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Scientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick, hard-wired responses.
科學家已經發現：雖然我們易于快速地做出過度反應，但是如果我們花點時間考慮一下我們可能做出的反應，就可以減少，甚至是消除我們快速、本能的反應所帶來的消極影響。
Snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whether someone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react very quickly, within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. To accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. It takes a while to judge complex aspects of personality, like neuroticism or open-mindedness.
快速決策可以是身體重要的防御機制；如果我們是在判斷某人是否是個危險人物，我們的大腦和身體會自發地在幾毫秒鐘內做出快速反應。但是，若要評定其它因素，我們則需要更多的時間。研究表明：要準確地辨別某人是否是好交際的，我們至少需要一分鐘的時間，五分鐘會更好。想要評判復雜的性格方面，如或是神經過敏或是思想開闊等，就更要花上一段時間了。
But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren't exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else we're doing. Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.
另外，以應對快速刺激而做出的快速決策并不專屬于人際范疇。多倫多大學的心理學家們曾發現：即便閱讀和吃東西沒什么關系，用短短幾毫秒的時間看一家快餐店的標志還是會刺激人們提高20％的閱讀速度。我們一想到快餐，就無意識地聯想起快速和急躁，并把這些一時產生的情緒帶到我們正在做的任何事情當中。接觸一閃而過快餐標志的受試者們也往往會認為一段音樂持續時間的太長了。
Yet we can reverse such influences. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners understand their biases-or hire outside screeners.
然而，我們可以完全改變這些影響。如果我們知道看見笑臉相迎會讓我在選擇消費產品或房屋時做出過度的反應(這是銷售代理和房產中介總是面帶笑容的一個很好的理由)，我們可以在購買之前等上一段時間。如果我們知道女性招聘官們更加有可能拒絕有魅力的女性求職者，我們就可以幫助招聘們認識到他們的偏見，亦或是雇傭獨立招聘官們。
John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly "thin slice" information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in "thick sliced" long-term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation; two days, not two seconds.
婚姻專家約翰·戈特曼解釋說：我們的快速反應只有基于對"大塊"信息進行長期的研究之后，我們才能信賴我們快速汲取的"薄片"信息。在戈特曼非常想要評定兩個人將是否會共同生活，他會為了進行更長期的評價工作而邀請他們去他島上的修養之所呆上是兩天，而不是兩秒。
Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: dogs can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasn't changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.
我們具有通過暫停來減緩我們本能反應的能力，這使我們有別于動物: 狗智能斷斷續續地思考未來，思考時間只能持續幾分鐘。但是，從個人歷史的角度來看，我們每天花了12%的時間思索更長遠的事情。盡管科技可能了改變我們反應的方式，但科技還沒有改變我們的天性。我們仍然有富于想象的能力，讓我們不受誘惑的影響，并完全改變高速的發展趨勢。
