'Sleeping on it' is the best way to make a rational decision

When you meet someone for the first time, take in a book’s cover, or glance at a storefront, your mind rapidly constructs an initial impression. These instant perceptions stick around for a while, even when they’re unfounded.

But in a turn of events, new research suggests sleeping could aid in perceiving beyond the “book’s cover” and help us make better decisions.

A strong first impression

A team at Duke University recently rolled out an intriguing study. The researchers addressed the age-old question – does it pay off to make a strong first impression or does the last word have a stronger impact?

To investigate, the team devised an experiment based on an imaginary garage sale. Participants were asked to sift through virtual boxes filled with unwanted goods and select items for the sale.

The participants’ earnings depended on the boxes they chose, hence they were motivated to figure out the worth of each box.

The secret was, however, that all of the boxes had the same total value. What differed was the arrangement of valuable and worthless items. Some boxes had valuable items right on top, others in the middle, at the bottom, or intermixed.

Primary bias and poor decisions

After opening the boxes, the participants were asked to gauge the value of each and select their preferred ones. Some had to make instant decisions, while others “slept on it” and decided after a day.

An interesting pattern emerged – the instant decision-makers tended to remember boxes not by their entire content but by the initial items they encountered. This discovery points towards a psychological trend known as “primacy bias.”

Study lead author Allie Sinclair is a PhD candidate under Dr. Alison Adcock, a Duke professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

“We found that people are strongly biased by first impressions,” noted Sinclair. The participants repeatedly chose boxes with valuable items on top.

Unveiling “treasures” before low-priced items made a box more appealing than if it was the other way round. They not only favored boxes that started strong, but also overvalued them.

Sinclair, now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, explained that primacy bias could lead to irrational comparisons and inaccurate estimates of value.

More rational choices after sleep

But there’s a twist in the tale. Participants who had a day to think rendered more rational choices. They treated boxes with valuable items at any position equally.

“They made more rational choices, equally favoring boxes with clusters of valuable items at the beginning, middle, or end,” said Sinclair.

This finding suggests that delaying a decision might help us avoid the pitfalls of primacy bias. “When it’s over, our brain knits it all together in memory to help us make better choices – and that neat trick happens overnight,” said Dr. Adcock.

Sleeping for everyday decision-making

The insights from this study offer profound implications for how we approach decision-making in everyday life. Whether we’re buying a car, choosing a meal, or hiring a new team member, the tendency to rely on first impressions can lead to skewed assessments of value.

By recognizing the power of primacy bias, we can actively counter its effects by allowing ourselves time to reflect on all available information. Such a practice could enable us to make more informed, balanced decisions.

Encouraging a brief pause or even a strategic overnight delay before arriving at significant decisions might be the key to sidestepping biases and making choices that align closer with the true merits of the situation.

Science of memory consolidation

The role of sleep in this study highlights the fascinating process of memory consolidation. During sleep, our brains engage in an intricate activity of reorganizing and reinforcing stored information, a vital function for learning and decision-making.

This neurological process enhances our capacities for rational thought, allowing us to access a more comprehensive understanding of complex information.

As the study illustrates, this can mitigate the allure of initial impressions. Understanding the relationship between sleep and cognitive function opens promising avenues for improving educational methodologies, therapeutic practices, and even business strategies.

Sleeping on a decision

“Judging from first impressions may actually be a good thing for choices in the moment,” said Dr. Adcock. However, for decisions with longer-term implications, it’s worth “sleeping on it.”

Sinclair believes there’s wisdom in the idea of delaying decisions, especially in matters of consequence, like hiring or dating.

This research, backed by a Duke University Health Scholars Award to Alison Adcock, is an exciting first look at how our brain’s summary of experiences impacts our future choices.

The study is published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

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