In a seemingly endless dance of everyday life, most decisions are made unnoticed, like moving shadows guided by our instinctive thinking. Decision-making is like a complex dance between two systems: 'system 1' and 'system 2' thinking. They play a crucial role in making choices and guiding behaviour in different situations. Find out how this works out in your dance performance.
The first dance moves: The 'system 2' thinking
Imagine: you are on the dance floor for the first time, ready to learn how to dance salsa. You are inundated with a wealth of information to process. Practising dance steps, coordinating movements, responding to the music - all these tasks require conscious attention and effort. It's like an intricate choreography in which your brain catches and implements all the elements as you learn to do it: 'system 2' thinking.
From step to step: From 'system 2' to 'system 1' thinking
In the beginning, it takes a lot of energy and often things go wrong. Your brain struggles with the many movements it has to perform. But as you gain more experience, the process begins to shift from 'system 2' to 'system 1'. Practising the dance moves, spinning to the music, adapting to the choreography - all this becomes intuitive. Your brain has learned how to perform these moves and is now doing it automatically, without much conscious effort.
Smooth moves: 'System 1' thinking
'System 1' now comes into action. It is like a fluid dance in which your behaviour is guided by intuition and automatism. Your brain has learned to react quickly to the music, your dance partner's movements and the space around you, without conscious thought.
But watch out, because even at this stage, focus is still important. A moment of distraction, like that handsome appearance along the stage, can disrupt synchronisation just like that, causing you to reactivate 'system 2'.
The harmony of any dance performance
Decision-making turns out to be a real dance performance. While 'system 2' guides us in the learning process and demands conscious attention, 'system 1' ultimately takes the lead, guided by intuition and automatism. It is a dance of learning, growing and ultimately relying on our intuition to move us fluidly through the complex (consumer) world. Understanding the decision-making process is not only fun to grasp your own dance, but all the more essential to understand your consumer's needs in order to find a lasting dance partner. Time for a new dance: cha cha cha!
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