Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST)

Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST) is a dual-process model of perception devised by Seymour Epstein, based around the idea that people use two separate systems for information processing: analytical-rational and intuitive-experiential. The former is deliberate, slow and logical, while the latter is fast, automatic, and emotionally driven. They operate independently of each other, but the result of their interaction produces behaviour and conscious thought, giving rise to a person's observable personality.On an individual level, there might be a marked difference in preference for one processing means over another.This difference can be measured using the Rational Experiential Inventory (REI) which takes into account two criteria for cognitive activity: Need for Cognition (conscious effort to process information) and Faith in Intituition (experiential measure).

Although it might seem superficially more appealing to exercise the rational system at the expense of the experiential system, it doesn't work this way. Suppressing the experiential system and contriving for the rational system to be overrepresented on a daily basis will eventually cause knowledge and skills that are regarded as part of the analytical-rational domain to shift to the intuitive-experiential sphere, although it's entirely possible for our analytical-rational to mend the performance of the experiential system. Given enough cognitive resources, it's possible for the rational system to even hold sway over the amount of influence that the experiential system exerts on our decision-making processes.