The Problem

We have a tremendous capacity to act quickly in response to changing conditions.  It literally keeps us alive.  However.  That ability simultaneously disallows longer term balancing/processing from taking place that might serve to re-evaluate our quick actions as qualitatively different, even when we have more information available to do so.  We generally justify fast acting behavior rather than looking critically at it because we seek continuity.  This justification process happens in small units, but the fundamental principle is that we avoid dissonance in thinking about our own actions, even to our own detriment, and when our world might seem a bit richer. Authors Tavris and Aronson talk about just this phenom in their book "Mistakes Were Made (But not by me)"--have a look.