According to recent dual-process theories, interpersonal trust is influenced by both impulsive and deliberative processes. The present research explores the determinants of deliberative trust, investigating how trust decisions are affected by the availability of cognitive resources. We test the interaction of two relevant factors: self-control (the ability to exert mental control over one’s behavior) and the default response (a preselected option that requires minimal or no effort). Past research has shown that self-control has extensive effects on social behavior and decision making. Here, we report that the effect of self-control on trust depends on the default. Across two studies, we find no direct link between self control and trust. Instead, self-control affects trust indirectly by influencing the level of effort in decision making. Poor self-control (due to experimental depletion or trait-based differences) predicts adherence to the default—the response that requires the least effort.
Review of Rational Choice in an Uncertain World: The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making by Reid K. Hastie and Robyn M. Dawes
I co-authored The Tangled Web of Rationality, a book review of Rational Choice in an Uncertain World: The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making by Reid K. Hastie and Robyn M. Dawes, in the American Journal of Psychology. Available here.
Reason and Emotion: A note on Plato, Darwin, and Damasio
I wrote this post with Joachim Krueger and Anthony Evans:
“It is common to think that emotions interfere with rational thinking. Plato described emotion and reason as two horses pulling us in opposite directions. Modern dual-systems models of judgment and decision-making are Platonic in the sense that they endorse the antagonism between reason and emotion. The activities of one system are automatic and often emotional, whereas the activities of the other are controlled and never emotional. The automatic system gets things done quickly, but it is prone to error. The controlled system’s mission is to keep a watchful eye and to make corrections when necessary. Like a watchful parent, this system reins in our impulses and overrides our snap judgments.”