Thinking & Doing Can Be Different

Have you ever noticed how you can KNOW something and then be tricked into thinking something else. There are all those perception tricks, for example, like this one at Dan's Ariely's website, which clearly demonstrate that our brains don't always perceive the truth. (I have a HUGE crush on Dan Ariely. Such a brain!)

So why do we believe we should do one thing yet do something completely different? Why do we fail to exercise self-control or skip following through with a plan when we really know we should?

Robert Kurzban is an evolutionary psychologist, and associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He believes that instead of "one mind", we actually have a ton of different pieces and sometimes those pieces can be in conflict with each other.

His idea that the mind is modular is somewhat new and a little controversial. He likens it to a smart phone that has lots of great applications.

Not all the modules co-exist peacefully. Sometimes they have to fight it out to get you to behave in a way that best suits their agendas. That's why you end up turning into  McDonald to buy a Big Mac and two blueberry and maple pies; the modules in your brain which require highly caloric rich foods win over against the modules that are set on you losing that last five pounds.

Much the same theory can be applied to buying stuff on credit when you know you should really be working at paying off your debt; the pleasure centres which derive satisfaction from the acquisition of something new win out against the planning centres that want you to stop shopping on credit.

This conflict between modules in our brains can be frustrating, but they are also what make us so flexible and such good learners. And it is this very conflict that defines our humanity.

Self-deception takes many forms. There are the folks who consider themselves to be infinitely more attractive than are. Think of some of the Princesses I've worked with. Or the people who think they are better drivers than they actually are. Or the folks who consider themselves to be good with money, but don't have a nickel saved for the future.

As a rule, we also like to divert blame for our bad decisions to some external source, while we are very willing to accept responsibility for the things that turn out well. Kurzban says, "I think people are making use of what I would call psychological propaganda. So if I can claim credit for whatever it is that's good that's just happened, and someone else believes me, well that's good for me, because it's good to be held in high esteem and to be the bringer-about of good outcomes. That makes you popular and being popular is useful."

Taking charge of the context of our lives may be the key to doing what's right, instead of doing something that's in conflict with what we're thinking we should be doing. It's the old, "Don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry" rule.  When you're hungry, your fat and sugar and salt modules are running the show and so you're that much more likely to pull all the wrong things off the shelf. But eat before you go, and shop for only the things that are on your list – so control your context – and you're that much more likely to behave in line with your thinking.

If you're thinking that the mind's conflicting modules can let you use the old "The devil-module made me do it" excuse, think again. While your mind's conflicting modules exert a strong influence on you, you're still responsible for the action you take. So if you have a couple of drinks and get into the car and have an accident, you chose to do it. And if you're feeling a little blue so you grab your cards and head to the mall, you can't blame your conflicting module for the debt you ring up.

Knowing that there is conflict is the key to not letting the wrong module win the battle. As Kurzban says, "Changing our contexts can enable us to give some modules an advantage over others, particularly the ones that we want to have the advantages."

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