Passage 1

Scientistshave found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take amoment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or eveneliminate the negative effects of our quick, hard-wired responses.

Snapdecisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whethersomeone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react veryquickly, within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. Toaccurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least aminute, preferably five. It takes a while to judge complex aspects ofpersonality, like neuroticism or open-mindedness.

Butsnap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren't exclusive to the interpersonalrealm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-foodlogo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, eventhough reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fastfood with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever elsewe're doing. Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musicalpiece lasts too long.

  Yet we can reverse suchinfluences. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housingoptions when we see a happy face  (onereason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling),we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are morelikely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners understandtheir biases-or hire outside screeners.

John  Gottman,the marriage expert, explains that we quickly "thin slice" information reliably only after we ground suchsnap reactions in  "thicksliced" long-term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invitesthem to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation: two days, not twoseconds.

Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactionsby pausing is what differentiates us from animals dogs can think about thefuture only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spentabout 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technologymight change the way we react, it hasn't changed our nature. We still have theimaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.

The time needed in making decisions may_______.