Footnotes Quote by Keith E. Stanovich
““There is voluminous evidence that exclusive reliance on heuristic processing tendencies of Type I sometimes results in suboptimal responding (Baron, 2008; Evans, 2007a; Gilovich, Griffin, & Kahneman, 2002; Johnson-Laird, 2006; Kahneman & Tversky, 1973, 1996, 2000; Koehler & Harvey, 2004; Nickerson, 2004, 2008; Nisbett & Ross, 1980; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974, 1983, 1986) and that such thinking errors are not limited to the laboratory (Ariely, 2008; Åstebro, Jeffrey, & Adomdza, 2007; Baron, 1998; Baron, Bazerman, & Shonk, 2006; Belsky & Gilovich, 1999; Berner & Graber, 2008; Camerer, 2000; Chapman & Elstein, 2000; Croskerry, 2009a, 2009b; Dawes, 2001; Hilton, 2003; Kahneman & Tversky, 2000; Lichtenstein & Slovic, 2006; Lilienfeld, Ammirati, & Landfield, 2009; Myers, 2002; Prentice, 2003; Reyna et al., 2009; Stewart, 2009; Sunstein, 2002, 2005; Taleb, 2001, 2007; Tavris & Aronson, 2007; Tetlock, 2005; Thaler & Sunstein, 2008; Ubel, 2000).””
About This Quote
Source Journal Article: Heuristics and Biases in Decision Making, 2008
Relying heavily on fast, intuitive thinking (System I) often leads to errors, especially outside labs.
In simple terms: Quick intuition can be wrong.
Key Takeaway
Balance intuition with deliberate analysis.
Themes
cognition
bias
decisionmaking
psychology
heuristics
Mood
cautious
analytical
inquisitive
Type
analytical
educational
critical
When to use this quote
- medical diagnosis
- financial investing
- policy design
- everyday choices
- team brainstorming
Key Concepts
System I
System II
errorpr
dual‑process theory
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you tell when to switch to slower thinking?
- What safeguards can reduce bias in your field?
A Different Perspective
Intuition is useful but can be over‑trusted without checking.
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