What is the important topic of social psychology - what exactly is in its all encompassing basket? The many fields of this discipline, tens of thousands of research results, conclusions drawn by thousands of researchers, and insights proposed by hundreds of theorists can all be condensed into a few core viewpoints. Biology provides us with principles such as natural selection and evolution, while sociology constructs concepts such as social structure and social organization. Music endows us with concepts such as rhythm, melody, and harmony.

We humans always have an uncontrollable impulse to explain behavior, attribute it, and make it orderly and predictable, so that everything is under control. We may show completely different reactions to similar situations because we have different ideas. How we react to a friend's criticism depends on the explanation we give them, whether we attribute it to their hostile behavior or their bad mood.

From a certain perspective, we are all born scientists. We explain others' behavior quickly and accurately enough. To meet the needs of our daily life. When the behavior of others is consistent and different from others, we attribute their behavior to their personality. For example. If you find that someone always speaks with sarcasm and ridicule towards others, you may infer that this person has bad character and try to avoid contact with them as much as possible.

Our beliefs about ourselves are equally important. Do we have an optimistic attitude towards our future? Do we believe that everything is within our control? Do we consider ourselves superior or inferior? How we build this world and how we build ourselves is extremely important.

The power of our social intuition is powerful. But sometimes it can be very dangerous.
Our intuition influences our fear psychology (is flying dangerous?), impression (can I trust him?), and interpersonal relationships (does she like me?).
Intuition can affect the president in times of crisis. The gambler at the card table. The jury that determines the crime and the personnel supervisor who evaluates the candidate. This kind of intuition can be seen everywhere.
In fact, psychology as a science reveals a stunning unconscious mind - a mind manipulated by intuition behind the scenes - that Freud never told us about. 10 years or more before we were aware of it. Thinking does not take place on stage, but off stage, in places beyond our sight.

As we will see, research on "automatic processing," "implicit memory," "heuristic thinking," and "immediate feature inference," as well as immediate emotions and nonverbal communication, all reflect our intuitive abilities. Thinking, memory, and attitude all operate simultaneously at two levels: one is conscious and intentional, and the other is unconscious and automatic. Today's scholars refer to it as' dual processing '. We know more than we know ourselves.
So, the power of intuition is powerful. Beyond our consciousness, the mind works behind the scenes, but its results are occasionally displayed on the screen. But intuition can also be dangerous at times. For example, when driving a car in real life, the likelihood of something happening depends on the availability of examples in our minds. This process is mostly automated. Especially after 9/11, we can easily recall scenes of plane crashes.

We often make mistakes in our intuition. Intuitively, we trust our memory too much. We may misinterpret our own psychology; In the experiment, we refused to acknowledge being influenced by certain things, but in reality they did affect us. We mistakenly predict how we will feel - if we are unemployed or heartbroken now, how bad our feelings will be a year later; if we win the national lottery now, how good our feelings will be a year later. We often misjudge our future - when it comes to buying clothes, middle-aged people still buy tight fitting clothes ("I estimate I will lose a few pounds"): few people would be more realistic and say, "I'd better buy something looser. Because people of my age tend to have an upward weight trend.
Therefore, our social intuition deserves our attention not only for its indescribable influence, but also for its thorny danger. Our lives may benefit from secretive intuitive thinking, but they may also be plagued by predictable errors. Social psychologists not only understand the benefits of intuitive thinking, but also warn us of the potential harm it may bring, aiming to improve our way of thinking. In most situations, the fast and effortless fast food judgment method is sufficient to meet our needs. But in other contexts, when accuracy becomes important - just like when we need to express fear in a timely manner and use our resources wisely - it's best to use critical thinking to suppress intuitive impulses.