Over the past two decades, psychologists have increasingly emphasized the role of intuition and emotion in human cognition and behavior. Some have even argued that we are so governed by our intuitions that analytic thinking merely facilitates confirmation bias and motivated reasoning. However, a recent trend in thinking and reasoning research has called this position into question, indicating that just being willing to engage in analytic reasoning is a meaningful predictor of key psychological outcomes in diverse areas of everyday life.

The New Reflectionism in Cognitive Psychology reviews the evidence for the most recent theories on human thinking and reasoning, exploring how analytic thinking plays an important role in human morality and creativity. Featuring contributions from leading researchers, the volume also considers research on religious, paranormal, and conspiratorial beliefs.

An essential volume for all students and researchers of thinking and reasoning, The New Reflectionism in Cognitive Psychology emphasizes the role that analytic thinking plays in everyday life and the importance of reason in the modern technological age.

About the Author
Gordon Pennycook is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University, USA.

Reviews

Having contributed to the great rationality debate in cognitive science, I am quite happy to see it evolve into the new reflectionism exemplified in this volume. The chapters amply illustrate that we have arrived at a more nuanced view of the interactions between intuition and reflective thinking. --Keith E. Stanovich, University of Toronto, author of The Rationality Quotient

Demonstrations of human irrationality are interesting and profound, but they have led too many people to reason that people are incapable of reason. This volume puts the question of human rationality in proper perspective, and offers a needed correction to the current fatalism about reason, facts, and objectivity. --Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and Enlightenment Now

Book Information
ISBN 9781138208094
Author Gordon Pennycook
Format Paperback
Page Count 154
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 226g