COG · Cognition · 2011
System 1 / System 2
by Daniel Kahneman
Two minds: fast, automatic, intuitive — and slow, effortful, deliberate.
Summary
Kahneman summarized decades of dual-process research as 'System 1' (fast, parallel, low-effort, emotional) and 'System 2' (slow, serial, effortful, rule-following). Most everyday choices are System 1; System 2 is lazy and often endorses System 1's outputs.
For designers
If you want compliance, design *for* System 1: defaults, visual salience, social proof, frictionless paths. If you want deliberation, design *for* System 2: cooling-off periods, checklists, pre-commitment devices, friction at the moment of choice.
Components
System 1
Automatic, associative, intuitive, emotional.
System 2
Controlled, rule-based, slow, effortful.
WYSIATI
What You See Is All There Is — the mind builds the story it can.
Anchoring
Initial values bias subsequent judgments.
Availability
Easily recalled examples feel more probable.
Cross-dimensional couplings
Sources
- Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow.