Instinct

Thing: Post on my blog that synthesizes sources to create a (definition/classification) about instinct, uses research summary (informative), reflects through characters or personal story (summary narrative), incorporate a variety of sources within writing (synthesis)

Audience: E12 class

Writer: Me

Purpose: To create a piece of writing that uses synthesis in order to define instinct and its related theories and concepts. Using this definition, the writing should reflect about how this concept plays out in my life or those around me. To connect the concept of instinct to self-reflection.

Context: I am writing a blog post for my English 12 class that will help me to understand how my instinct influences my decision making process. 

Requirements: 

Reference all four sources in your writing, use in text citation and specific reference. Use the following concepts in your writing: conscious, adaptive unconscious, expert instinct, strategic instinct, thin-slicing. Lastly, make a personal connection. 

Sources: 

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown, 2005. Print

Lie to Me. Dir. Samuel Baum. Perf. Tim roth, Kelly williams. 20th Century Fox, 2009, DVD.

Brace for Impact. Dir. TLC. Perf. Captain Sullenberger. TLC, 2010. You Tube. 23 May 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.

Brain Games Season 4: "Instinct" Dir. National Geographic. Perf. jason Silva. National Geographic Channel, 2014. Amazon. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.

Place an image for instinct here: 

Prior to our study, what do you think "instinct" is? Define it in your own terms: 

For the past few days in English 12 we have been studying instinct. Instinct is the brain’s quick response in a situation given a large set of information. For example, in Brain Games the audience is asked to subitize, guess the number of fish when given an image and a fraction of a second. This response is sometimes reliable and sometimes not given one’s expertise or familiarity with a situation or the information. In Gladwell's book Blink, he attempts the task of persuading his reader about the power and accuracy of the adaptive unconscious. Gladwell identifies the adaptive unconscious as the body's ability to create immediate understanding from its environment and respond before the conscious, the slower and methodical processing unit, mind is even engaged in the choice or reaction. Blink is a collection of illustrative research that provides evidence to support Gladwell's claim and furthermore to support the idea that the adaptive unconscious can be not only manipulated but trained. I selected chapter one: "The Theory of Think Slices: How a Little Bit of Knowledge Goes a Long Way" from Gladwell's Blink . Gladwell details the studies of John Gottman who evaluates couples based on facial expressions, "If he analyzes an hour of a husband and wife talking, he can predict with 95% accuracy whether that couple will still be married in fifteen years. If he watches a couple for fifteen minutes, his success rate is about 90%" (64). But not just anyone can predict from conversation, as Gladwell finds as he attempts his own analysis using the same video tape, why then can Gottman? Well, Gottman studies facial expression and physical response and corresponds those to what he calls the "Four Horsemen: defensiveness, stonewalling, criticism and contempt."(Gladwell, 65) Contempt, Gottman says "is the single most important sign the marriage is in trouble...it’s heirarchical." (Gladwell, 65) Gladwell then extends this concept to first impressions based on inhabitable space, patient-doctor interaction, and film production. In the end of this chapter, Gladwell's conclusion comes full circle when he tries his hand at thin-slicing a couple's interaction once more, but this time after some instruction from Gottman. After instruction, Gladwell is able to achieve an 80% accuracy; this corresponds to Gladwell's third task of the book, first impressions and snap judgements can be educated and controlled. This chapter appeals to me on a few levels. First, as a part of a married couple, I am more aware of interactions with my husband. I think the section about contempt is a good reminder about not taking your partner for granted nor focusing on faults, who would want to live with someone like that? Words, facial expressions, body language what you feel matters and it is communicable even if you don't say it. 
Next, as a reader and teacher of literature, I love when Gladwell has complete strangers asses someone's personality based on his/her inhabitable space (room, apartment). The strangers had amazing accuracy about someone's character based on just looking around the space where s/he lives. I think this really speaks to the power of indirect characterization and how reading helps us build our adaptive unconscious. 

In Lie to Me Detective Cal Lightman can tell someone’s story or secrets just by his or her body language much like Gottman can analyze the stability of a marriage by the couple’s body language during an interaction. The details Cal reveals about each person’s story or secret is riveting. He first describes the “tell” and then observes how these details interact to create meaning and connection to a crime or situation. The detective seems to know the people better than even the families and friends know them. For example, through Cal's observations, the viewer learns about the teacher’s murder and the student’s role in that murder. It becomes evident that Cal's observations of the principal and the student with whom he’s having an affair give a much clearer picture about who is the real murderer, thus through thin-slicing Cal is able to catch the criminal.

Just as the fictional character Cal uses his expert instinct which he has developed over time; Captain Sullenberger a real person uses his expert intuition to land a disabled aircraft in the Hudson River. Captain Sully’s training in the Airforce prepared his expert instinct as explored in Brain Games to help him with a dire situation. Captain Sully had to problem solve using his strategic instinct in the situation that was presented before him, but his background and expert instinct certainly influenced his strategic instinctual response. And just as I had no idea who the car thief was in Brain Games, I am certain anyone else’s lack of expertise would have led to the aircraft’s certain demise. 
And although I might not be an airplane pilot or a cop, I am a cheer coach and with years of experience, I would say I have definitely formed an expert instinct as a spot. I can tell if an athlete is going to execute a skill or bail even before s/he begins. Using this instinct, I am able to put myself in a position to best spot and protect the athletes learning a new skill.  

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown and, 2005. Print

Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn, 2009. Print.