Francis Simonh M. Bries (2012-24817, Ma Psychology)....

Francis Simonh M. Bries (2012-24817, MA Psychology) Psychology 282: Reflections—A Theory of Heuristic and Systematic Information Processing 14 February 2017 Heuristic and Systematic Processing: When Do People Think? As opposed to attribution theory s emphasis on human rationality in the search for the causes of behavior, the theory of heuristic and systematic information processing takes a stance on the opposite end: Humans, with all things being equal, could not be bothered to think deeper than what can be concluded using learned shortcuts and easily accessed information. The latter heuristic processing is preferred in most situations as it does not require cognitive effort because of its automaticity yet nevertheless arriving at†¦show more content†¦No matter how much voters are requested to use information, conscience, or whatever form of rationality to decide on matter of national interest, an uninformed and unmotivated electorate would always resort to emotional appeals, endorsements, and easily accessible cues—as predicted by the theory. Perhaps, even when extreme accuracy is required by the situation, the motivation to consider information systematically more significantly determines when people would engage in the latter. As such, the current theory would come as an unpleasant surprise to people who obstinately cling to their hopes on the absolute rationality of humanity. With the theory developed within Western psychology and their culture’s history of the Enlightenment, scientific thinking, and philosophical introspection, the notion of an automatic heuristic process operating separately from more conscious cognition appears unacceptable. However, some of the heuristic cues introduced in the attitude studies that served as the basis of the theory may be acceptable for collectivist cultures. Factors such as audience response and consensus information are inherently central to cultures where interdependence and unified perspectives are expected (i.e. that the perspectives of one’s community must be considered alongside one’s own). As such, whereas an individualist culture would cite these variables as