The Model offers a simplified way of understanding our two thinking brains and how we can learn to use them to the best of our ability. A mind management model is not pure scientific fact or a hypothesis.
It is just a simple representation to aid understanding and help us to use the science. It may also help us to make sense of how we have been in the past, how we are now, and how we can manage ourselves better in the future. In our mind management model, the inner Chimp is the emotional team within the brain that thinks and acts for us without our permission. The logical team is the real person, it is you; rational, compassionate and humane, and is the Human within. The memory banks for reference are the Computer
The Computer System
The Computer is a reference source for both the Human and Chimp. It stores their beliefs about what is right and important in the world. The Computer also stores memories, providing advice from past experience. Whilst it does not think for itself, the Computer can be programmed to take action in certain circumstances, making it the fastest system in the brain.
The Human System
The Human is the conscious thinking system in the brain – it is you. Only you can decide how you would like to be in life and how you would like to live your life. The human’s basis for thinking therefore is facts and logic, which can take time to piece together.
The Chimp System
The Chimp is a primitive system in the brain which you do not control. The Chimp can think for itself and works with drives and instincts for surviving in the jungle. The Chimp’s basis for thinking is its feelings and impressions of the world; it is emotionally driven, impulsive, and quick to react.
The Neuroscience Behind The Chimp Model
If we consider the brain as a machine that can function in different ways, a valid question could be ‘can we develop the ability or skill to manage our brain, and make it work for us in the way that we want it to, all of the time?’ In other words, ‘be the person we want to be, have the emotions we want to have and always act in the way that we want to act?’
To help do this, Professor Steve Peters developed The Chimp Model which consolidates complex neuroscience into an easy-to-understand model.
