Dual-process theory, behavioral research and the explanation of social inequalities

This article discusses how dual-process theory (DPT) can be articulated to provide a comprehensive toolbox to explain social inequalities. DPT posits that human behavior defaults to fast and intuitive rules of thumb, and that we are capable of switching to more reflective decision-making processes in certain situations. I argue that social scientists can use DPT to federate into a coherent framework several explanatory mechanisms reflecting a combination of intuitive and reflective processes relevant to different choice situations. For this purpose, we must first delineate the psychological architecture of dual processing, which involves the distinction between frames and heuristics, scripts and emotional responses among intuitive processes as well as between reflective processes of cognitive and of behavioral regulation. Second, I argue that DPT allows social scientists to specify systematically the conditions of activation of the two types of processes and the diverse interactions between them. Third, I derive a set of inequality mechanisms by connecting this framework to macro-level factors reflecting the uneven distribution of economic, social and cultural resources. I provide several empirical illustrations of the heuristic value of this approach relating to socioeconomic, gender and ethno-racial inequalities. Fourth, I suggest that DPT sheds light on a specific set of inequality-generating mechanisms identified in behavioral research that have been overlooked by mainstream social stratification theories and that relate to inequalities in decision-making processes.