An interesting topic I read today is “Human is a cognitive miser.” Just as a miser seeks to avoid spending money, the human mind often avoids spending cognitive effort. How are people stingy when it comes to cognition?
In psychology, the human mind is considered to be a cognitive miser due to the tendency of people to think and solve problems in simpler and less effortful ways rather than in more sophisticated and more effortful ways, regardless of intelligence. – from Wikipedia
We do not make scientific decisions by collecting and analyzing all the information we need when making judgments. It takes a lot of time and energy to make decisions. So, we save energy and make judgments easily and simply. Accordingly, emotions rather than reason determine how we judge, causing us to make irrational decisions. How unreasonable are humans?
For example, people believe that blood type defines a person’s personality. There is a myth that men with blood type B are bad guys in Korea. It is said that type B men suffer a lot because of it. When a handsome man comes out on a blind date, his appearance of “good-looking” alone makes a hasty generalization that his personality will match his appearance. The image of this first impression is solidified into a “stereotype” that does not change quickly.
I was that kind of woman, too. I dreamt of a fantasy where a handsome guy devoted himself for love watching a love story in a Hollywood movie. The idea that a handsome man would be a good man grew bigger while watching numerous movies. However, when I met guys, I realized that a gorgeous man could be a bad guy with many lovers, and I suffered the pain of love.
We believe that our thoughts and judgments are right rather than the idea that our decisions are limited, and those unreasonable feelings may be based on them. The phenomenon of cognitive miser often appears within the boundaries of individual limited experiences and knowledge, including stereotypes, prejudices, biases, and errors. When these stereotypes gather and have collectiveness, they appear as discrimination against race, gender, religion. When this worsens, they cause social problems in violence such as conflict, discord, war, etc.
While meditating, I had a chance to think deeply about my thoughts and my judgments and actions. I learned that I had so many stereotypes and prejudices that I didn’t want to admit. I judged the people such as family members, friends, relatives, and neighbors as standards that made and thought I was right. I lived thinking that he was a good person if he fits my mind, and he became a wrong person if it didn’t fit my frame. I realized that it was impossible to fit the world into my framework. After realizing that all the causes were in my mind, I abandoned the frame of mind. If I hadn’t meditated, I would never have realized those deep-rooted minds. After the cognitive miser inside me disappears through meditation, it becomes free to think and judge, deeper and more cautious. Meditation allows me to abandon my self-centered and narrow consciousness and return to the original consciousness. Now I’m a person who can think deeply and widely about what I want to do. I feel wiser and more thoughtful as the days go by. Thank you so much. ☘🌼🌻🍀
