Evidence is reviewed which suggests that there may be little or no direct introspective access to higher order cognitive processes. Subjects are sometimes (a) unaware of the existence a stimulus importantly influenced response, (b) and (c) has affected response. It proposed when people attempt report on their processes, is, processes mediating effects they do not so basis any true introspection. Instead, reports based priori, implicit causal theories, judgments about extent particular...

Two different videotaped interviews were staged with the same individual-a college instructor who spoke English a European accent.In one of was warm and friendly, in other, cold distant.The subjects saw rated his appearance, mannerisms, accent as appealing, whereas those these attributes irritating These results indicate that global evaluations person can induce altered person's attributes, even when there is sufficient information to allow for independent assessments them.Furthermore,...

Preface 1. Freud's Genius, Myopia 2. The Adaptive Unconscious 3. Who's in Charge? 4. Knowing Who We Are 5. Why 6. How Feel 7. Will 8. Introspection and Self-Narratives 9. Looking Outward to Know Ourselves 10. Observing Changing Our Behavior Notes Bibliography Index

People are generally unaware of the operation system cognitive mechanisms that ameliorate their experience negative affect (the psychological immune system), and thus they tend to overestimate duration affective reactions events. This tendency was demonstrated in 6 studies which participants overestimated dissolution a romantic relationship, failure achieve tenure, an electoral defeat, personality feedback, account child's death, rejection by prospective employer. Participants failed...

People base many decisions on affective forecasts, predictions about their emotional reactions to future events. They often display an impact bias, overestimating the intensity and duration of such One cause bias is focalism, tendency underestimate extent which other events will influence our thoughts feelings. Another people's failure anticipate how quickly they make sense things that happen them in a way speeds recovery. This especially true when predicting negative events: fail cope...

This study tested the prediction that introspecting about reasons for one's preferences would reduce satisfaction with a consumer choice. Subjects evaluated two types of posters and then chose one to take home. Those instructed think their different type poster than control subjects and, when contacted 3 weeks later, were less satisfied When people reasons, they appear focus on attributes stimulus are easy verbalize seem like plausible but may not be important causes initial evaluations....

In previous anchoring studies people were asked to consider an anchor as a possible answer the target question or given informative anchors. The authors predicted that basic effects can occur, whereby uninformative numerical anchors influence judgment even when are not compare this number value. Five supported these hypotheses: Basic occurs if pay sufficient attention value; knowledgeable less susceptible effects; appears operate unintentionally and nonconsciously in it is difficult avoid...

Long-standing social problems such as poor achievement, personal and intergroup conflict, bad health, unhappiness can seem like permanent features of the landscape. We describe an approach to rooted in basic theory research psychology. This emphasizes subjective meaning-making-working hypotheses people draw about themselves, other people, situations; how deleterious meanings arise from cultural contexts; interventions change help flourish; initial become embedded alter course people's lives....

In 11 studies, we found that participants typically did not enjoy spending 6 to 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing do but think, they enjoyed doing mundane external activities much more, and many preferred administer electric shocks instead of being left alone their thoughts. Most people seem prefer be something rather than nothing, even if is negative.

We propose a model of affective adaptation, the processes whereby responses weaken after one or more exposures to emotional events. Drawing on previous research, our approach, represented by acronym AREA, holds that people attend self-relevant, unexplained events, react emotionally these explain reach an understanding and thereby adapt events (i.e., they less have weaker reactions them). report tests new predictions about people's pleasurable discuss implications for how cope with negative...

The authors hypothesized that uncertainty following a positive event prolongs the pleasure it causes and people are generally unaware of this effect uncertainty. In 3 experimental settings, experienced (e.g., received an unexpected gift dollar coin attached to index card) under conditions certainty or was easy difficult make sense text on card). As predicted, people's moods lasted longer in uncertain conditions. results were consistent with paradox, whereby cognitive processes used events...

Uncertainty has been defined as a lack of information about an event and characterized aversive state that people are motivated to reduce.The authors propose uncertainty intensification hypothesis, whereby during emotional makes unpleasant events more pleasant pleasant.The hypothesized this would happen even when is limited the feeling "not knowing," separable from information.In 4 studies, held positive negative film clips constant while varying not knowing by having repeat phrases...

Loss aversion occurs because people expect losses to have greater hedonic impact than gains of equal magnitude. In two studies, predicted that in a gambling task would magnitude, but when actually gambled, did not as much an emotional they predicted. People overestimated the underestimated their tendency rationalize and dwell on losses. The asymmetrical was thus more property affective forecasts experience.