Being of Two Minds

Many of our cognitive distortions can be better understood by considering one of psychology’s big insights: we all have two minds. Well, not exactly two minds, but we do have two systems for processing information, which psychologists call System 1 and System 2. System 2 is what we think of as “our” mind, because it’s the one we’re most aware of, and most able to control. System 2 thinking is the conscious, effortful thinking we use when we’re doing something unfamiliar or difficult--something we can’t do while thinking about something else. It’s what we use when we solve math problems, try to make a clear point in a conversation, or drive through an unfamiliar city. 

System 1 thinking, on the other hand, is mostly unconscious. It’s what we use when we recognize a familiar face, make snap judgments about people and situations, or do things we learned to do long ago. Have you ever driven to work and realized you have no memory of the drive? That’s because your System 1 mind took the wheel, while your System 2 mind was thinking about other things. System 1 handles tasks we’re able to do automatically, so it’s not so limited by our attentional capacity. If you drive to work while singing along with the radio, it’s not hard to do, even though both those things are incredible feats of information processing that took years for us to learn.

One way to think of System 1 and System 2 is to imagine a captain standing on the bridge of old sailing ship. Most of the crew is out of sight, all working at the same time to keep the ship sailing along. They can do far more work than the captain, and many crew members have skills he doesn’t. The crew is System I, and the captain is System 2. During fair weather, the captain can plan ahead, charting the ship’s future course, or just relax and sing along with the radio. But if something unusual happens--if there’s a tricky strait to sail through--then he needs to take over and start making decisions. He pulls out the charts he needs and spreads them on his desk (this is analogous to what our conscious minds do when we pull information from our memory in order to deal with a task at hand.) Then he starts giving orders. Like the ship captain, our System 2 mind plays an executive role. It goes to work when there’s a new or difficult situation that requires leadership. 

But System 2 isn’t running the show as much as it he thinks. Most of the time, the System 1 crew knows what it’s doing. They may steer around an island while the captain’s asleep, but he wakes up and writes in the ship’s log that he ordered them to do that. The same thing happens in our minds. Our System 1 mind causes us to do things without thinking, and then our System 2 mind takes credit, making up reasons why we did it. This is called confabulation. Sometimes I get up off the couch, and then think “I’m going to make coffee.” But is that really why I got up, or is that my System 2 mind confabulating about why I just got up off the couch? 

Sometimes our System 2 minds lose control entirely. When we’re tired, angry, or fearful, the crew--our System 1 mind--can rise up. And for all their competence, they’re an unruly, superstitious, knee-jerky bunch, capable of overpowering the captain if emotions are running high enough. That’s when our worst cognitive biases come into play, and our most regrettable decisions get made. 

Still, System 1 can do a lot of things better than System 2. As I type this, my fingers are jumping around the keyboard automatically, even though my conscious mind barely remembers what the keyboard looks like. If I look down at my fingers, System 2 tries to micromanage System 1 and I start typing....very...slowly. It’s as though the captain is trying to do the ship carpenter’s job, and making a mess of things. A good critical thinker, then, is like a ship with a good captain. The captain keeps tabs on the crew’s decisions, making sure they’re good ones. Occasionally he takes over, showing he’s still in charge when emotions run high. And sometimes he sits back, lets the crew do its thing, and marvels at their skills.