Charles Duhigg wrote the book Smarter Faster Better, in which he discusses the eight secrets of being productive in life and business. One of the eight principles is the role of focus in our daily productivity.
In this post we’ll discuss mental models as a way to focus and avoid cognitive tunneling. We’ll finish off with two case studies on how cognitive tunneling can cause a crisis and how mental models can avert them.
Modern Automation & Human Focus
We live in a world full of automations. Computers today do the same work many humans did in the past. Smartphone autocorrect and automatic call-forwarding are two simple innovations in an increasingly complex digital world.
In addition to the digital, humans also use cognitive automations called heuristics to make quick decisions. Heuristics allow us to simplify the complex world around and decide what to focus on.
Modern psychology has also shown how automation has negatively impacted our ability to focus.
Cognitive Tunneling & Reactive Thinking
Cognitive tunneling is a mental error that sometimes happens when our brains transition suddenly from relaxed automation to panicked attention. In this state, our mind suddenly switches from proactive to reactive thinking.
Cognitive tunnels cause us to focus on whatever is directly in front of our eyes. In this state we become preoccupied with immediate, seemingly urgent tasks.
Once in a cognitive tunnel, we lose our ability to direct our focus. Instead, we focus on the easiest and most obvious stimulus. And we tend to lose our common sense along the way.
Of course, reactive thinking isn’t all bad. It helps us execute faster by following a set routine. Calendars and to-do lists are common ways we might manage our tasks reactively. The issue comes when our habits and reactions are so automatic that they overpower our judgment.
Once our motivation is triggered by something external, we simply react.
What Is A Mental Model?
A mental model is a representation of how something works. Rather than diving into the details and reviewing the intricacies of a complex project, we can simplify ideas with models.
Common mental models include supply and demand curves, game theory and the law of diminishing returns.
Some of my personal favourite models include Atomic Habits, organising from the inside-out, the Miracle Morning System, the Getting Things Done methodology and the Bullet Journal system.
And that’s far from an exhaustive list. You must know countless others yourself.
Why Are Mental Models Important?
Mental models allow us to plan and predict the future. They allow us to think clearly, make more intelligent decisions and better understand our environment. We can also use models to optimise and strategise.
Models allow us to dig deeper when the insights don’t match our narrative. In this sense, mental models are a sort of internal fact-checker.
Various studies from across the globe have shown that top-performers in the workplace share a few interesting traits. Superstars constantly generate new theories and try to explain the world to themselves and their colleagues.
In one case, a senior nurse at a Neonatal intensive care unit walked by a seemingly healthy baby and noticed something was off. There was already a junior nurse watching over the infant who said the baby was fine, because she was eating and sleep well.
But sensing something was wrong, the senior nurse called for some antibiotics. The baby received the medication just in time, in the early stages of sepsis. This potentially fatal condition was identified by a few minor signs: blotchy skin, blood on her heel and a distended belly.
In this case, the senior nurse created a mental model of what a healthy baby looked like. And these three signs set off alarm bells in her mind.
The idea is that isolated facts can’t help us as much as mental frameworks.
That’s why mental models are so crucial.
How To Create Your Own Mental Models?
We can start building mental models by telling ourselves stories about the world.
Duhigg lists four ways we can create better mental models.
- On your way to work, envision your day and what you’ll do.
- In a meeting, describe to yourself what you’re seeing and what it means.
- Find other people to hear your theories and challenge them.
- Force yourself to anticipate what will happen next. Then you’ll notice what goes unmentioned or if a stray comment could actually be a warning sign.
The above exercises force us to rethink our everyday lives and identify trends. Once we create our models, we’ll be able to quickly notice when something deviates from the expected trends.
Case Study – Air France 447
Air France Flight 477 took off from Rio De Janeiro towards Paris in May 2009. The airplane, an Airbus A330, was designed to automate nearly each moment of the flight. The cockpit computer would display various alerts when something happened on the flight.
About halfway through the flight, the mechanism measuring airspeed froze over. Pitot tubes have frozen over throughout all of aviation history. And seasoned pilots know that they defrost after a few minutes of flying.
When the frozen pitot tubes caused the auto-flight system to shut down, the pilot took over manual controls. In response, he started overcorrecting and pointing up the nose, causing the plane to fly higher. His co-pilot saw the plane was ascending and told him he needed to level out. The pilot agreed, then continued to ascend even further.
What happened in this case was that the pilot had been relaxed for four hours until the incident. When the airspeed readings froze, he entered a cognitive tunnel and began applying irrelevant routines he was familiar with.
Air France 447 ended up reaching such a high altitude that the pilot lost control of the plane. Unfortunately, Air France 447 ended up crashing into the Atlantic Ocean.
Case Study – Qantas 32
In preparation for a different flight in 2010 – Qantas 32 – the captain quizzed his crew. He tested them on the mental models he expected them to use on the flight. The captain also made it clear that he expected them to say whenever they thought something was wrong.
When the Airbus 380 took off from Singapore, everything seemed normal until they reached an altitude of 7,400 feet and heard a loud boom from the left wing.
Alarms started popping up on the computer display. 21 out of the 22 major flight systems were either damaged or completely inoperable.
The captain decided to turn around and return to Singapore Changi Airport. He radioed to air traffic control that he would ascend to 10,000 feet, but his crew yelled “No!”
They voiced their concerns.
Climbing higher might strain the engines.
The change in altitude could cause the fuel to leak faster.
It would be safer to stay low and keep the plane flat.
The captain had flown over 15,000 hours and always envisioned an emergency situation to involve getting higher to have more options. But each model has its gaps, and his crew helped him find them. The plane remained at 7,400 feet for the time being.
The crew dealt with a number of irrelevant, automated alerts before realising they needed a different approach. That’s when the captain decided to imagine this plane as the first plane he’d ever flown. That plane was not automated in the slightest.
By imagining the Airbus as a simpler plane, the captain was able to disregard the computer and focus on the essentials. This technique helped the crew land safely at Singapore Changi Airport.
Later investigation deemed Qantas 32 to be the most damaged Airbus 380 to ever land safely.
Focus in a Nutshell
Computers seem to play a larger role in our world everyday. It’s easy to think of automations only in terms of the positives. But it has a greater negative impact on our productivity than we might normally consider.
When we’re forced to focus after a period of relaxed automation, we risk cognitive tunneling. This state of mind can make us hyperfocus on whatever’s directly in front of us – no matter how irrelevant.
Mental models help us approach unexpected problems productively. By telling ourselves stories about the world, we can dig deeper when the insights don’t match our narratives.
The Air France 447 and Qantas 32 case studies help us understand the role of cognitive tunneling and mental models in emergency situations.
Learn to improve your focus with mental models and Mind & Practice today.