Rationality and the Reflective Mind - Hardcover

Stanovich, Keith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195341147 ISBN 13: 9780195341140

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010

Synopsis

In Rationality and the Reflective Mind, Keith Stanovich attempts to resolve the Great Rationality Debate in cognitive science--the debate about how much irrationality to ascribe to human cognition. He shows how the insights of dual-process theory and evolutionary psychology can be combined to explain why humans are sometimes irrational even though they possess remarkably adaptive cognitive machinery. Stanovich argues that to fully characterize differences in rational thinking, we need to replace dual-process theories with tripartite models of cognition. Using a unique individual differences approach, he shows that the traditional second system (System 2) of dual-process theory must be further divided into the reflective mind and the algorithmic mind. Distinguishing them will allow us to better appreciate the significant differences in their key functions: The key function of the reflective mind is to detect the need to interrupt autonomous processing and to begin simulation activities, whereas that of the algorithmic mind is to sustain the processing of decoupled secondary representations in cognitive simulation.
Stanovich then uses this algorithmic/reflective distinction to develop a taxonomy of cognitive errors made on tasks in the heuristics and biases literature. He presents the empirical data to show that the tendency to make these thinking errors is not highly related to intelligence. Using his tripartite model of cognition, Stanovich shows how, when both are properly defined, rationality is a more encompassing construct than intelligence, and that IQ tests fail to assess individual differences in rational thought. He then goes on to discuss the types of thinking processes that would be measured if rational thinking were to be assessed as IQ has been.

About this title

About the Author:

Keith E. Stanovich is Professor of Human Development and Applied Psychology at the University of Toronto. His book What Intelligence Tests Miss (Yale University Press) received the 2010 Grawemeyer Award in Education. He is the author of five other books and over 200 scientific publications on various topics in cognitive psychology.

Review:

"Stanovich follows up his fascinating System 1/System 2 distinction with powerful evidence on rationality, cognitive processing, and the role of individual differences. This powerful new book is critical reading for any scholar interested in the current state of dual process models. " --Max H. Bazerman, Straus Professor, Harvard Business School and co-author, Judgment and Managerial Decision Making and Negotiation Genius, Co-author, Judgment and Managerial Decision Making and Negotiation Genius

"In this book Stanovich shows unrivalled mastery of the psychological literatures on thinking, reasoning and decision making. Developing his dual process approach into a tripartite theory of the mind, he differentiates a number of distinct ways in which people can fail to solve judgment and reasoning tasks, several of which are unrelated to conventional measures of intelligence. This work has profound social as well as scientific implications for the interpretation of intelligence tests and the wider debate about human rationality. Strongly recommend reading for cognitive scientists, educators and test-designers alike. " --Jonathan St B T Evans, Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Emeritus, School of Psychology University of Plymouth

"Like Keith Stanovich's other work, Rationality and the Reflective Mind is comprehensive, judicious, and insightful. Readers will learn what the fuss about rationality is, why it matters, and how to follow the action as the science unfolds. If Stanovich has his way, readers will witness, and perhaps join, the integration of previously, and sometimes defiantly, isolated research programs." ----Baruch Fischhoff, Howard Heinz University Professor, Department of Social and Decision Sciences and Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

"Stanovich deserves great credit for providing us with a book incredibly rich in information and for offering the Meliorist new arguments and an incredibly sophisticated perspective on cognitive architecture." -- Philosophical Psychology

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0195341147
• ISBN 13: 9780195341140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 344