The Unity of Higher Cognition: The Case against Dual Process Theory

Dual process theorists posit the existence of two distinct types (type-1/type-2) of cognitive processing in order to explain domains of higher cognition such as reasoning and decision-making. Such theories typically allude to co-varying clusters of properties (i.e. a dual-cluster thesis) as well as an underlying mechanism or system for each processing type (i.e. a dual systems thesis). I will argue that a host of empirical findings cast doubt upon the validity of both theses, and that simpler models of higher cognition—that do not appeal to types of processing—might be preferable