Mental heuristics can be misleadingīy relying on mental rules of thumb to make decisions, we often make mistakes. Perhaps the most important finding was upon following up with the children years later, where researchers discovered that the children who’d resisted the marshmallow were more successful in life financially, health-wise and socially.

In the experiment, only 30% of children used their reflective system to wait out the 15 minutes and receive their reward. The children who elected to ignore the marshmallow, however, were utilising their reflective system, dictated by reason and logic and potential future consequences of the choice. Often automatic responses happen before we even have time to consciously consider them (or the consequences), so the fight or flight response in a life-threatening situation. The children who chose to eat the marshmallow immediately were responding to their automatic system, which analyses sensory data (in the form of the juicy visual image and smell of a sweet treat) before initiating an automatic response. The children were told that they could have one marshmallow now or if they waited, could have two when the researcher returned. Perhaps the most example of irrational decision making is the marshmallow experiment, where children were positioned at a table with a marshmallow before them. Our choices are determined by two opposing systems: the automatic and reflective. Rather than being evidence-based, our decision-making is rooted in transient emotion and mysterious subconscious processes.Īll of the decisions we make, big and small, are the result of a myriad of previous, unknown influences, wielding power over us. We’re often incredibly contradictory creatures, full of inconsistencies and biases. We tend to view ourselves as rational thinkers, making intelligent choices based upon the available evidence, acting in congruence with our beliefs.

Ted talk the art of choosing