Dual Process Theory: A Simple Summary

Dual Process Theory

Dual process theory is a framework used to explain how people think. It traces its roots back to William James (an early American philosopher and psychologist). At its core is the idea that humans have two different streams or means of thinking. These dual means of thinking give rise to the name dual process theory.

These dual processes are sometimes referred to as “systems” and known as “system 1” and ”system 2”. System 1 is evolutionarily older, more automatic, instinctive, implicit and unconscious. System 2 is evolutionarily newer, intentional, effortful, explicit and conscious.

Dual process theory continues to evolve. It remains a popular framework in the field of cognitive psychology. It also has some applications in learning theory and in relation to how humans process and store information. More recently it has sprung up in behavioral economics as well. Danny Kahneman’s interpretations in his excellent book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, helped bring these concepts to the mainstream.

Dual process theory also has a key role to play in understanding how we make decisions.

System 1: Our Automatic Processor

Humans constantly function. The majority of time we do so without really thinking about it. We know what our senses are telling us and we know what they mean we should do.

If we’re hungry, we should eat. And, if we’re a bit tired, we should sleep. If we see some information we dislike, we should ignore it… or perhaps not. We don’t think about walking. And we don’t calculate the trajectory of our steps. We don’t use our knowledge of physics to help us throw a ball. All of these things come naturally.

We’ve developed rules, internal processes and shortcuts in our thinking and decision making that help us survive without conscious effort. And it’s this system of automatic processing that’s known as System 1. We use it to get along in our daily lives without really needing to try too hard or think too much. We also find that the more tired we are, the more we use System 1.

This is economic in many ways. It’s fast too, allowing us to respond almost instantly in many situations. It’s also often reasonably accurate and effective. It also reserves our mental energy for draining thoughtful effort when it’s really required. It does though, rely on generalities and is prone to some sloppy errors.

System 2: Our Controlled Thinking

Sometimes we, as humans, find ourselves in situations where we either don’t have mental shortcuts that we can use, or where we need to be more than just reasonably accurate.

In these circumstances we need to focus on our thoughts. We need to consciously think our way through key factors and reach logical, calculated, informed decisions. To do this we need to slow our thinking down. We ignore our mental shortcuts, we start from the building blocks of information that we have and use logic to reach decisions and conclusions.

This way of thinking is known as System 2 thinking. It often produces better (or at least more reasoned) answers for us, but it’s effortful and it’s slow. This process is excellent in some environments and situations, but dreadful in others. If you rely on system 2 to calculate the moment when a leaping tiger will reach you and plot your escape, then you’ll never finish your calculations.

System 2: Characteristics

System 2 has lots of different characteristics. Some of the most important ones are as follow:

• It’s conscious,
• Mostly voluntary,
• Mostly detached from emotions,
• Explicit,
• Controlled,
• High effort,
• Small capacity,
• Slow,
• More objective (and fact / rule based),
• Evolutionarily recent,
• Logical and rational.

Dual Process Theory in the World of Work

Many of the challenges that individuals and leaders face in the world of work stem from the very natural tendency for individuals to predominantly use System 1 thinking as opposed to System 2 thinking.

In fact, most cases of sloppy thinking by otherwise capable individuals probably result from their use of System 1 thinking. And this is entirely natural. System 2 thinking requires a lot more effort, and a lot more focus. And this means that to use System 2, individuals normally need to be more motivated.

From a leadership perspective it’s helpful to be aware of these two different types of thinking. The more you can use system 2 thinking yourself, the better the decisions that you make will probably be. And similarly, the more you can help your team use system 2 thinking, the better their decisions will probably be.

The way we think, behave and decide is fascinating. Ideas like cognitive biases and nudging may be of interest.

We also think that that understanding your thinking and decision making processes (see metacognition) may help improve your emotional intelligence, motivation and increase your happiness.

Unfortunately, some people use their knowledge of how others think and decide for their own ends. When nudging is used for these purposes is it known as sludge. You can listen to our podcast on behaviour change below:

We love dual process theory. It’s a great framework through which to understand your own thinking and decision making processes. We recommend reading “Thinking, fast and slow” and believe that the better your appreciation of your own thought processes is, the more effective of a thinker you will be.

Discussing the distinction between the two different systems with your team may be a helpful exercise. By increasing your team members’ understanding of dual process theory, and introducing common language in relation to it, it’s possible to more easily challenge sloppy thinking and increase performance.

It’s also worth noting that the heuristics of System 1 thinking are the domain in which many things like unconscious bias live.

If you’re interested in learning more about ome of the benefits of System 1 thinking, you might enjoy some of the neuroscience work looking at our brains as prediction engines.

Most of the information used as the basis for this post comes from Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

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