HEURISTICS, DUAL-PROCESS THEORIES, LOGIC, AND MENTAL MODELS

Abstract

Dual-process theories differentiate two components in the human mind. Intuition is the main ability in one of them: System 1. The essential ability of the other one, System 2, is deliberation. Heuristics have been linked to System 1, to System 2, and to both of them. The latter alternative is adopted by Nadurak. This paper follows that alternative too. It takes an example Nadurak gives and, based on it, shows that deliberation is indeed necessary to modify heuristics. The paper shows this from two perspectives: from an approach considering the human mind to be led by standard logic, and from a framework rejecting that very idea: the theory of mental models.