Rethinking the Way We Think — Greenbook

Rethinking the Way We Think

How can we apply System 1 and System 2 thinking to become better market researchers?



by Ben Doepke

Principal, Insight & Strategy at IX

Any time we pay for a product or service, there’s a chance we will be asked if we want to round up to donate to a certain cause. According to Thaler and Sunstein’s Nudge Theory and the work of Dan Ariely in Predictably Irrational, most of us shrug our shoulders and answer, “YES,” regardless of our familiarity with that particular organization.

In such moments, there’s a lot of smirking at our perceived irrationality. For a beat, we might even see ourselves as comically flawed. Afterward, it’s pretty easy to return to a state of self-assuredness. After all, we’re experts in this stuff.

It’s been ten years since the original publication of Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow, a book that underscores the fallibility of human judgment. In this time, entire cottage industries have sprung up around systems thinking and behavioral economics. If you’ll recall, Kahneman specified two systems:

Is it now fair to ask if we’ve put these discoveries to their best possible use?

By and large, business—market research, in particular—has cast a gaze into the sea of “other people” and their irrationalities, rather than turning that same eye on our own way of working. Due to many corporate cultures’ obsession with speed and topical efficiency, we obsess over opportunities to ride instinctual and emotional tendencies up through points of purchase. As you’ll see below, it’s costing us opportunity.

The powerful background behind Systems 1 and 2

For a few minutes, I want to bend the conversation back toward us, market researchers.

Ten years prior to Kahneman’s book, Dr. Marcus Raichle indicated that a “resting” brain (reference System 1) uses about the same amount of energy as an “active” or task-positive brain (reference System 2). The systems are equally important, consume equal energy, and are simply busy with different responsibilities.

He called the resting state, “default mode,” and its supporting neural components, a Default Mode Network (DMN). A quick examination of the literature reveals that there’s a good deal more to DMN 1 2 3 4 (i.e. System 1) activity than simple emotional reactivity, namely:

Take a look at the points above as you consider the culture and ethos of your own organization. Perspective-taking, so integral to empathy 5, so influential in the quality of our research, is an expression of DMN activity.

Future thinking and dreaming–so much a part of our creativity 6 and strategic planning–are also by-products of DMN activity.

System 1—or DMN activation—is not just fallibility. It carries the potential to transform the way we think, to improve the way we interact with each other, and to powerfully shift the impact of our work as market researchers. And many are dismissing its full value.

System 2—or DMN deactivation—is not merely a logical mechanism. It helps us interpret or make meaning from our lived experiences, to adjust our beliefs and expectations, and to organize the wildly diverse inputs that arrive through System 1. And so, many misinterpret the deepening value of System 2, as well.

How can we apply Systems 1 and 2 to become better market researchers?

Be intentional about activating and deactivating your DMN. Here are a few ways to activate (engaging System 1):

Here are some DMN deactivators (engaging System 2):