Kahneman - Two Thinking Systems

Every day we make decisions from the simple ones as to put on pants or not, to take more complex decisions where large consequences are at stake, such as (when you need) to choose the right material within budget to build a bridge where road users shall be able to cross the river safely. The two types of decisions have different time duration for consideration, where the first decision is rather automated the second one demands more time to investigate the alternatives in order to make the most satisfactorily choice regarding the safety of the road users.

The many years of research performed by noble prize winner of economics, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (died 1996) is distilled into a book titled; “Thinking, Fast & Slow”, which were published by Kahneman in 2011. Kahneman’s thesis has revolutionized the understanding of the human behavior and highlights our cognitive biases and thereby shows the brilliance and the limitations of the human mind. Kahneman discovered the two operating systems of our brain; system 1, which represents fast thinking and system 2, which represents slow thinking. The discovery of this dichotomy shows that the two systems of thinking will arrive at different end-results with identical input of data.

Decision-making is crucial in project, programming, and portfolio management, which makes Kahneman’s groundbreaking discovery essential to the understanding of how we as humans act. This article will focus on the two-thinking systems in relation to project management , how it effects the engine of human thinking and how we can learn to actively use the two systems most effectively when managing projects.

General

Project management as a job can be described as the way a person organizes and manage the resources, that are necessary to complete a specific project. Every project has criteria within agreed parameters that must be achieved. In order to succeed with this, a project manager must handle processes, methods, skills, knowledge, and have the correct experience to achieve those parameters on an acceptable level . In other words, a project manager is not only responsible for planning and overseeing the whole project, but also interacting with both personnel and stakeholders.

The role of a project manager requires a certain skillset such as a high level of communication, the ability to share a clear vision and to motivate the colleagues to perform at their best . The project manager has responsibility for the whole “project life cycle” . The role of a project manager also requires the skills to be able to solve problems, building a team, to delegate, to make decisions and to show integrity. In other words, it requires the skill of shaping the required behavior of the people involved in the project in order to accomplish your task in the best possible way. How do they work, how do they think, how do they commit to the project? We will look at these questions and try to come up with some answers and we will look at the changing and shaping of the certain behavior amongst co-workers through focusing on Kahneman’s theory about fast and slow thinking. This theory is built on the two fictional systems; System 1 and System 2.

System 1

System 1 is the automated system which we as human has no control over. System 1 relates to our feelings and our memory and is based on first impressions and intuition. As Kahneman states “System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort, and with no sense of voluntary control” [to the book]. It is possible to show some examples of the characteristics of System 1.

• Orient on the source of an unexpected sound
• Answer simple mathematical questions as 2+2 = ?
• Read words on large billboards
• Depth between two objects (which object is closer than the other)
• Understand simple sentences
• Connect specified characteristics with stereotypes (curly long hair, tanned, seashell necklaces, loving the sea equals to a “surfer dude”) [to the book]

System 1 is the system humans use almost all the time. When System 1 meets difficulty, it calls on System 2 to support in more details to solve the current problem. As humans we tend to believe that we are rational beings in control and that we have reasons for our course of action which refers to system 2 but we are not in control. It is maybe hard to believe but System 1 is generally very good at what it does. Its short-term predictions are normally accurate, it can model familiar situation and its initial reaction to challenges are generally quick and suitable. One of the downsize of System 1 is that due to its speed it is prone to errors and has biases incorporated.

System 2

System 2 is deliberate and controlling which makes it possible for us to solve complicated computations. It can be very effective if we slow things down and have focus. It makes it possible for us to control/restrain our actions and can makes us blind or deaf to the surroundings that are not implicated in the task that it is used on which is tested in “The Invisible Gorilla” study by Christopher Charbis and Daniel Simons . System 2 has the advantage that it can register things that System 1 does not see and that it is logical, so less error prone. The various operations of system 2 have one thing in common – they require your attention, and the operations are disrupted when attention is drawn to something else. Below are some examples of system 2 activities:

• Calculate a more complicated mathematical expression (27 x 43 = ?)
• Spot a woman with white hair in a crowd
• Focus on a certain voice in a noisy room
• Compare two similar products to determine the overall value
• Monitor your appropriateness in a social gathering
• Check the validity of complex logical argument
• Control outburst when needed in social circumstances

So why don’t we use the more logical System 2 all the time? The main reason is ego depletion. The heavy work of using System 2 causes ego depletion which means that our self-control and will power draws upon a limited pool of mental resources . System 2 uses so much more energy and therefore its mentally tiring for our mind which physically exhaust our bodies to cope with the logical thinking all the time. Therefore, is System 2 working on low effort especially compared to the highly active System 1. System 2 has the advantage that by operating at a minimum effort, it can be used to optimize performance. As example you are able to control your feelings when it is necessary. It can be in a situation where your boss is being rude, but you still need to control yourself an put up a facade in order not to scream at her and tell her to shut up. System 1 & 2 are complementary systems that works together to produce an effective and efficient decisions in any situation we find ourselves in. System 2 is considered lazy, but a reason for this slow processing is the sheer availability of continuous information from System 1. The quick intuitive respond to changing circumstances performed by System 1 is far greater than the effort it requires to leverage and engage the logic of System 2. Hence, whenever System 2 is engaged in a decision it often has the last word in the decision.

Figure 1: An overview

Annotated Bibliography

Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/toc/id:kpGPMBKP02/guide-project-management/guide-project-management