Generalizing a model beyond the inherence heuristic and applying it to beliefs about objective value

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Moral Philosophy
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Cognitive heuristics (System 1) and reasoning (System 2) are fundamental to human decision-making.
• Understanding the interplay between intuitive and deliberative processes is crucial for explaining belief formation.
• The concept of objective moral value remains a significant area of philosophical and psychological inquiry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and define the inherence heuristic within a broader cognitive model.
• To elucidate the interaction between intuitive (System 1) and reasoning (System 2) processes in belief construction.
• To illustrate this general model by examining the formation of belief in objective moral value.

Main Methods:

• Characterizing the inherence heuristic as a specific instance of a general cognitive model.
• Describing the general model of interaction between System 1 heuristics and System 2 reasoning.
• Examining a specific instantiation of the model related to objective moral value.

Main Results:

• The inherence heuristic is presented as a key component in the proposed general model.
• The model successfully accounts for the interaction between intuitive judgments and reasoned beliefs.
• The application to objective moral value demonstrates the model's explanatory power for complex belief systems.

Conclusions:

• The inherence heuristic plays a significant role in shaping beliefs through the integration of intuition and reasoning.
• The general model provides a unified framework for understanding how diverse beliefs, including moral ones, are formed.
• Further research can explore other instantiations of this model across various cognitive domains.