mindset understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, teaching and persistence. 

Most people are not aware of their own mindset, but it is especially evident in their reaction to failure.  Fixed mindset individuals dread failure because it is a negative statement on their basic abilities, while growth mindset individuals don't mind or fear failure because they realise their performance can be improved and learning comes from failure.  According to Dwek, an individual's mindset impacts how they face and cope with challenges and can play an important role in all aspects of life. Dwek argues that the growth mindset will allow a person to live a less stressful and more successful life.

In the book 'How To Win' Dr Rob Yeung suggests that most people have parts of both the fixed and growth mindset, rather than believing that all attributes are 100% innate or trainable. His view is that your current beliefs are only a starting point and that you can shift your mindset by understanding it.

A mindset is an established set of attitudes that predetermine a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. It is not just confined to a fixed or growth mindset but can also relate to other views such as whether you have a positive or negative image of yourself and others, whether you view people as friendly or unfriendly, or whether you view the world is welcoming or hostile.

It's important to note that although your mindset can influence your personality, it's not part of it and is based on beliefs that are changeable. It's worth spending some time thinking about the mindset you have as it can distort your perceptions of events and can greatly influence your behaviour. 

You can challenge your mindset and decide which thoughts are constructive and which are destructive and choose the right mindset to approach life.

Further Reading

http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/01/the-right-mindset-for-success/