There’s a world of difference between a dog that is off the leash
and a dog that is trained to be off the leash— Don Sullivan
To explain why people act counter to their own interests, Freud used the metaphor of a horse and its rider [unconscious and conscious motivational systems]. I will use a two-mind model proposed by Epstein and the metaphor of a puppy and a puppy-trainer.
All living creatures, from humans to worms, are able to learn from experience to follow paths that lead to good outcomes and avoid those that are harmful to them or their offspring. In addition to this Experiential Processing System, humans have access to an Abstract Processing System. This powerful resource is not available to lower animals and very young children. The attributes of these two processing systems are contrasted in the table below:
|
Experiential Processing System
[The Puppy] |
Abstract Processing System
[The Puppy Trainer] |
| Pleasure-pain oriented: What feels best now | Rationally oriented: What yields the greatest net benefits |
| Primarily influenced by immediate stressors and temptations | Primarily influenced by one’s core values and motivations |
| Associations determined by the principles of classical conditioning |
Associations determined by the principles of logic |
| Long evolutionary history, and operates in animals as well as humans | Brief evolutionary history, operates only at times of cognitive surplus |
| Holistic | Analytic |
| Influenced by the salience of a stimulus | Influenced by the meaning of a stimulus |
| Encodes reality in concrete images, metaphors and narratives | Encodes reality in abstract symbols, words and numbers |
| Behavior driven by the local environment — the PIG | Behavior driven by principles and values — Core Motivation |
| Rapid processing: Oriented toward immediate action | Slower processing: Oriented toward future action |
| Slow to change: Change requires repetitive or intense experience | Rapid to change: Changes with the speed of thought |
| Emotionally reactive | Detached, dispassionate |
| Experienced passively, outside of conscious awareness [one is seized by one’s emotions] | Experienced actively and consciously [one deliberately thinks through problems] |
| Certainty is self-evident [seeing is believing] | Certainty requires justification via logic and evidence |
| Phenomenologist: Perceives events from the first-person perspective | Psychologist: Perceives events from the observer’s [3rd-person] perspective |
| Experience including: perception and motivation are state dependent | Rational analysis is independent of one emotional state |
When it comes to solving complex problems, abstract processing is greatly superior to experiential processing, but it is only available under certain conditions:
- Abstract processing can produce rapid change (e.g., “I used to believe in the tooth fairy, but then I realized that it was my mother and since then I have never relapsed to the earlier view.”) This is in contrast with the slow, erratic change associated with say, house-breaking a puppy.
- Abstract processing is only possible when there is a surplus of cognitive resources. It is not available when cognitive resources are otherwise occupied by overwhelming cognitive demands, strong emotional states, or diminished by fatigue or intoxication.
- Abstract processing is too slow to influence behavior in real-time. It is best used for review and planning.
The Experiential Processing System is fast but sloppy
This demonstration will give you and your audience an opportunity to observe the foibles of the quick but shallow thinking they use in social situations.
How many fingers on 10 hands?
Hold up one hand with the fingers outstretched and ask the victim of this setup, "How many fingers on one hand?" [answer: 5] Then hold up both hands with the fingers outstretched and ask, "How many fingers on two hands?" [answer: 10]. Then, while keeping all ten fingers outstretched ask, "How many fingers on ten hands?"
Since you are now reading about this demonstration, you are free of the social demand to perform [which uses the Experiential Processing System]. So you have the time and cognitve resources to use your Abstract Processing System, to which it is obvious that 5 times 10 = 50 [not 100].
Simple multiplication is easy for the Abstract Processing System. So, when you ask the victim to think about it another way, they usually get the right answer pretty quickly — although some take a little longer.
The Abstract and Experiential Processing Systems can come to different conclusions and so can initiate different reactions to the same provocation.
A mousetrap’s bait motivates the mouse to act counter to its own interests. When Ernest hears the trap break the mouse’s neck, he thinks: "Foolish mouse." When Mimi hears that Ernest had a drink after he vowed to abstain, she thinks: "Foolish Ernest." When Mimi’s marital therapist hears that she wants a divorce because she is certain that her husband no longer loves her (despite his claim that he does), she thinks: "Foolish Mimi."
In each of these cases, the quick but shallow analysis performed by the Experiential Processing System motivated action that was counter to the interests of the actor. In each case the error was obvious to an outside observer. If only you could shift to the perspective of an outside observer so you recognize the traps before you are taken in by them. Sadly, you cannot!
For better or worse, the actor is limited to the first-person perspective. However, when you are at a distance from the action, for example, when reviewing a critical incident in hindsight, you can use your Abstract Processing System to research what caused you to react as you did. The tool specifically designed for this purpose is the Thought Record. [If you are ready to begin your personal research, navigate to it now].
A well-trained horse task can respond to the intentions of the rider even under difficult circumstances. Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and other service animals have been so well trained that they respond adaptively at critical moments. Likewise, you can train the creature you inhabit to respond in accord with your interests and principles during predictable high-risk situations. The Paths listed in the left column describe ways of preparing the Experiential Processing System to cope with emotional crises and other high-risk situations.