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A Grand Synthesis: Aided by Considering Systems 1 and 2 and Incentive Motivation

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Constraints of Agency

Part of the book series: Annals of Theoretical Psychology ((AOTP,volume 12))

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Abstract

It is argued that consideration of the notion of agency can be illuminated by incorporating into explanatory models: (1) the role of incentive motivation and (2) a distinction between two types of control underlying behaviour: System 1 (fast, unconscious, evolutionarily and developmentally old) and System 2 (slow, in humans consciously accessible, evolutionarily and developmentally new). Agency would seem to be associated with the activity of System 2. The implications of this distinction for assessing conscious agency in brain-damaged patients and in allocating criminal responsibility, amongst other phenomena, are discussed. Consideration is given to Klemm’s argument concerning the efficacy of consciousness in agency.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I am indebted to Steven Rose for this analogy.

  2. 2.

    There appears to be no book describing this case. However, at the time of writing there are a number of serious websites active, which describe the details: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/oct/28/vincent-tabak-porn-searches-jury

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Joanna_Yeates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Open University, Buckinghamshire, UK

    Frederick Toates

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  1. Frederick Toates
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Correspondence to Frederick Toates .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Craig W. Gruber

  2. United States Military Academy, Westpoint, New York, USA

    Matthew G. Clark

  3. Department of Psychology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

    Sven Hroar Klempe

  4. Niels Bohr Professor of Cultural Psychology, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Jaan Valsiner

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Toates, F. (2015). A Grand Synthesis: Aided by Considering Systems 1 and 2 and Incentive Motivation. In: Gruber, C., Clark, M., Klempe, S., Valsiner, J. (eds) Constraints of Agency. Annals of Theoretical Psychology, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10130-9_6

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