chapters

The Puppy and the Puppy Trainer

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 way better than experiential processing. The problem is that rational processing requires substantial cognitive resources, and so it is generally not available at times when cognitive resources are exhausted or otherwise occupied—such as during the critical moments of crisis.

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 cognitive resources to use your Abstract Processing System, to which it is obvious that 5 times 10 = 50 [not 100].

Multiplication is done by the Abstract Processing System. So, when you shift the audience's attention to the math they usually get the right answer pretty quickly — although some take a little longer.

The Critic & the Performer

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 [the Experiential Processing System also known as the puppy] 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 analyze what caused you to react as you did.

The Cognitive Therapy Fork

You are now at a fork in the road. You can can take a shortcut and begin your personal research now. Alternatively, you can continue along the default path for a greater understanding of the challenge you face. Whichever choice you make you can always come back here later to explore the path not taken.

The insights of rational processing stay intellectual until they are translated by practice into muscle memory. There is a difference between the musical performance of someone who has an intellectual understanding of how the piano should be played but has rarely practice, and the effortless, often beautiful performance that results from extensive practice.

Another way to put this: For an abstract insight to do you any practical good, it must result in change at biological level. Think of the relationship between the trainer and an idealized canine such as Lassie or Rin Tin Tin, which has become the subject of moving literature because the dog and trainer are able to collaborate with each other. In fact, during crises the animal is able to perform in ways that promote the interests of its human collaborator.

The tennis player and coach is a similar metaphor that focuses on how the perspective of the player in the arena and the perspective of the coach observing the unfolding events from a distance can inform each other and enable a better outcome than would be possible for either alone.

 

 

 


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