Two ways of processing
The rational system works through language, logic and conscious effort. The experiential system is older, quicker and tied to emotion, and it learns from lived experience. Both operate together and each can influence the other. People can know something is unreasonable and still feel its pull, as when a superstition affects them despite their disbelief.
Evidence and measurement
The theory is often illustrated by the ratio-bias effect, where people prefer drawing from a bowl with more winning items even when its odds are worse. Questionnaires have been developed to assess preference for analytical and intuitive thinking, and the two tendencies appear largely independent of each other, so a person can be high on both.
Critical view
This theory belongs to a wider family of dual-process accounts, and critics question whether two truly separate systems exist or whether processing varies along a continuum. Its broader personality claims have been tested less directly than its claims about reasoning.
Further reading
- Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologist, 49, 709-724.
- Pacini, R., & Epstein, S. (1999). The relation of rational and experiential information processing styles to personality, basic beliefs, and the ratio-bias phenomenon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 972-987.