To maintain and update models of our subjective worlds

Main function of system 1

Understanding a statement begins with pondering the ramifications if it were to be true - what would it mean if it were true. This initial attempt to believe is an action of system 1.  System 1 is "bias" to believe.

Believing

A state of expending considerable cognitive effort over a long period of time without having to exert will power. Known as an "Optimal experience". It is a state of "effortless concentration, so deep they lose their sense of time, of themselves and their problems"

flow

System 1 is highly adept at creating a comprehensive story based on the information available to it - it only represents activated ideas. The quality and amount of data is irrelevant, all that matters to system 1 is how coherent the story is.

What you see is all there is (WYSIATI)

- operates automatically with no sense of voluntary control
- can be programmed by system 2 to mobilize attention to a particular pattern (search)
- executes skilled responses and intuitions after adequate training
- links a sense of cognitive ease to illusions of truth, and pleasant feelings
- distinguishes between surprising and normal
- exaggerates emotional consistency (halo effect) 
- focuses on existing evidence, ignores absent evidence (WYSIATI)
- generates a limited set of basic assessments

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Characteristics of system 1 

- Priming effect (and anchoring)

- Halo effect

- Sampling effect

- Availability heuristic

- Representative heuristic

Effects that arise from system 1 activity

The associative mechanisms in the brain (system 1) seek causes to explain and rationalize events. This is part of the reason why we are bad intuitive statisticians: statistics often deals in probabilities - relating what did happen to what could've happened.

Psychology of Cause and Change

People unconsciously use knowledge about the world when making judgments. Tacit knowledge us usually considered procedural ("knowing how" not "knowing what") and resembles wisdom.

Tacit knowledge

Processing that happens:
- Without intention (unconscious, implicit)
- Low cost of cognitive resources

Automatic processing

The automatic system used in cognition. Generates: feelings, intuitions, impressions and intentions.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Humans use two distinct cognitive systems:
- System 1 is fast, intuitive, unconscious and automatic.
- System 2 is slow, reflective, conscious and controlled.

Dual systems of cognition

Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Nota, 2013.

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

There are two modes of processing in social cognition:
- Automatic Processing 
- Deliberate Processing

Dual Modes of Processing in Social Cognition

System 1 thinking represents a mode of cognitive processing that is rapid, automatic, and intuitive. Operating effortlessly, it is often guided by emotion and serves as the primary driver for everyday decisions, judgments, and initial impressions.

System 1 Thinking

System 2 thinking represents a mode of cognitive processing that is slow, deliberate, and analytical. This system is specifically activated for effortful tasks that require complex computations.

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