Surely you have ever experienced a “hunch” or a very marked inclination for this or that decision, and after a while, you could realize that this was the right decision, now a study confirms it, our first decision is the one that favors us the most .
Researchers have shown, according to scientific studies, that going in favor of our instincts when making decisions , will bring us closer to going in the right direction.
According to a study conducted by the University of Alberta, Canada, when it comes to working on a future decision, the unconscious mind is both more active and intelligent than you think and can be a great motivator.
The School of Business led by researcher Sarah Moore and her colleagues at Duke and Cornell University say that unconscious feelings about objects in the environment influence the achievement of long-term goals.
The study explores how the unconscious mind responds to objects in relation to an individual’s goals – and how the unconscious continues to influence the feelings of these objects once the goals are achieved, if the result has been successful.
In recent years, we have come to realize that some of Freud’s ideas about the unconscious are in fact correct and that much of our decision-making and a great deal of our feelings are based on things that we are not really about. conscious. In our study, we observed how our unconscious feelings about objects in the environment influence the way in which objectives are pursued.
Said Moore, who is an assistant professor at the Alberta Business School.
Moore notes that previous studies have shown that when it comes to short-term, finite goals, in response to basic needs such as thirst or hunger, the unconscious will evaluate objects and preferences based on whether the object helps. a person reach the goal.
She says that in the case of thirst, items like a water fountain or a bottle of Coke will look favorably, while a chocolate bar or KFC sign would not.
However, he explains that, once the goal is reached, those same objects will be evaluated differently.
“Once the thirst is quenched, the most positive water source is not going to be evaluated because it has achieved the goal,” he said. “But there are differences when we look at long-term goals.”
Moore’s research has focused on long-term goals, such as getting fit or doing educational activities.
For both types of goals, he says, the process is similar in that the unconscious identifies and responds positively to objects and triggers in the environment that supports the goal.
However, the unconscious deals with these objects differently during progress toward long-term goals.
Moore says that unlike limited short-term goals, the unconscious will follow valuables positively related to long-term goals, even after a level of success has been achieved.
She says that this phenomenon points to the indeterminacy of the goal.
“In a sense, long-term goals are never finished.”
“If we manage to finish the small steps towards our long-term goals, it becomes a cycle: a small step is taken, we succeed, we feel good about it, therefore, we continue to feel good about the long-term goal. . This process makes us more likely to take the next small step toward achieving that goal. ”
When there is a negative reaction to the decision or the goal is not reached, according to Moore, “Your unconscious is telling you ‘now is not the time to reach the goal. you just failed, let’s just leave it for a while. Now we are going to pursue another goal.