Professor's 'subselves' theory is valuable cognitive tool

New York Times columnist David Brooks highlights several scientific concepts discussed in an edge.org symposium that asks the question: What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit?

Included in Brooks' list of widely applicable terms – concepts like "placebo effect" and "random sample" that make people more aware of human cognitive functions – is ASU psychology professor Douglas Kenrick's "subselves" concept.

Brooks writes: "This is the idea that we are not just one personality, but we have many subselves that get aroused by different cues. We use very different mental processes to learn different things and, I’d add, we have many different learning styles that change minute by minute."

Brooks mentions other concepts: Stephon Alexander's idea of duality – "the idea that it is possible to describe the same phenomenon truthfully from two different perspectives" – and Helen Fisher's entry on "temperament dimensions" – an understanding of four broad temperament clusters regulated by various attributes such as sociability, aggressiveness and attention to detail, empathy, and enthusiasm for risk.

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