Two Minds Theory is a novel approach to understanding people's behavior. The overall theory has been developed by professionals in psychology, neuroscience, and economics over a period of years. Our version of Two Minds Theory is intended for health care professionals who want to help people change their behavior to improve their health. But Two Minds Theory can be understood as a very broad explanation for all kinds of behavior, not just health behaviors. We started with the question "why don't people take their medications?" but the answer to that question led us to ask the more general question "why do people do anything?" Two Minds Theory proposes potential answers.
This 15-minute video summarizes key concepts in Two Minds Theory: the intuitive system, the narrative system, the principle of temporal immediacy that differentiates them, and the concept of intention-behavior gaps.
Two Minds Theory suggests that everyone has two separate mental systems, which operate independently of one another. Every time you are confronted by a new situation, both of your minds are activated and generate responses.
The table below (from our 2018 theory paper in Nursing Research) summarizes key differences between the two mental systems.
Adapted from Table 2 in Cook, P. F., Schmiege, S. J., Reeder, B., Horton-Deutsch, S., Lowe, N. K., & Meek, P. (2018). Temporal immediacy: A two-system theory of mind for understanding and changing health behaviors. Nursing Research, 67, 108-121. doi:10.1097/NNR.0000000000000265