July 01, 2013, Monday
Why You Might Make a Better Decision After a Quick Game of Solitaire
Research participants were nearly twice as likely to give the correct response to a complex decision-making problem if they were distracted by a simple three-minute number-matching task before being asked for their answers, says a team led by Marlène Abadie of the University of Toulouse in France.
A more-demanding distraction had no such effect: Participants had a 75% chance of giving the right answer after the easy task, but just a 40% chance after a tougher task or if there was no distractor at all.
Reason ?
During an easy distraction, the brain seems to unconsciously enhance the memory of a problem's essence, the researchers say.
SOURCE: Gist Memory in the Unconscious-Thought Effect
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