Dual process theory Flashcards
What is the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT)?
A series of questions which have intuitive incorrect answers and easily calculable correct ones, often used in job interviews etc. as they’re diagnostic of impulsivity (DRD) and risk seeking behaviour.
What is the critical point about the CRT according to Frederick (2005)?
The problems aren’t hard, but they test who’s bothered to check their initial intuitive answer.
What is dual process theory?
A common type of theory in cognitive psychology, proposes two systems (Kahneman, 2011) which help us to make decisions.
Describe system 1 of the dual process theory.
Heuristic, fast, implicit, automatic, visceral, associative, often used.
Describe system 2 of the dual process theory.
Analytic, slow, explicit, deliberative, cold, rule-based, rarely used, monitors system 1.
According to dual process theory, what is the role of system 2?
It distinguishes us from animals, who learn associatively, and enables us to do maths.
According to dual process theory, what determines people’s decisions?
The relative dominance of the systems.
Which system do we use more for ourselves, and which for others?
System 1 for ourselves and system 2 for others.
What are the different names for the two systems?
Various - depends on whose model it is (e.g. associative/rule-based, heuristic/analytic).
How can conflict monitoring be used to study dual process theory?
When the two systems are placed in conflict, two answers should be produced, which should delay answering in incongruent conditions.
What did De Neys & Glumeric (2008) do?
Conflict monitoring with base rate problems, using a think-aloud procedure that manipulated statistical base rates with stereotypical expectations of the representativeness heuristic. System 1 answers would neglect the base rate, system 2 answers would incorporate it. Two conditions - incongruent or congruent (high probability base rate or low, either congruent or incongruent with the representativeness heuristic).
What did De Neys & Glumeric (2008) find?
Incongruent: base rate mentioning and accuracy around 20%
Congruent: base rate is just below 20%, accuracy is just below 100%
Neutral: base rate is about 55%, accuracy is around 80%
What does attribute substitution do according to Kahneman & Frederick (2005)?
Provide evidence for dual process theory.
When does attribute substitution occur?
When people are confronted with a difficult question and try to answer an easier one instead (they’re often unaware they’re doing this) - the harder target attribute is substituted with an easier heuristic attribute.
Give an example of attribute substitution.
When asked what proportion of long-distance relationships fail within a year people tend to answer as if they’d been asked “what instances of failed long-distance relationships come to mind”, i.e. the availability heuristic is used.
What did Strack, Martin and Schwarz (1988) do?
They asked participants two questions:
- How happy are you with your life in general?
- How many dates did you have last month?
What did Strack, Martin and Schwarz (1988) find?
The correlation between ratings made on the two answers was small when asked in that order, but when the order was reversed the correlation rose to .66.
What do Strack, Martin and Schwarz (1988)’s findings suggest?
That the dating question became the heuristic attribute.
How do risks and benefits relate in the environment and analytically?
Although they’re separate dimensions, they have a tendency to be positively correlated. Although activities that are highly beneficial may be high or low in risk, activities that are high in risk but low in benefit are rare and are frequently proscribed
How do people behave as if risks and benefits are correlated in the environment?
As if they’re negatively correlated, perhaps because risks and benefits are combined into a single affective utility dimension for heuristic decisions.
How does risk and benefit correlation relate to dual processing theory?
System 2 is relatively slow, meaning its operations can be disrupted by time pressure. Therefore the negative correlation in choices in which risk and affect can be obfuscated should be more pronounced when system 2 is impaired.
What did Finucane et al. (2000) do?
Tested negative correlation in choices in which risk and affect can be obfuscated - should be more pronounced when system 2 is impaired, so they asked participants to rate the risks and benefits (separately) of various products and technologies under no time pressure or a 5-second deadline.
What did Finucane et al. (2000) find?
When participants were required to respond under time pressure their ratings were more negatively correlated, suggesting that both responses were made using the same affective heuristic scale. Under no time pressure the ratings were non-significantly negatively correlated, suggesting that the ratings were independent.
How do moral judgements, which are often affective and intuitive in nature, provide a test for the dual process theory?
They might dissociate systems 1 and 2 thinking.
