The Dual Processing Model (DPM)
Dual Processing Model
Humans think and make decisions by categorizing their cognitive processes into two systems:
- System 1: Fast, automatic, unconscious, and intuitive. It relies on past experiences and heuristics.
- System 2: Slow, deliberate, conscious, and rational. It involves logical reasoning and evaluating consequences.
These systems affect judgment, which, in turn, impacts thinking and decision-making.
Key Studies
Case studyRepresentativeness Heuristic: Kahneman and Tversky (1974)
Aim: To investigate how people use heuristics (mental shortcuts) in decision-making.
Method: Participants were asked which of two hospitals (one large, one small) was more likely to report a higher percentage of boys born on a given day.
Procedure:
- Participants were presented with the following scenario:
- A larger hospital records about 45 births daily, while a smaller hospital records about 15. Both hospitals record the days on which more than 60% of births are boys.
- Question: Which hospital is more likely to record such days?
Results:
- The smaller hospital is statistically more likely due to smaller sample size variability.
- 78% of participants incorrectly answered, relying on System 1 (intuition) instead of System 2 (logic).
Conclusion: This study highlights the dominance of System 1 when people rely on heuristics, such as the representativeness heuristic, in decision-making.
Case studyBechara et al. (2000) - The Iowa Gambling Task
Aim: To explore the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in decision-making.
Method: Experimental study using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).
Participants: Healthy controls and individuals with vmPFC lesions.
Procedure:
- Participants played a card game with two types of decks:
- "Safe" decks: Low short-term rewards but better long-term gains.
- "Risky" decks: High short-term rewards but significant long-term losses.
- Participants chose cards over multiple trials.
Results:
- Healthy participants learned to avoid risky decks, relying on System 2 to analyze outcomes.
- vmPFC-damaged participants continually chose risky decks, acting impulsively and relying on System 1.
Conclusion: The vmPFC plays a critical role in overriding impulsive decisions (System 1) by engaging in rational analysis (System 2).
Heuristics
Heuristics
Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts that simplify decision-making but can lead to biases. These biases often result from System 1 thinking.
Representativeness heuristic: Judging probabilities based on similarity rather than logic.
- Assuming a high school student who excels in science is planning to become a doctor, even though they might be interested in other careers.
Availability heuristic: Assessing the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind.
- A student fears plane crashes more than car accidents because they recently saw a news report on a crash, even though car accidents are far more common.
Alternative Models of Decision-Making
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)
- Overview: TPB is a macro-level model explaining decisions as outcomes of behavioral intentions, determined by:
- Attitudes: Personal perception of the behavior.
- Subjective norms: Social pressure or expectations.
- Perceived behavioral control: Confidence in one’s ability to perform the behavior.
Albarracin et al. (2001) - Condom Use
Aim: To test the predictive validity of TPB in condom use decisions.
Method: Meta-analysis of 42 studies (96 datasets).
Results:
- Strong correlation (r = 0.51) between intentions and actual behavior.
- Attitudes, norms, and control significantly predicted behavioral intentions.
Conclusion: TPB effectively predicts decision-making in health-related behaviors.
Adaptive Decision-Maker Framework (Payne, Bettman, and Johnson, 1993)
- Key Idea: Decision-making strategies are adaptive and influenced by:
- Accuracy goals: Aim to make the best choice.
- Effort minimization: Seek to reduce cognitive load.
- Emotional regulation: Avoid emotionally difficult trade-offs.
- Ease of justification: Opt for defensible decisions.
Critical Thinking
Application and Relevance
Understanding models of thinking and decision-making, such as System 1 (intuitive) and System 2 (analytical), has broad practical implications:
- Education: Helps design strategies to reduce reliance on System 1 in analytical tasks, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Healthcare: Supports targeted interventions to enhance patient decision-making, such as risk awareness campaigns that encourage informed choices.
- Behavioral Economics: Improves policy design by addressing heuristic-driven biases in consumer behavior, such as simplifying financial decisions or reducing impulsive purchases.
- Recognizing the interplay between intuitive and rational processes is crucial for understanding and improving human judgment, choices, and actions.
Limitations and Biases
- Cultural Biases: The universality of findings is questioned as cultural factors may influence reliance on System 1 or System 2.
- For instance, cultures with collectivist traditions might approach decisions differently from individualistic ones, altering the balance between intuition and logic.
- Real-Life Application: Many studies use low-consequence experimental tasks that may not reflect high-stakes decisions in real life.
- Decisions involving risk, responsibility, or moral dilemmas often engage more complex cognitive processes than experimental scenarios capture.
- Biological Basis: The lack of a distinct neurological basis for System 1 and System 2 raises questions about the validity of the model.
- This suggests the dichotomy may be more of a conceptual framework than a biological reality.
