Switching Cognitive Gears: From Habits of Mind to Active Thinking

TLDR

Switching cognitive gears refers to the ability to move between automatic and conscious processing, and its effectiveness depends on an individual’s capacity to recognize when a switch is appropriate. The authors aim to develop a perspective on the transition from automatic to active thinking, outline conditions that trigger it, and propose future work to create a framework for the reverse transition. They apply this perspective to workplace contexts, identifying specific situations that prompt actors to shift from habitual to active thinking.

Abstract

The phrase "switching cognitive gears" is used to call attention to the fact that cognitive functioning involves the capacity to shift between cognitive modes, from automatic processing to conscious engagement and back again. Effectiveness may be as much a function of an actor's capacity to sense when a switch is appropriate, as to process in one or another mode. In this paper the authors develop a perspective on the switch from automatic to active thinking and the conditions that provoke it. They apply the perspective to work settings and identify types of situations in which actors are expected to switch from habits of mind to active thinking. They propose further work to develop a framework for understanding the switch from active thinking to automatic.