Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M8176

Dual Process Theory

Dual Process Theory
Learn & MetacognitionHigh supportCognitive Psychology
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Updated 2026-08-10

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Kahneman popularized the account in which human thought runs on two systems: System 1, fast, automatic, intuitive, and cheap in energy, and System 2, slow, deliberate, analytical, and expensive to run. System 1 handles most of the day and handles it well, while System 2 supervises and overrides it when the stakes justify the cost. The model's practical value is in attributing error: most cognitive bias is System 1 operating outside the conditions it was tuned for, which tells you when it is worth paying for System 2's intervention.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Name the driver: ask which system is handling this decision right now. - Pay for the check: invoke System 2 only where the stakes justify its cost. - Set the defaults: arrange the environment so System 1's first move is a safe one.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

System 1 is fast because it runs on learned association rather than computation, which makes it efficient and systematically biased in the same step. System 2 can override it but is expensive and reluctant to start, so errors persist not because the correction is unavailable but because the cheaper system was never challenged.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_process_theoryZH · Explicit
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