The central thesis of Noble Prize winning DanielKahneman’s book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow is the interplay between each mind’s System 1 and System 2, which he described as a “psychodrama with two characters.”
System 1 is a person’s instinctual response — one that can be enhanced by expertise but is automatic and rapid. It seeks coherence and will apply relevant memories to explain events.
System 2, meanwhile, is invoked for more complex, thoughtful reasoning — it is characterized by slower, more rational analysis but is prone to laziness and fatigue.
Kahneman wrote that when System 2 is overloaded, System 1 could make an impulse decision, often at the expense of self-control.
In one experiment, subjects were asked to complete a task requiring cognitive effort — remembering a seven-digit number — and then were given a choice of chocolate cake or fruit salad for dessert. The majority opted for the cake. Was it a loss of self control?
The issue becomes this. “I don’t want to get into a situation where my mind is halfway on one topic, and then I’m talking to someone and I give him the chocolate cake answer that he may be looking for, versus the fruit salad answer that he probably needs.”
Let’s apply this to our social media chats… Are we then overloaded with complexities, get tired and let system 1 take over so we lose self-control and a more rational analysis and therefore response?
Take the cake test!
DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing 