By Design: How People Adapt to Cognitive Limitations in Politics

Elections, jury deliberations, lawmaking, high-stakes negotiations and related activities are human attempts to answer the question "How should we live?" Collectively, we know these activities as politics. Politics are how societies attempt to reconcile diverse individual needs with potential benefits of social coordination. People's beliefs about what others will do ainfluence many political strategies and outcomes. This article reviews how properties of cognition affect these political phenomena. Contrary to the common belief that many citizens are too ignorant to make competent political decisions, we focus on a central finding of social science-how societies can design contexts and environments to overcome individual cognitive limitations. These adaptations expand societal capacities to provide essential goods, services, and protections. In addition to explaining these adaptations, we also show how greater collaborations between cognitive science and the social sciences can help societies do even better. This article reviews roles of cognition in political decision making. Contrary to the common belief that many people are too ignorant to make complex political decisions, a central finding of social science clarifies how societies can design contexts to help voters, jurors and legislators overcome cognitive limitations. These designs empower individuals and expand societal capacities to provide important goods and services.