A respected author and educator, L. Jay Mitchell guides the Greenbrier Academy for Girls in West Virginia. At the institution, rigorous academics are combined with enriching therapeutics that help teenagers overcome often severe emotional disorders. One key concept involved in therapy is self identity, and L. Jay Mitchell defines how the self operates through the metaphor of “the scientist and the lawyer.”
Drawing from the work of social neuroscience pioneer Leonard Mlodinow, the metaphor defines oppositional tendencies within the self that impact one’s decision-making. The “lawyer self” is that which rationalizes and substantiates whatever is useful or desirable. Just as an attorney argues a particular position in court, a chosen belief is justified through evidence that one is already looking to discover.
The “scientist self” develops a hypothesis and then gathers evidence, with a focus on objectively identifying theories that help explain observations. Before such ideas are accepted as true, they are tested in real world situations. This logical and rational approach is one that seems preferable to many.
However, research reveals that a majority of people choose that which fulfills immediate wants and desires. In other words, getting what we want is more important than understanding the nature of that want and deciding whether it’s in our best interest. In a construct termed by psychologists as “motivated reasoning,” desire forms the primary impetus for decision-making, instead of a rational thought process.
The way this manifests in forming our self-concept can be complex, with the subconscious “lawyer self” combining illusion and fact in exaggerating one’s strengths and minimizing weaknesses. The conscious “scientist self” then examines what is presented and believes it to be accurate. This is a situation wherein the irrational self controls which evidence is presented to the rational self.
