Prof. Agnes Moors (KU Leuven) & Prof. Jan De Houwer (Universiteit Gent)

Abstract

The insight that humans do not always think and act in a careful and deliberative manner is arguably the single most influential idea in the recent history of behavioral sciences. It transformed research in psychology and economics, resulting in two Nobel prizes (Kahneman, Thaler). In this talk, we argue that the full implications of this idea can be appreciated only if one takes into account its complexities. In her talk, Agnes Moors focuses on complexities at the conceptual level, including the fact that it is very hard to pinpoint the distinction between different modes of behavior or thinking (e.g., thinking fast vs. slow; implicit vs. explicit cognition) because the various dichotomies used as a basis for these modes may not map nicely onto each other. In a second talk, Jan De Houwer reviews empirical evidence on a wide range of seemingly “low level” psychological phenomena (conditioning, approach-avoidance learning, implicit attitudes, habits) showing that these phenomena have a lot in common with seemingly “high level” cognition. Rather than questioning the basic idea that humans often think and act in a spontaneous manner, we argue that knowledge about these complexities broadens our understanding of and capacity to influence human behavior.