Thinking, Fast and Slow, published in 2011, distils the research of Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist who won the 2002 Nobel memorial prize in economics, and his long collaboration with Amos Tversky. Its organising device is a contrast between System 1, which is fast, automatic and intuitive, and System 2, which is slow, effortful and deliberate.
Kahneman shows how System 1 relies on shortcuts that usually serve us but produce systematic errors. Chapters explain anchoring, the availability heuristic, overconfidence, the planning fallacy, the neglect of base rates and the illusion of understanding. A central section presents prospect theory, which explains why losses loom larger than gains and why people's choices depend on how options are framed.
The final part distinguishes the experiencing self from the remembering self, with surprising implications for happiness and well-being. Dense with experiments readers can try on themselves, the book reshaped behavioural economics, public policy and management thinking. Some studies it cites have not replicated well, which later commentary has acknowledged.
Book details
| Author | Daniel Kahneman |
|---|---|
| First published | 2011 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Psychology |
| Type | Non-fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 500 |
Themes
- Cognitive biases
- Intuition versus deliberation
- Prospect theory
- Decision making
- Well-being
Who should read it
Anyone who makes decisions under uncertainty and wants to understand where their judgement goes wrong.