--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Several teams of German psychologists…" description: "\"“Several teams of German psychologists that have studied the RAT in recent years have come up with remarkable discoveries about cognitive ease. One of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg" --- # Several teams of German psychologists that have studied… ![“Several teams of German psychologists that have studied the RAT in recent years have come up with remarkable discoveries about cognitive ease. One of the teams raised two questions: Can people feel that a triad of words has a solution before they know what the solution is? How does mood influence…” quote by Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg) > ““Several teams of German psychologists that have studied the RAT in recent years have come up with remarkable discoveries about cognitive ease. One of the teams raised two questions: Can people feel that a triad of words has a solution before they know what the solution is? How does mood influence performance in this task? To find out, they first made some of their subjects happy and others sad, by asking them to think for several minutes about happy or sad episodes in their lives. Then they presented these subjects with a series of triads, half of them linked (such as dive, light, rocket) and half unlinked (such as dream, ball, book), and instructed them to press one of two keys very quickly to indicate their guess about whether the triad was linked. The time allowed for this guess, 2 seconds, was much too short for the actual solution to come to anyone’s mind. The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate than they would be by chance. I find this astonishing. A sense of cognitive ease is apparently generated by a very faint signal from the associative machine, which “knows” that the three words are coherent (share an association) long before the association is retrieved. The role of cognitive ease in the judgment was confirmed experimentally by another German team: manipulations that increase cognitive ease (priming, a clear font, pre-exposing words) all increase the tendency to see the words as linked. Another remarkable discovery is the powerful effect of mood on this intuitive performance. The experimenters computed an “intuition index” to measure accuracy. They found that putting the participants in a good mood before the test by having them think happy thoughts more than doubled accuracy. An even more striking result is that unhappy subjects were completely incapable of performing the intuitive task accurately; their guesses were no better than random. Mood evidently affects the operation of System 1: when we are uncomfortable and unhappy, we lose touch with our intuition. These findings add to the growing evidence that good mood, intuition, creativity, gullibility, and increased reliance on System 1 form a cluster. At the other pole, sadness, vigilance, suspicion, an analytic approach, and increased effort also go together. A happy mood loosens the control of System 2 over performance: when in a good mood, people become more intuitive and more creative but also less vigilant and more prone to logical errors. Here again, as in the mere exposure effect, the connection makes biological sense. A good mood is a signal that things are generally going well, the environment is safe, and it is all right to let one’s guard down. A bad mood indicates that things are not going very well, there may be a threat, and vigilance is required. Cognitive ease is both a cause and a consequence of a pleasant feeling.”” [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cognitive ease lets people intuitively sense word associations before conscious retrieval; positive mood boosts this intuition, while negative mood hampers it. **In simple terms:** Ease helps guess links; happiness improves intuition. Key Takeaway Cultivate positive mood to enhance intuitive judgments. Themes cognition intuition mood decision making psychology Mood optimistic reflective Type scientific observational When to use this quote - quick decision tasks - creative brainstorming - problem solving under time pressure - team brainstorming sessions Key Concepts cognitive ease System 1 priming affect associative network Questions to Reflect On - How does your current mood affect split snap judgments? - Can you train yourself to recognize when intuition is reliable? A Different Perspective Negative mood can suppress intuitive accuracy, limiting performance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-mood/) [Cognitive Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognitive-ease-1654594/) [Happy Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-thought/) [Happy thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-thoughts/) [Intuition Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition-findings-2224565/) [Mood Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood-influence-3344232/) [Mood Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood-intuition-2224564/) [Mood Intuitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood-intuitive-4358348/) [Three Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-word/) [Three words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-words/) ## Related quotes > [Mood evidently affects the operation of System 1: when we are uncomfortable and unhappy, we lose touch with our intuition. These findings add to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/mood-evidently-affects-the-operation-of-system-1-when-we-are-2/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“How are things going? Is there a threat or a major opportunity? Is everything normal? Should I approach or avoid? The questions are perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/how-are-things-going-is-there-a-threat-or-a-major-opportunity-is/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“When you are in a state of cognitive ease, you are probably in a good mood, like what you see, believe what you hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/when-you-are-in-a-state-of-cognitive-ease-you-are-probably-in-a-good/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“The various causes of ease or strain have interchangeable effects. When you are in a state of cognitive ease, you are probably in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-various-causes-of-ease-or-strain-have-interchangeable-effects/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“It appears to be a feature of System 1 that cognitive ease is associated with good feelings. As expected, easily pronounced words evoke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/it-appears-to-be-a-feature-of-system-1-that-cognitive-ease-is-2/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate than they would be by chance. I find this astonishing. A sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-first-surprise-is-that-people-s-guesses-are-much-more-accurate/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“It appears to be a feature of System 1 that cognitive ease is associated with good feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/it-appears-to-be-a-feature-of-system-1-that-cognitive-ease-is/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [I do believe that if we have information about your emotional experiences, we can help you be in a more positive mood and influence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rana-el-kaliouby/i-do-believe-that-if-we-have-information-about-your-emotional/) [Rana el Kaliouby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rana-el-kaliouby/) > [“He was seeking no particular place, but a mood, an influence—indeed, a way of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/he-was-seeking-no-particular-place-but-a-mood-an-influence-indeed-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Start thinking happy thoughts and start being happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/start-thinking-happy-thoughts-and-start-being-happy/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [Think a happy thoughts, and live up through the air!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-a-happy-thoughts-and-live-up-through-the-air/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you move like you're happy, you'll begin to think happy thoughts. Amazing but True. Motion creates Emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-move-like-you-re-happy-you-ll-begin-to-think-happy-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Happiness attracts happiness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-jeem/happiness-attracts-happiness/) [Ibn Jeem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-jeem/) > [“To be happy, make others happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-be-happy-make-others-happy/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [ \[Hazel\] hissed in frustration. 'I hate eidolons. I thought Piper made them promise to stay away.' 'Oh...' Frank said, like he'd just had his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/hazel-hissed-in-frustration-i-hate-eidolons-i-thought-piper-made-them/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) ## More by Daniel Kahneman > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Belief in the Law of Small Numbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/belief-in-the-law-of-small-numbers/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“People who are poor think like traders, but the dynamics are quite different. Unlike traders, the poor are not indifferent to the differences between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/people-who-are-poor-think-like-traders-but-the-dynamics-are-quite/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Mood evidently affects the operation of System 1: when we are uncomfortable and unhappy, we lose touch with our intuition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/mood-evidently-affects-the-operation-of-system-1-when-we-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The confidence that individuals have in their beliefs depends mostly on the quality of the story they can tell about what they see, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-confidence-that-individuals-have-in-their-beliefs-depends-mostly/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“So this is my aim for watercooler conversations: improve the ability to identify and understand errors of judgment and choice, in others and eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/so-this-is-my-aim-for-watercooler-conversations-improve-the-ability/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“For example, I recently came to doubt my long-held impression that adultery is more common among politicians than among physicians or lawyers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/for-example-i-recently-came-to-doubt-my-long-held-impression-that/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Survival prospects are poor for an animal that is not suspicious of novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/survival-prospects-are-poor-for-an-animal-that-is-not-suspicious-of/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“the idea of money primes individualism: a reluctance to be involved with others, to depend on others, or to accept demands from others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-idea-of-money-primes-individualism-a-reluctance-to-be-involved/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Most of the moments of our life - and I calculated, you know, the psychological present is said to be about three seconds long;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/most-of-the-moments-of-our-life-and-i-calculated-you-know-the/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“knowing little makes it easier to fit everything you know into a coherent pattern.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/knowing-little-makes-it-easier-to-fit-everything-you-know-into-a/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Experts don't know exactly where the boundaries of their expertise are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/experts-don-t-know-exactly-where-the-boundaries-of-their-expertise-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [All of us would be better investors if we just made fewer decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/all-of-us-would-be-better-investors-if-we-just-made-fewer-decisions/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“The best we can do is a compromise: learn to recognize situations in which mistakes are likely and try harder to avoid significant mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-best-we-can-do-is-a-compromise-learn-to-recognize-situations-in/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“A happy mood loosens the control of System 2 over performance: when in a good mood, people become more intuitive and more creative but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/a-happy-mood-loosens-the-control-of-system-2-over-performance-when-in/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) [Explore all 560 Daniel Kahneman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## More Bad mood quotes > [Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, sometimes I'm in a good mood. It's like everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricky/sometimes-i-m-in-a-bad-mood-sometimes-i-m-in-a-good-mood-it-s-like/) [Tricky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tricky/) > [Revenge is a dish better severed cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan/revenge-is-a-dish-better-severed-cold/) [Sushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan/) > [You say I have a bad attitude. But have you ever stopped to check yours?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-marie/you-say-i-have-a-bad-attitude-but-have-you-ever-stopped-to-check-yours/) [Tasha Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-marie/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nina said, “Have regular facial expressions.” That was a command from their inventory of facetious devices they used to josh one another out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/nina-said-have-regular-facial-expressions-that-was-a-command-from/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“She then laid more aggressively into her ex-partner and his philosophy, which she felt was disconnected from the reality that she had just experienced:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beno-t-peeters/she-then-laid-more-aggressively-into-her-ex-partner-and-his/) [Benoît Peeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beno-t-peeters/) > [No matter how well you behave with people around you, THEY will treat YOU according to their NEED & MOOD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-matter-how-well-you-behave-with-people-around-you-they-will-treat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My middle finger is used when words aren't enough for people to understand that they're annoying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-middle-finger-is-used-when-words-aren-t-enough-for-people-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A shrug. “I wasn’t sent to you until now.” “Are you serious?” Incredulity sharpened my tone. “Is your boss in a bad mood, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/a-shrug-i-wasn-t-sent-to-you-until-now-are-you-serious-incredulity/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Temporary anger is okay, but permanent anger will make you bitter and ruin your chance at happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/temporary-anger-is-okay-but-permanent-anger-will-make-you-bitter-and/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I don't often get into a bad mood, since it does not help anything and clouds my judgment, but I can certainly see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/i-don-t-often-get-into-a-bad-mood-since-it-does-not-help-anything-and/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [This is all about the awesome TILLU!! (: If u know this kidd then u know ur not living a boring life... some might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/death-calls-her-name/this-is-all-about-the-awesome-tillu-if-u-know-this-kidd-then-u-know/) [Death Calls Her Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/death-calls-her-name/) > [The grumpier you are, the more assholes you meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/the-grumpier-you-are-the-more-assholes-you-meet/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [Have a good sense of perspective and be able to snap yourself out of bad moods, as we often wind ourselves up about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-roberts/have-a-good-sense-of-perspective-and-be-able-to-snap-yourself-out-of/) [Nicola Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-roberts/) [Browse all 416 Bad mood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-mood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Several teams of German psychologists that have studied the RAT in recent years have come up with remarkable discoveries about cognitive ease. One of the teams raised two questions: Can people feel that a triad of words has a solution before they know what the solution is? How does mood influence performance in this task? To find out, they first made some of their subjects happy and others sad, by asking them to think for several minutes about happy or sad episodes in their lives. Then they presented these subjects with a series of triads, half of them linked (such as dive, light, rocket) and half unlinked (such as dream, ball, book), and instructed them to press one of two keys very quickly to indicate their guess about whether the triad was linked. The time allowed for this guess, 2 seconds, was much too short for the actual solution to come to anyone’s mind. The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate than they would be by chance. I find this astonishing. A sense of cognitive ease is apparently generated by a very faint signal from the associative machine, which “knows” that the three words are coherent (share an association) long before the association is retrieved. The role of cognitive ease in the judgment was confirmed experimentally by another German team: manipulations that increase cognitive ease (priming, a clear font, pre-exposing words) all increase the tendency to see the words as linked. Another remarkable discovery is the powerful effect of mood on this intuitive performance. The experimenters computed an “intuition index” to measure accuracy. They found that putting the participants in a good mood before the test by having them think happy thoughts more than doubled accuracy. An even more striking result is that unhappy subjects were completely incapable of performing the intuitive task accurately; their guesses were no better than random. Mood evidently affects the operation of System 1: when we are uncomfortable and unhappy, we lose touch with our intuition. These findings add to the growing evidence that good mood, intuition, creativity, gullibility, and increased reliance on System 1 form a cluster. At the other pole, sadness, vigilance, suspicion, an analytic approach, and increased effort also go together. A happy mood loosens the control of System 2 over performance: when in a good mood, people become more intuitive and more creative but also less vigilant and more prone to logical errors. Here again, as in the mere exposure effect, the connection makes biological sense. A good mood is a signal that things are generally going well, the environment is safe, and it is all right to let one’s guard down. A bad mood indicates that things are not going very well, there may be a threat, and vigilance is required. Cognitive ease is both a cause and a consequence of a pleasant feeling.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Kahneman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/several-teams-of-german-psychologists-that-have-studied-the-rat-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad mood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/several-teams-of-german-psychologists-that-have-studied-the-rat-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/daniel-kahneman-431_bad-mood_several-teams-of-german-psychologists-th_2936985.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Several teams of German psychologists that have studied the RAT in recent years have come up with remarkable…” — Daniel Kahneman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Daniel Kahneman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Several teams of German psychologists that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/several-teams-of-german-psychologists-that-have-studied-the-rat-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/several-teams-of-german-psychologists-that-have-studied-the-rat-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```