Blog 5- The Warren Harding Error: Why We Fall for Tall, Dark, and Handsome Men

Chapter 3: The Warren Harding Error: Why We Fall for Tall, Dark, and Handsome Men

This chapter, tells the story of Warren Harding, who is known to be the worst American president.  The only reason Harding was appointed president, is because he was very charming and had a very charismatic personality.  After moments of seeing him and listening to him speak, people would “thin-slice” into thinking that he is very intelligent, and believe that he would make a great president.   The main purpose of this chapter is to bring awareness to the concept of thin-slicing and how it does not always lead to positive results. The author wrote, “Many people who looked at Warren Harding saw how extraordinarily handsome and distinguished-looking he was and jumped to the immediate-and entirely unwarranted-conclusion that he was a man of courage. They didn’t dig below the surface. The way he looked carried so many powerful connotations that it stopped the normal process of thinking dead in its tracks.” This type of thinking is referred to as ‘making a snap judgment’, and people are not aware or cognizant that they actually do it. This chapter also talks about the Implicit-Association Test (IAT), which is designed to show the strength of how people automatically associate words to categories or concepts in their memory.  The tests measure the level of attitudes and feelings people have on an unconscious level towards different words and images. 

Example- IAT Test

The author writes, “The disturbing thing about the test is that it shows that our unconscious attitudes may be utterly incompatible with our stated conscious values.” I found it very interesting to see how the unconscious mind works in making assumptions.  I also liked how the example of Warren Harding is used in showing how people jump to conclusions. When they see a charming, good looking gentleman, they automatically think he is also smart and courageous.    

I really enjoyed how the chapter included some examples of the IAT tests.  I thought this was very effective and interesting, especially since I never heard of these tests before.  I liked reading about how this concept can cloud people’s judgment, into making snap decisions, which are not realistic. This chapter relates back to the main theme of the book, which is thin-slicing.  I found it very interesting, because this was the first chapter that discussed negative outcomes from thin-slicing.  From this chapter, I learned how thin slicing, is not always as accurate as we think.  Even though we all thin-slice, we need to be careful to make sure this rapid cognition does not lead to bad decisions or assumptions.