Thin-slicing
Encyclopedia
Thin-slicing is a term used in psychology and philosophy to describe the ability to find patterns in events based only on "thin slices," or narrow windows, of experience. The term seems to have been coined in 1992 by Nalini Ambady
and Robert Rosenthal
in a paper in the Psychological Bulletin
.
One of the first series conducted by James Bugental
and his colleagues showed that parents expectancies, identified from brief clips of their tone, are related to their children's behavior process. The tone of a mother with a normal child and the tone of a mother with behavior problems differed significantly. These conceptions provide an underlying basis that there actually is an ability to judge from brief observations. Research in classrooms has shown that judges can distinguish biased teachers from unbiased teachers along with "differential teacher expectancies" simply from brief clips of teachers' behaviors. Likewise, research in the courtroom has shown that brief experts of judges' instructors to jurors in trials, raters could predict the judge's expectations for the trial.
The term thin-slicing means making very quick decisions with minimal amounts of information. Thinking has always been described as a conscious effort. Henri Cartier-Bresson
called thinking a "decisive moment" of consciousness, but in reality thin-slicing is an unconscious
behavior. Thin-slicing also has a key affect in biological and sociocultural effects. In one of Nalini Ambady
's experiments, she reminded the female Asian students about their gender or their ethnicity prior to taking a math test. There are many prevailing social stereotypes that suggest women are not good at math and Asians are good at math. Her study showed that subtly cuing students' gender or ethnic identities affects their performance. The individuals whose ethnicity was cued scored higher than the students whose gender was cued.
written by Malcolm Gladwell
. In this book, the author goes through and describes interesting examples and research which exploit the idea of thin-slicing.
conducted two separate studies of processing style (intuitive
vs. deliberative processing) in a deception detection task. In the first experiment, a thin-slicing manipulation was used to show that intuitive processing can lead to more accurate judgments of deception when compared with traditional forms of processing. In the second experiment, participants who engaged in a second task performed more accurately in a deception task than participants who were asked to provide a verbal rationale for each decision. The results converged suggest that intuitive processing can significantly improve deception detection performances.
, Department of Psychology. In the first study, induced sadness led to reduced accuracy in judgments of teacher effectiveness from brief samples of nonverbal behavior. In the second study, sad participants showed reduced accuracy in judging relationship type from thin-slices as well as diminished judgmental efficiency. Study 3 showed the possibility that sadness impairs accuracy by promoting a more deliberative information-processing style. All of these studies have the basic principle that emotions do in fact affect judgement as seen through affects on thin-slicing.
has led many people to question the ability. Many people agree though that Dr. Phil's method of thin-slicing is detrimental to people's destructive behaviors. Individuals also believe that the effects of the phenomenon known as déjà vu
happen within the same time frame of thin-slicing and might also have a direct correlation.
Many other uses of thin-slicing are implied and seen throughout the media such as firemen making split-second decisions, or cops knowing something is wrong by simply a gut feeling. All these imply and show that thin-slicing actually occurs and is a fact of life that actually occurs within everyone.
Nalini Ambady
Nalini Ambady is a social psychologist. She is currently Professor and Neubauer Faculty Fellow at Tufts University in the Department of Psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University in 1991 under the guidance or Robert Rosenthal, with whom she researched thin slice...
and Robert Rosenthal
Robert Rosenthal (psychologist)
Robert Rosenthal is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. His interests include self-fulfilling prophecies, which he explored in a well-known study of the Pygmalion Effect: the effect of teachers' expectations on students.Rosenthal was born in Giessen,...
in a paper in the Psychological Bulletin
Psychological Bulletin
Psychological Bulletin is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in literature reviews. It was founded by Johns Hopkins psychologist James Mark Baldwin in 1904 immediately after he had bought out James McKeen Cattell's share of Psychological Review, which the two had founded ten years...
.
History and overview
Many different studies have shown indication that brief observations can be used to assess outcomes, at levels higher than expected by chance. Once comparing these observations of less than five minutes, to greater than five minutes the data showed no significant change, thus implying that observations made within the first few minutes were unchanging.One of the first series conducted by James Bugental
James Bugental
James Frederick Taylor Bugental was one of the predominant theorists and advocates of the Existential-Humanistic Therapy movement. He was a therapist, teacher and writer for over 50 years. He received his Ph.D...
and his colleagues showed that parents expectancies, identified from brief clips of their tone, are related to their children's behavior process. The tone of a mother with a normal child and the tone of a mother with behavior problems differed significantly. These conceptions provide an underlying basis that there actually is an ability to judge from brief observations. Research in classrooms has shown that judges can distinguish biased teachers from unbiased teachers along with "differential teacher expectancies" simply from brief clips of teachers' behaviors. Likewise, research in the courtroom has shown that brief experts of judges' instructors to jurors in trials, raters could predict the judge's expectations for the trial.
The term thin-slicing means making very quick decisions with minimal amounts of information. Thinking has always been described as a conscious effort. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
called thinking a "decisive moment" of consciousness, but in reality thin-slicing is an unconscious
Unconscious
Unconscious might refer to:In physiology:* unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuliIn psychology:...
behavior. Thin-slicing also has a key affect in biological and sociocultural effects. In one of Nalini Ambady
Nalini Ambady
Nalini Ambady is a social psychologist. She is currently Professor and Neubauer Faculty Fellow at Tufts University in the Department of Psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University in 1991 under the guidance or Robert Rosenthal, with whom she researched thin slice...
's experiments, she reminded the female Asian students about their gender or their ethnicity prior to taking a math test. There are many prevailing social stereotypes that suggest women are not good at math and Asians are good at math. Her study showed that subtly cuing students' gender or ethnic identities affects their performance. The individuals whose ethnicity was cued scored higher than the students whose gender was cued.
Blink
One of the most influential books on thin-slicing is BlinkBlink (book)
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a 2005 book by Malcolm Gladwell. It presents in popular science format research from psychology and behavioral economics on the adaptive unconscious; mental processes that work rapidly and automatically from relatively little information...
written by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
. In this book, the author goes through and describes interesting examples and research which exploit the idea of thin-slicing.
- Gladwell describes how a museum purchases an Art Sculpture brought to the J. Paul Getty MuseumJ. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, under the name of Getty kourosGetty kourosThe Getty kouros is an over-life-sized statue in the form of a late archaic Greek kouros. The dolomitic marble sculpture was bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California, in 1985 for $7 million and first exhibited there in October 1986....
. Immediately, art experts looked through the sculpture and decided there was something wrong with it, a gut feeling which exhibited all the wrong signs. Yet under thorough investigation the sculpture was deemed real because of no solid evidence against the now known fake. After some given time, the statue was described to be a fake due to simple flaws found within the structures. The art sculptures were able to immediately analyze the situation and realize the fallibly of sculptural.
- Another example is explained through relationships. John GottmanJohn GottmanJohn Mordecai Gottman is a Ph.D. psychologist known for his work on marital stability and relationship analysis through scientific direct observations published in peer-reviewed literature...
, a well-known Marital expert, describes how within an hour of observing a couple, he can gather with 95% accuracy if the couple will be together within 15 years. His accuracy goes down to 90% if he observes the couples for more than 2 hours, proving the phenomenon of thin-slicing.
Experiments
Dr. Alberchsten and Dr. Meissner of the University of Texas at El PasoUniversity of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
conducted two separate studies of processing style (intuitive
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
vs. deliberative processing) in a deception detection task. In the first experiment, a thin-slicing manipulation was used to show that intuitive processing can lead to more accurate judgments of deception when compared with traditional forms of processing. In the second experiment, participants who engaged in a second task performed more accurately in a deception task than participants who were asked to provide a verbal rationale for each decision. The results converged suggest that intuitive processing can significantly improve deception detection performances.
Emotions
An individual's mood and judgments have been known to cause and/or disort cognitive abilities. Studies pertaining to judgments made during these time frames, aids the theory that emotions cloud rational concision thoughts. The three most influential studies were conducted by Nalini Ambady at the Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Department of Psychology. In the first study, induced sadness led to reduced accuracy in judgments of teacher effectiveness from brief samples of nonverbal behavior. In the second study, sad participants showed reduced accuracy in judging relationship type from thin-slices as well as diminished judgmental efficiency. Study 3 showed the possibility that sadness impairs accuracy by promoting a more deliberative information-processing style. All of these studies have the basic principle that emotions do in fact affect judgement as seen through affects on thin-slicing.
Uses in media
Dr. Phil, the television program is an example of thin-slicing. Dr. Phil's thin-slicing ability of cutting through "bull" and getting through to the main action of therapyTherapy
This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...
has led many people to question the ability. Many people agree though that Dr. Phil's method of thin-slicing is detrimental to people's destructive behaviors. Individuals also believe that the effects of the phenomenon known as déjà vu
Déjà vu
Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined...
happen within the same time frame of thin-slicing and might also have a direct correlation.
Many other uses of thin-slicing are implied and seen throughout the media such as firemen making split-second decisions, or cops knowing something is wrong by simply a gut feeling. All these imply and show that thin-slicing actually occurs and is a fact of life that actually occurs within everyone.