--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cognitive theorists have a term for what…" description: "\"“Cognitive theorists have a term for what Eve just experienced. They call it her Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device, or HADD. This is a biological ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/462/reza-aslan-2665_human-agency_cognitive-theorists-have-a-term-for-what_2366714.jpg" --- # Cognitive theorists have a term for what Eve just… ![“Cognitive theorists have a term for what Eve just experienced. They call it her Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device, or HADD. This is a biological process that arose deep in our evolutionary past, all the way back in the days when hominids were still stooped and hairy. In its simplest terms…” quote by Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/462/reza-aslan-2665_human-agency_cognitive-theorists-have-a-term-for-what_2366714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/462/reza-aslan-2665_human-agency_cognitive-theorists-have-a-term-for-what_2366714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/462/reza-aslan-2665_human-agency_cognitive-theorists-have-a-term-for-what_2366714.jpg) > ““Cognitive theorists have a term for what Eve just experienced. They call it her Hypersensitive Agency Detection Device, or HADD. This is a biological process that arose deep in our evolutionary past, all the way back in the days when hominids were still stooped and hairy. In its simplest terms, HADD leads us to detect human agency, and hence a human cause, behind any unexplained event: a distant sound in the woods, a flash of light in the sky, a tendril of fog slithering along the ground.”” [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are wired to attribute agency to unknown phenomena, a survival trait that can mislead perception. **In simple terms:** Our brain seeks causes, even where none exist. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about unseen forces. Themes cognition evolution belief misinterpretation Mood analytical curious Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - nighttime noises - unexplained lights - superstitions Key Concepts agency detection pattern recognition evolutionary psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does this tendency affect your decisions? - When have you misattributed cause? A Different Perspective Overreliance on this bias can foster fear or superstition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cognitive Theorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognitive-theorists-5814967/) [Hadd Biological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hadd-biological-5814968/) [Human Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-agency-1613534/) [Human Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-cause-3077781/) [Hypersensitive Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypersensitive-agency-5814969/) ## Related quotes > [“How can one human being cause such a crack in my existence?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher-thief/how-can-one-human-being-cause-such-a-crack-in-my-existence/) [Tarryn Fisher - Thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher-thief/) > [“Human agency, the ability to affect the surrounding world, may be a result not so simply of conscious choice - but instead a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/human-agency-the-ability-to-affect-the-surrounding-world-may-be-a/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [Progress is the product of human agency. 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People are bigots and they use religion to justify their ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-people-are-bigots-and-they-use/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Scattered across the Roman Empire, it was only natural for the gospel writers to distance themselves from the Jewish independence movement by erasing, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/scattered-across-the-roman-empire-it-was-only-natural-for-the-gospel/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“There is a term for this phenomenon—politicomorphism, or “the divinization of earthly politics”—and it is, to this day, one of the central features of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-is-a-term-for-this-phenomenon-politicomorphism-or-the/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Obama has been the single worst president in modern American history in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/obama-has-been-the-single-worst-president-in-modern-american-history/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [There's no question that homophobia is rampant among the world's 1.5 billion Muslims - but that doesn't negate the fact that there are huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-s-no-question-that-homophobia-is-rampant-among-the-world-s-1-5/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Well, to be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament and fluency in Biblical Greek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/well-to-be-clear-i-am-a-scholar-of-religions-with-four-degrees/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“There would be no more record of who was rich and who was poor. 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