Going against the Brain.

Susan Boyle. 47, a little dumpy-looking, socially awkward Susan. She made her first appearance on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Now, I don’t know if you’ve seen the pictures, but Susan Boyle does not look like a hit singer. She’s no Beyoncé or Leona Lewis. Anyone’s first impression of her is that she’s another average/below average-looking woman who thinks she can sing. However, once she opens her mouth and actually starts singing, she makes people eat their words—and their first impressions.
Unfortunately, Susan is a victim of automatic processing. Part of our mind is unconscious. That unconscious part sometimes makes snap decisions. It also does the simple operations—like sorting through sounds to make them understandable. Unfortunately, the automatic part of our minds makes quick decisions and evaluations of people. The automatic part of our minds categorized Susan Boyle before we were even aware of what’s going on.
Fortunately, our nifty conscious system has the power to override the automatic system. This is to help maintain social order, and to make sure that we don’t cause chaos in society. This would be considered a conscious override. After Susan Boyle started singing, our brains did a double take. Our instinct to boo her off of the stage subsided. The conscious part of our brain made us give her a second look. And it was a good thing too; she became a hit!
Oh Susan Boyle. You make our conscious go crazy.