We recently adopted an adorable black and white cat named Benny. Benny’s behavior rotates through a handful of distinct modes: exploring, playing, napping, cuddling, grooming, hunting, and begging for food. And his behavioral modes demonstrate a very important concept about the human mind: mental modules.
The theory of mental modules asserts that your mind is composed of many distinct modules –programs that drive your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.1
Which program (or programs) is active at any given moment depends on many factors: the situation, your past experiences, your genes, and – critically – your own free will. And understanding how mental modules work will actually enhance your free will, allowing you to make better choices and live a better life.
The Modular Theory of the Mind
I was introduced to this concept by Robert Wright’s excellent book, Why Buddhism is True. Wright explains how modular mind theory “helps makes sense of some of life’s great internal conflicts” as well as why “thoughts think themselves.”2 My modules want different things, so I want different things. Modules seem to speak for themselves, so many of my thoughts arise automatically.
According to Wright, “the conscious mind – the conscious ‘self’ – isn’t special in the way that we commonly assume it’s special. It’s not calling as many shots as we think it is. It’s less like a president than like the speaker of the US House of Representatives, who presides over votes and … may do some behind-the-scenes nudging and exert some influence over the votes.”2
Your Mind is More than Just Modules
Although mental modules are one of the key features of the human mind, they are not the only feature. The brain uses a blended strategy: some abilities are modular and/or localized in specific brain areas, while other abilities are more general and diffuse.3
There is debate about the degree to which the mind is modular,4 and there remains much we do not understand about the nature of consciousness,5 so the theory of mental modules doesn’t explain everything.
(I’m not sure this behavior can be explained at all. Does he have a “maximize-cuteness” module?)
While many scientists think that understanding mental modules is an important step toward unraveling the mysteries of human cognition, that is not why I’m writing about this. I’m teaching you about mental modules because this concept will be of practical help to you on your quest to become better.
Why You Need to Understand Mental Modules
Understanding how mental modules work is tremendously important. It will help you make sense of your emotions, improve your thinking, and empower you to make better choices. This theory helps explain why we often experience internal conflict, why it can be so difficult to decide what to do, and why we sometimes make choices we regret.
Although the concept of mental modules seems to imply a limitation on your free will, by understanding how these cognitive programs work, you will actually increase your power to choose what you do, what you think, and how you feel. The Speaker of the House has more power to influence decisions when they know all the representatives, their motivations, and how they interact with each other.
To understand the modular theory of the mind, we’ll use our cat Benny as Exhibit A. His mind is far simpler than ours, and his repertoire of mental modules is much smaller, so he offers an easy entry point into this theory.
Many Modules Are the Result of Natural Selection
The most popular form of modular mind theory is based on evolutionary psychology. Prominent theorists Leda Cosmides and John Tooby concluded that the mind is composed of evolved mental modules because:
“1. The human mind is a product of natural selection.
2. In order to survive and reproduce, our human ancestors had to solve a number of recurrent adaptive problems (finding food, shelter, mates, etc.).
[and]
3. Since adaptive problems are solved more quickly, efficiently, and reliably by modular systems than by non-modular ones, natural selection would have favored the evolution of a … modular architecture.”4
In other words, rather than being a universal problem-solving organ, the brain is composed of many different problem-solving modules, each specialized for a unique type of problem.
Animal minds are modular for the same reasons. Benny, for example, has innate mental modules for adaptive behaviors like hunting, grooming, hiding, and playing. These are all behaviors that were easy for him to pick up as a kitten because his brain had ready-made mental programs for each of them. This is not to say that he didn’t benefit from observing his mother and his siblings; he did. And this is not to say that he doesn’t need to practice these skills to keep them sharp; he does. The point is that these behaviors come very naturally to him because they would have served his ancestors well.
Similarly, humans are genetically predisposed to having mental modules that would have served our hunter-gatherer ancestors.6 For instance, I have a mental module for navigating in the forest – an innate adaptation that would have helped my ancestors survive. This is not to say that my module for navigating the forest serves no modern purpose; since I am an avid hiker, it does. And this is not to say that, because the module is innate, it has not been honed by training; it has.
But Modules Can Also Be Learned
Although many of our mental modules are to some degree instinctual, others are learned programs that are not genetic and only serve purposes in the modern world.6
Benny quickly figured out that the sound of a spoon banging lightly against a metal dish could mean it’s lunchtime. Whenever he hears anything remotely close to this sound coming from the kitchen, he runs in, crying for food. (Benny is very food-motivated.) The canned cat food he gets and the sound of it being spooned into a feeding dish would not have been features of his ancestors’ environment, but his brain added a module for understanding and responding to these stimuli (albeit, an overactive one).
I, too, have learned programs that help me thrive in the modern world, such as the mental module I have for crafting polite responses to email. But the fact that these are learned modules doesn’t mean they don’t rely on underlying abilities; they do.
Benny’s food-sound response is an extension of his genetically programmed drive to find food, and my module for replying to email relies on older modules, such as command of language and understanding social norms. So although a behavior may be “new” in an evolutionary sense, it can still depend on preexisting innate adaptations.
Modules Can Also Overlap
Mental modules are not always mutually exclusive programs that run in isolation. They aren’t like the blades of a Swiss army knife.2 Quite often, there is overlap among them, and multiple programs will be running simultaneously. They can interact like players on a stage. This is more apparent in humans than in cats because our repertoire of modules is so much bigger, but we can observe this phenomenon with Benny.
We recently got a bird feeder, which attracts many potential hunting targets to our back porch. Benny relentlessly attempts to hunt the dark-eyed juncos and black-capped chickadees that frequent the feeder, undeterred by the sliding glass door that always prevents him from getting to his targets. But if we drag a toy around while he’s “hunting,” he’ll engage play-mode – excitedly chasing a neon-colored string around the room. At the same time, however, he keeps an eye on the patio, and will rapidly switch his attention from the toy to a bird and back to the toy again as the bird flies away.
You experience module overlap whenever you’re in a situation that calls on you to run multiple programs at the same time, such as an office holiday party. At such an event, you will simultaneously need to run mental modules for having a conversation, eating and drinking politely, navigating a social hierarchy, and whatever else the party calls for.
This example actually demonstrates the purpose and power of mental modules: The automatic nature of a well-developed cognitive program allows you to perform several complicated tasks at the same time with little effort.
And One Module Can Overpower All Others
Overlapping modules are often working cooperatively with one another. Sometimes, though, they compete for dominance.2 When one module wins control, it commands your attention, your thoughts, your feelings, and your behavior.
When Benny really wants food, there’s little else his mind can handle. Getting petted? Nope. Manners? Nope. Only yelling. Angry yelling.
When we get really hungry, we’re a little better than that, but there’s a reason “hangry” is a widely-understood term.
So what kind of modules have the power to dominate others?
Two kinds: the ones that are the most important to survival (eating, going to the bathroom, avoiding danger, etc.), and the ones that are the most deeply practiced (long-ingrained habits and addictions).
To avoid having our minds hijacked by survival modules, we need to take good care of ourselves (one more reason to make self-care a priority every day).
And we need to be wary of the power long-standing habits can have over our minds. If you’ve ever wondered why an addict will do extremely irrational things to maintain their self-destructive lifestyle, it’s because the “use-drug-of-choice” module is overpowering all others.
Module Switching
To change your behavior or to change your mood, you need to change mental modules. Sometimes, this happens as a result of environmental stimuli – something happens, and you change modules as a result. Other times, you deliberately choose to make a change.
When Benny’s brain switches from one of his mental modules to another, the change is dramatic. For example, he might be sitting on the couch, calmly cleaning himself, but then see a bird through the window, and instantly switch into hunting-mode. His pupils dilate, and he hops onto the floor, crouching down and stalking his prey (only to be quickly thwarted by the aforementioned sliding-glass door).
Human behavior is certainly more complex, but we’re really not so different. I can be sitting in the living room doing a jigsaw puzzle, totally engrossed in the activity, but then my wife walks in the front door. My brain then switches from puzzle-mode to reconnect-with-partner-mode. I get up, walk toward her, give her a hug, and listen to her tell me about her day.
The point is that you’ll never be permanently stuck with any given mental module. If you wait long enough, something in your environment will change and cause you to switch programs. But you don’t have to wait. You can choose to switch to a different – hopefully better – module at any time.
Mental Modules Have Momentum
Changing programs, however, is often difficult because mental modules have momentum. Whichever program is currently dominant will tend to have staying power. This means that when you decide to shift modules, it may take some time and effort to fully make the shift.
If Benny is in attack-mode – either because he’s playing or hunting – he can’t instantly switch to cuddle-mode. Even if he appears calm, it’s unwise to pet him if he’s just been on the hunt. His mind is still in attack-mode, and he will either see your hand as a threat or as something to kill. It takes him quite a while to unwind. He needs a hard reset in order to switch modules (in his case, taking a nap).
You might be similar. If you find it hard to unwind after work, to get yourself to stop thinking about work, tempted to keep checking work emails, then you, like Benny, might need a hard reset. If just sitting down on the couch or at the dinner table and trying to make yourself relax isn’t enough, you might need a quick nap, some exercise, or a walk in the park.
Anyone with young children will recognize this module momentum whenever their child is told playtime is over. Their brains struggle to let go of the thing they’re doing and move on to the next thing, even if it’s something they also enjoy.
Some Module Switching is Easier
Benny has a much easier time transitioning from a positive module to a negative module. If something upsets him, he can go from cuddly to defensive in an instant. Going the other direction, however, is much more difficult. He cannot transition quickly and easily from a negative mood to a positive one.
Hence, if he’s angry and defensive, you should not try to pet him. He’ll need some time to calm down.
Humans are very much the same, if a bit more complex. We can be having a good day, and then one bad thing happens, and it triggers a complete shift in mood, thought, and behavior. But as easy as it is to go from positive to negative, it’s far more difficult to go from a bad mood to a good mood.
It’s important to keep this in mind and understand that it’s a part of human nature. You must give yourself permission to be human, just as we give Benny permission to be a cat.
Some Module Switching is Compulsive
Benny can instantly switch into and out of cleaning-mode with ease. If he’s woken up from a nap, he might lick himself several times and then fall right back asleep. Or he might interrupt playtime with a bit of grooming, seemingly at random.
The human equivalent might be checking our phones. Most of us do this compulsively throughout the day, interrupting our activities with mindless phone-checking. Luckily, there is something we can do about this compulsion that Benny can’t: We can remove the stimulus from our environment, putting our phones in airplane mode and leaving them in another room.
Another compulsive behavior Benny has is scratching things – mostly the carpet and furniture (but, of course, not his scratching posts). To prevent him from damaging what he scratches, we get his nails trimmed every month. The compulsion remains, but it’s harmless.
The human equivalent might be installing a site-blocker plugin to your browser to prevent you from going to distracting websites. I’ve done this for Facebook and Google News, and I sometimes still compulsively attempt to visit those sites, only to be thwarted by the site-blocker.
Dominant Modules
By far the easiest module for Benny to switch into is begging for food. It doesn’t matter how much he’s been fed or how recently, he always wants more food. That is his dominant module.
Humans have dominant modules too. Think about the behaviors you engage in most often, or the types of thinking you most easily slip into. Those are your dominant modules.
It’s important to know what your dominant modules are because they might not be helpful. For example, in my 20’s, using marijuana was my dominant module; it was the behavior I defaulted to most of the time. Maybe your dominant module is seeking out distractions whenever you’re bored. Or it could be procrastination whenever you have a difficult task. Or perhaps your default mode in conversation is complaining. None of these are helpful.
(Click here to learn how to overcome procrastination.)
(Click here to read how to stop complaining and why that’s so important for success and happiness.)
Luckily, our mental modules aren’t fixed. We can influence them through our behavior and our thoughts. We’re not limited to the mental modules that served our foraging ancestors, and we’re not stuck with the modules we learned as children. We can reject modules that don’t serve us, we can encourage better modules to take their place, and we can add entirely new modules at any time.
Encouraging Module Switching
Benny can sometimes be encouraged to favor one mental module over another. Most often, we’re trying to redirect his begging-for-food module. If I pet him while he’s begging for food, as long as he’s not legitimately hungry, he’ll sometimes switch (briefly) into cuddle-mode, becoming sweet and affectionate. Or if I pull out a toy and start playing with him, he might switch into hunting-mode and eagerly chase a colored string.
Other times, his playing module leads to inappropriate behavior, such as attacking my pen while I’m working. When he’s in the mood to kill things, there’s little hope of getting him to switch into cuddle-mode or nap-mode, but I can redirect his energy toward a better target by giving him a toy to play with.
Any parents reading this will recognize these tactics from their own efforts to redirect their children toward better behaviors. But the point here is not to use the concept of mental modules to influence others. The point is to use it to direct our own minds and our own behavior toward better thoughts and better choices.
Awareness Helps
The first step is awareness. We can only choose more helpful mental modules if we’re aware of the fact that we have competing ones.3 When you find yourself tempted by an unhelpful desire, ask yourself, “What else do I want?” and then ask yourself, “What do I want more?”
Developing this awareness is difficult. Journaling and mindfulness meditation can help you increase your awareness of your own thoughts and feelings, giving you more control in the moment.
Meditation is also a way to deliberately practice module-switching: Every time you catch your mind wandering and bring it back to your breath, you’re switching from one module to another – from one that took control without your choosing to the one you want to be active. Over time, this practice can dramatically increase your ability to control your own mind, as Wright explains:
“Indeed, you may find it useful to think of meditation as a process that takes a conscious mind that gets to do a little nudging and turns it into something that can do a lot of nudging – maybe even turns it into something more like a president than a speaker of the House.”2
Rejecting Modules That Don’t Serve Us
We don’t have to accept whatever the default module is at any given moment. The module that’s speaking the loudest might not be the best option. It might not be aligned with your goals or values. You don’t have to obey it.
The module that’s encouraging you to take positive action might be just a whisper, but it’s there. And if you choose positive action, you’ll give it strength. The unhelpful module will quiet down, allowing the helpful module to take center stage because actions speak louder than thoughts.
Similarly, the module that is dominant in your mind will determine how you interpret events in your life, and that interpretation will determine your response. If you’re dissatisfied with your emotional and behavioral response to a given situation, try applying a different mental module to your interpretation of the situation.
Cultivating Better Modules
I have a mental module that’s very judgmental, but I have also cultivated a loving-kindness module that I can draw upon to counteract it. I’m naturally impulsive and have a wandering attention, but I’ve cultivated mindfulness to counteract those tendencies.
Probably the best strategy for encouraging better mental modules is environmental design. If the default options when you enter your home are TV, video games, or junk food, those are the modules that are most likely to get activated. Instead, the default options could be books, board games, and healthy food.
Craft your home environment and workspace to make it easier to choose better behaviors and have more helpful thoughts. Apply The 20-Second Rule by making healthy choices more convenient and unhealthy choices less convenient. Leave visual reminders around that inspire you to be more resilient, more patient, or more loving. (Here are some printable reminders you might like.)
You Can Add New Mental Modules
We have the power to install new modules into our brains through study and practice. You have mental modules for all your habits and hobbies, for your career and for your chores, for the relationships you have with other people.
For example, I like to play chess. I have a mental module for chess that knows the rules and a bit of strategy, is interested in learning how to play better, and encourages me to play when I have spare time. But before I learned how to play chess, I did not possess this module. And the more I learn and play, the stronger this module gets.
The same is true for the mental modules I have for website development, blog writing, tutoring, and calculus. These are all skills I chose to cultivate.
The point here is that you’re not stuck with the modules you currently have. If you want to learn guitar or coding or Spanish, you can. If you want to become a person who does yoga or eats salad or knits wool hats, you can. You simply have to put in the work of creating a new module for whatever behavior you’d like to adopt. But, of course, simple isn’t the same as easy.
Adding New Modules is Hard
The concept of mental modules helps explain why new behaviors are so hard to do at first: You haven’t developed a neural program for them yet.
When you first start trying to learn guitar, for example, you won’t just have a hard time because you’re a beginner; you’ll also have a hard time because the mental module for practicing guitar isn’t well established. The new module doesn’t have a strong, convincing voice compared to the more well-established modules in your mind. So when you have spare time that you could use to practice guitar, the voice asking you to do so will easily be drowned out by the voices of other modules, such as the one asking you to watch TV.
Thus, when installing a new mental module, you should expect it to be difficult, and you’ll need to employ strategies to make it easier. Gradually, though, it will get easier. The more time and energy you spend using the new module, the stronger it will become. Do it enough and it will become part of your identity.
Aso, to choose one mental module over another, you’ll need to see it as rewarding. As James Clear explains in Atomic Habits, behaviors only get repeated if they’re satisfying.7 For installing new habits, this means using an effort-tracker or calendar chain to get the satisfaction of marking down what you’ve done. With Benny, this means giving him affection or treats when he does good things.
(For more help with installing good habits that run on autopilot, send me an email to schedule a free habit coaching consultation: chris@becomingbetter.org.)
You Are More Than Your Modules
Just as you are not your thoughts, you are not your modules. When you have a thought or a compulsion to do something, that’s just one of your modules speaking up. You don’t have to be ashamed of yourself for having the thought, and you don’t have to perform the behavior it’s suggesting.
And just as you are not any one of your modules, you are also not merely a collection of various modules. You are the whole that is greater than the sum of your parts.
Your mind may have competing modes, programs, and roles that it adopts depending on the situation, but what makes you you is the choices you make about which modules to use, which ones to discard, and which ones to cultivate.
Think of the cartoon devil vs. angel on your shoulders. It’s like that, but with perhaps dozens of different voices competing for your attention, each asking to be put in the driver’s seat. Who you are – and who you become – is ultimately about which voices you listen to and which ones you ignore. Even as your habits, genetics, culture, and circumstances pull you in one direction, you can choose another.
A Modular Identity
The modular theory of the mind teaches that you are not one thing. You don’t have a fixed essence. You are simultaneously a collection of amendable mental modules and the orchestrator of those modules.
At first, it feels strange and wrong to think of yourself in this way. We’re accustomed to thinking of ourselves as having a well-defined, fixed identity – a “self” or a “soul.” Although this theory does not argue that you don’t have an identity – that there’s no self that makes you you – it does change the definition of that self.
You are a complex, dynamic being. You can draw upon a broad repertoire of thoughts and behaviors and experience a correspondingly broad array of emotions. You can change. And you can choose to change.
“The more you let a single belief define you, the less capable you are of adapting when life challenges you. … If you cling too tightly to one identity, you become brittle. Lose that one thing and you lose yourself.” –James Clear7
As I wrote in one of the final chapters of my humorous memoir, you don’t have to be just one thing. In fact, it’s harmful to overidentify with any one of your mental modules. Instead, embrace the diversity within your own mind and develop a rich, multifaceted personality.
And, like Benny, do this freely and without shame.
1 Carruthers, Peter. “The mind is a system of modules shaped by natural selection.”
2 Wright, Robert. Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Simon and Schuster, 2017.
3 Haladjian, Harry Haroutioun, Ph.D. “Consciousness and the Modularity of Mind.” Psychology Today. June 27, 2016.
4 Robbins, Philip, “Modularity of Mind”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
5 Burkeman, Oliver. “Why can’t the world’s greatest minds solve the mystery of consciousness?” The Guardian. January 21, 2015.
6 Johnson-Laird, P. “Mental modules on the brain.” Nature 389, 557–558 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/39231
7 Clear, James. Atomic Habits. Avery, 2018.