4. Are We Really Rational

Question 1

Describe system 1 and system 2.

Answer 1

System 1 - automatic thinking
Operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control.
System 2 - controlled thinking
Allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations.
Operations require attention and are disrupted when attention is drawn away.

Question 2

Which system creates problems for theory of rationality?

Answer 2

System 1 – prone to biases and heuristics

Question 3

How does system 1 and 2 interact effectively?

Answer 3

Being always on the lookout is tiring and not practical. Therefore, we need to identify situations in automatic thinking where mistakes are likely to be made and energize system 2. One of the tasks of System 2 is to overcome the impulses of system 1. System 2 is in-charge of self-control. System 2 is much too slow and inefficient to serve as a substitute for system 1 in making routine decisions.

Question 4

Can cognitive illusions be overcome?

Answer 4

Not really. System 1 operates automatically and cannot be turned off at will. Errors of intuitive thought are often difficult to prevent. Biases cannot be avoided because system 2 may have no clue to the error. Even when cues to likely errors are available, errors can be prevented only be enhanced monitoring and effortful activity of System 2. Continuous vigilance is not necessarily good and certainly impractical.