Under the Hood: Common Thinking Patterns of Principal Investigators

Abstract

We all have habits. Some of our habits may be a result of conscious choice and we may not be even aware of others (if you think you don’t have any habits, just ask your sibling/parent/child/significant other—they will be happy to provide a list). Some of our habits can be helpful to achieve our goals (like exercising regularly), others may be neutral or even impede us in reaching our goals.

Habits can be not only behaviours, things we do, but we also have habitual thinking patterns. Just like physical habits, some of our mental habits can be helpful for achieving our goals and others may not be: e.g. drawing the conclusion from a failure that we are not good at something and we should stop is not a habit that helps to achieve your goals. I asked PIs about some of their thinking habits because it will be useful for you to emulate not only the behaviour of PIs but their ways of thinking, as well. I think that just as there is a body position that makes it easier to ride the bicycle, for example, there is a “mental position”, a way of thinking that makes it easier to be a PI, for example. I also think we can find out what that “mental position” is by looking into the most common ways PIs think. As you will see, not all PIs have the same mental habits (far from it). Although I may not be able to tell you which ways of thinking are more useful than others, I think the more common ways are probably routine because they help them to become and stay PIs. I am also convinced that being aware that there are other ways of thinking than the way you naturally do, and trying out those other ways from time to time will be useful.

In this chapter, we discuss some of the thinking patterns of PIs, including their information processing and goal-setting habits, how they make decisions, and how they get convinced, and reassure themselves that they are on the right track.