Intuition vs Reasoning
10/20/11: Cognitive scientists and philosophers have been examining the mysterious process of intuition for many years. A breakthrough on how we intuitively know things and use that information to make decisions came when behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman used a series of experiments to show the differences in two basic thinking systems. This won him the Nobel Prize, and I will briefly cover the systems, and how they impact our lives every day.
Brief Experiment
Let's do a quick math problem.
A bat and ball together cost $1.10.
The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
If you are like a vast majority of people, 10 cents came to mind right away. Unfortunately, that is incorrect. If the ball was .10, and the bat was a dollar more than the ball, that would make the bat $1.10, and mean they cost $1.20 together. The right answer is that ball costs 5 cents. Kahneman used this experiment to illustrate the differences between our two basic thinking systems: Intuition and Reasoning. He referred to these as System 1 and System 2.
System 1
System 1 (Intuition, Emotion, Instinct, Unconscious, Automatic): this is the system we spend most of our lives in. As we move through the day we react quickly and naturally to our environments without doing much hard thinking. This system processes information very quickly, and uses emotion, instincts, and previous learning as a guide. For example, when you are driving a car on a familiar route, you do not have to do much thinking, even though what is happening is actually a very involved process. Only on the rarest of those drives after the first few would we really need to think through it deeply.
The ways System 1 reacts to the world is based on quickly accessible information in our minds, as well as some basic evolutionary dispositions. Essentially, System 1 takes readily available information and almost instantly makes the best story out of that information. The good news about System 1 is that it works very well for us, and processes information quickly and often effectively. However, as seen in the experiment, it can also make simple mistakes for more complex problems.
System 2
System 2 (Reason, Logic, Conscious, Slow, Effort): this is the system we can use to solve complex problems, or observe what we are doing. To use System 2, we need to stop and decide to think through something. Let's say you were needing to go to an entirely new part of town on a drive that involved a variety of unfamiliar roads. If you took the time to deliberately plan the best route, and then make sure each turn was correct, you used System 2.
System 2 is based on principles of logic and more complex knowledge about the world that is usually not automatically accessible to us. This also allows us to generate alternate stories to the one that System 1 produces, make complex plans for the future, and respond to novel problems in productive ways. System 2 is less prone to errors than System 1, but takes much more energy to use.
Common Problems
To summarize so far, we all have two methods of processing information, intuition and reasoning. We use intuition for most of the day, and occasionally use reasoning to answer more complex problems. Some people may also frame this as "head vs heart". In counseling many of my clients struggle with several basic issues related to these systems.
1. System 1 Builds a Faulty Story: The most common problem is that due to previous learning and personal history, the story that System 1 automatically builds in certain situations can be wrong. This is easily corrected if System 2 is engaged and explores for alternatives.
2. System 2 Gets Exhausted: Another issue is that we use up a lot of brain power throughout the day, and sometimes the energy we need to use System 2 effectively is not there. This is called "ego depletion" (read more here). When this happens, we are at the mercy of System 1 and the potential mistakes or not-so-good stuff that it can lead us into. The fix here is maintaining our energy throughout the day, and outlets for those impulses and drives that can lead us astray.
3. Systems in Conflict: If the emotions related to System 1 are strong enough, the logic of System 2 can still be overwhelmed by anxiety, sadness, anger, and other emotions. When this happens we have an internal conflict (sometimes called Cognitive Dissonance). Counseling can help teach skills to use both systems to arrive at the best possible conclusion or plan of action.
Conclusion
A final note is that neither of these systems is superior to the other. Both have strengths, weaknesses, and pros and cons. They are each there to allow us to navigate through the world, and if we learn to master the times both are effective, we are better able to meet our life goals. I'll add that current counseling theory has not kept up with some of these developments, and that I am hopeful that psychologists will begin to incorporate this understanding into their work with clients in all kinds of settings.
Brief Experiment
Let's do a quick math problem.
A bat and ball together cost $1.10.
The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
If you are like a vast majority of people, 10 cents came to mind right away. Unfortunately, that is incorrect. If the ball was .10, and the bat was a dollar more than the ball, that would make the bat $1.10, and mean they cost $1.20 together. The right answer is that ball costs 5 cents. Kahneman used this experiment to illustrate the differences between our two basic thinking systems: Intuition and Reasoning. He referred to these as System 1 and System 2.
System 1
System 1 (Intuition, Emotion, Instinct, Unconscious, Automatic): this is the system we spend most of our lives in. As we move through the day we react quickly and naturally to our environments without doing much hard thinking. This system processes information very quickly, and uses emotion, instincts, and previous learning as a guide. For example, when you are driving a car on a familiar route, you do not have to do much thinking, even though what is happening is actually a very involved process. Only on the rarest of those drives after the first few would we really need to think through it deeply.
The ways System 1 reacts to the world is based on quickly accessible information in our minds, as well as some basic evolutionary dispositions. Essentially, System 1 takes readily available information and almost instantly makes the best story out of that information. The good news about System 1 is that it works very well for us, and processes information quickly and often effectively. However, as seen in the experiment, it can also make simple mistakes for more complex problems.
System 2
System 2 (Reason, Logic, Conscious, Slow, Effort): this is the system we can use to solve complex problems, or observe what we are doing. To use System 2, we need to stop and decide to think through something. Let's say you were needing to go to an entirely new part of town on a drive that involved a variety of unfamiliar roads. If you took the time to deliberately plan the best route, and then make sure each turn was correct, you used System 2.
System 2 is based on principles of logic and more complex knowledge about the world that is usually not automatically accessible to us. This also allows us to generate alternate stories to the one that System 1 produces, make complex plans for the future, and respond to novel problems in productive ways. System 2 is less prone to errors than System 1, but takes much more energy to use.
Common Problems
To summarize so far, we all have two methods of processing information, intuition and reasoning. We use intuition for most of the day, and occasionally use reasoning to answer more complex problems. Some people may also frame this as "head vs heart". In counseling many of my clients struggle with several basic issues related to these systems.
1. System 1 Builds a Faulty Story: The most common problem is that due to previous learning and personal history, the story that System 1 automatically builds in certain situations can be wrong. This is easily corrected if System 2 is engaged and explores for alternatives.
2. System 2 Gets Exhausted: Another issue is that we use up a lot of brain power throughout the day, and sometimes the energy we need to use System 2 effectively is not there. This is called "ego depletion" (read more here). When this happens, we are at the mercy of System 1 and the potential mistakes or not-so-good stuff that it can lead us into. The fix here is maintaining our energy throughout the day, and outlets for those impulses and drives that can lead us astray.
3. Systems in Conflict: If the emotions related to System 1 are strong enough, the logic of System 2 can still be overwhelmed by anxiety, sadness, anger, and other emotions. When this happens we have an internal conflict (sometimes called Cognitive Dissonance). Counseling can help teach skills to use both systems to arrive at the best possible conclusion or plan of action.
Conclusion
A final note is that neither of these systems is superior to the other. Both have strengths, weaknesses, and pros and cons. They are each there to allow us to navigate through the world, and if we learn to master the times both are effective, we are better able to meet our life goals. I'll add that current counseling theory has not kept up with some of these developments, and that I am hopeful that psychologists will begin to incorporate this understanding into their work with clients in all kinds of settings.
