--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Adaptive decision making is the…" description: "\"“Adaptive decision making is the quintessence of rationality, but the items used to assess intelligence on widely accepted tests bear no resemblance to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/keith-e-stanovich-33707_decision-making_adaptive-decision-making-is-the-quintess_712723.jpg" --- # Adaptive decision making is the quintessence of… ![“Adaptive decision making is the quintessence of rationality, but the items used to assess intelligence on widely accepted tests bear no resemblance to measures of rational decision making. This creates some curious phenomena that we do in fact tend to notice. We do tend to notice, and to find…” quote by Keith E. Stanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/keith-e-stanovich-33707_decision-making_adaptive-decision-making-is-the-quintess_712723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/keith-e-stanovich-33707_decision-making_adaptive-decision-making-is-the-quintess_712723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/152/keith-e-stanovich-33707_decision-making_adaptive-decision-making-is-the-quintess_712723.jpg) > ““Adaptive decision making is the quintessence of rationality, but the items used to assess intelligence on widely accepted tests bear no resemblance to measures of rational decision making. This creates some curious phenomena that we do in fact tend to notice. We do tend to notice, and to find mildly perplexing, "smart people doing dumb things." But the way that we have historically measured intelligence makes this phenomenon not perplexing at all. If by smart we mean IQ-test smart and by dumb we mean poor decision making, then the source of the phenomenon is clear. IQ tests do not measure adaptive decision making. So if we are surprised at a high-IQ person acting foolishly, it can only mean that we think that all good mental attributes must co-occur with high intelligence-in this case, that rational thinking must go with high intelligence.”” [Keith E. Stanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-e-stanovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence tests measure raw cognitive ability, not the ability to make good real‑world decisions, so smart people can act foolishly. **In simple terms:** IQ tests don’t capture adaptive decision making. Key Takeaway Recognize that intelligence and rationality are distinct. Themes intelligence rationality decision making misconception behavior Mood thoughtful analytical Type explanatory critical When to use this quote - job performance - financial planning - health choices - personal relationships Key Concepts cognitive psychology bounded rationality dual process theory Questions to Reflect On - How can we better assess adaptive decision making? - What contexts reveal the gap between IQ and rational behavior? A Different Perspective IQ scores may still predict many outcomes, limiting the claim. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Intelligence Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-makes-355958/) [Iq Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iq-person-5619068/) [Measured Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measured-intelligence-1119737/) [Rational thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-thinking/) [Smart people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart-people/) ## Related quotes > [“You may not be the person with high IQ, but you can be the person with highest hard work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-be-the-person-with-high-iq-but-you-can-be-the-person-with/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Maturity is not determined by size, it can only be measured with intelligence. 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