Science News

Using eye-tracking devices, Bodur and his colleauges investigated how location influences choices for products as varied as vitamins, meal replacement bars, and energy drinks. They found that consumers would increase their visual focus on the central option in a product display area in the final five seconds of the decision-making process – and that was the point at which they determined which option to choose. It turns out that the process is a subconscious one. When asked how they had come to decide on what product to buy, consumers did not accurately recall their choice process. What’s more, they were not aware of any conscious visual focus on one area of the display over another.

You don't need to deliberate to be thoughtful, says commentator Alva Noë. In fact, it's better if you don't. We are at our most intelligent when we let the world guide us. And we can do this because we are expert at many things we take for granted.