Automatic vs Reflective

In Nudge, Thaler and Sunstein say there are two different cognitive systems - automatic and reflective

Automatic system is instinctive, unconscious, fast, and effortless.  It is what Farenheit is to most Americans. 

Reflective system on the other hand, is self-conscious and deliberate.  It is cognitive thought, and often slow. You can call it the rational side of humans - they call it the Mr. Spock.  It is what Celsius is to most Americans..

Automatic systems have their own inertia that often prevents us from doing something we’d want to do otherwise. In some ways it is the knee-jerk reactions we may want to get rid of, but are very difficult to.  

This explains why learning a new language is so difficult.  Our native language is automatic and comes out without us thinking about it. But a new language is reflective.  It is slow, thoughtful, and difficult.  Thus, bilingual implies both languages are automatic.

Heuristics could be seen as part of the automatic system, as they are rules of thumb that are almost instinctive to us.  

Thinking about Reflective vs Automatic is essential when you are trying to influence someone's behavior, and nudge them in a certain direction.  Obviously, tailoring your message to the Automatic system will be the most effective, as it has that inertia an they probably do not even realize they are thinking in that way. 

I wonder if that is related to the "Hot Decision making" principle, that people make different decisions when they are aroused (tested in a sexual context, but it could be any sort of arousal).  That's why infomercials always try to create some sort of urgency to their message, isn't it?  They want to communicate to the Automatic side of their customer, and make them buy the product before they put to much thought into it.  

And if that's true, than the best shoppers are the ones who take their time and do some good Reflective thinking on things.  So take that Schwartz - maximizers may be making better decisions than satisficers do, because they are not as subject to their automatic impulses.