As you play the game, you'll unlock thoughts in your Thought Cabinet. You'll need a slot for each thought. You'll begin the game with three slots available, plus nine more that you can purchase using skill points. You'll need to research thoughts to gain the full benefit from them. It'll take you time to do the research. You'll only be able to conduct research while you're awake.

While you're researching a thought, you'll gain a bonus from it, and you'll be able to move it into or out of a Thought Cabinet slot at any time. When the research is complete, you'll replace the researching bonus with a new (and usually better) bonus, and the thought will stay in its slot permanently, unless you remove it by spending a skill point. If you remove a researched thought from its slot, then you'll lose it for good.

Information about the thoughts is listed below.

Aces High (2h 45m)
	Researching Bonus: +1 Empathy towards Kim	Completion Bonus: -1 Logic +1 Empathy towards Kim +1 Esprit de Corps	How Obtained: After shooting down the hanged man, give Kim an Ace's High.
Aces Low (2h 45m)
	Researching Bonus: +2 Empathy towards Kim	Completion Bonus: +2 Empathy towards Kim +1 Esprit de Corps	How Obtained: After shooting down the hanged man, give Kim an Ace's Low (requires 5 Interfacing).
Actual Art Degree (1h 30m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Perception	Completion Bonus: -1 Hand/Eye Coordination Conceptualization passives heal +1 Morale and give +10 XP	How Obtained: Repeatedly talk about art.
Advanced Race Theory (1h 40m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Drama	Completion Bonus: Learning cap for Rhetoric raised to 5 +1 Conceptualization	How Obtained: Pass a Conceptualization check with Measurehead to subscribe to his race theory.
Anti-Object Task Force (2h 15m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Pain Threshold	Completion Bonus: +1 Pain Threshold All FYS learning caps raised by 1	How Obtained: Be violent to objects (like the mail collection box and Klaasje's door).
Apricot Chewing Gum Scented One (5h 5m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Reaction Speed	Completion Bonus: +2 Perception	How Obtained: Open the secret compartment in your Damaged Ledger and smell the card you find inside. Then wear Pour L'Homme Labourer Jeans to find Apricot Chewing Gum Wrapper, and interact with the wrapper. Smelling the wrapper will unlock the thought.
Arno van Eyck (50m)
	Researching Bonus: +1 Interfacing	Completion Bonus: All MOT White Checks unlocked Reveals Arno van Eyck gig posters in the world	How Obtained: Complete the melody part of the task Make van Eyck's Jam Harder Core.
Bankruptcy Sequence (6h 30m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Empathy	Completion Bonus: INT White Check failures give +1 real	How Obtained: Succeed in pitching a bad idea or fail in pitching a good idea to the mega-rich light-bending guy in the harbor.
Boiadeiro (6h 30m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Physical Instrument	Completion Bonus: -1 Esprit de Corps Cigarettes give +2 INT	How Obtained: After accepting the task Open Apartment Door for Evrart, talk to Call Me Manana and ask him, "Why are you striking?" Then keep asking him questions until you can say, "Got the picture. Let me ask you something else." At this point, if you have at least 4 Suggestion, then you'll be able to ask him about his name. If you follow this up by passing a "legendary" Inland Empire check and naming yourself Tequila Sunset, then he'll call you a boiadeiro. If you ask him what that means, then you'll unlock this thought.
Bow Collector, The (6h 10m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Authority -1 Hand/Eye Coordination	Completion Bonus: +3 Shivers	How Obtained: Read the card hidden in your Damaged Ledger (requires Interfacing). Then after passing out, ask your Ancient Reptilian Brain about the bow collector (requires 6 Conceptualization).
Bringing of the Law (Law-Jaw) (2h 55m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Rhetoric	Completion Bonus: Learning cap for Hand/Eye Coordination raised to 6 Succeed with all Hand/Eye Coordination passives -1 Rhetoric	How Obtained: Keep referring to yourself as the law, and then introduce yourself as the "Lawbringer" when you meet Lilienne in the fishing village.
Caustic Echo (10h)
	Researching Bonus: +1 Volition	Completion Bonus: +300 XP -1 Authority All MOT learning caps raised by 1	How Obtained: Let the card hidden inside your Damaged Ledger blow away in the wind, and then wonder what was written on it.
Cleaning Out the Rooms (5h 35m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: +1 Suggestion +1 Inland Empire +1 Rhetoric	How Obtained: Complete the task Help Soona with Her Project, and then pass a "godly" Logic check with Soona.
Coach Physical Instrument (40m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Encyclopedia	Completion Bonus: +2 Physical Instrument -1 Encyclopedia	How Obtained: Fail the petanque throw with Gaston and Rene while having at least 3 Physical Instrument.
Col Do Ma Ma Daqua (7h 10m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: +3 Perception -1 Encyclopedia	How Obtained: After Day 1, learn about cryptozoology from Lena in the Whirling-in-Rags, and then pass a Suggestion check to learn about cryptids, including the Col Do Ma Ma. When you leave the Whirling-in-Rags, you'll hear a high-pitched sound, perhaps from the cryptid in question. If you pursue it, then you'll trigger the thought.
Cop of the Apocalypse (6h 55m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Rhetoric	Completion Bonus: Learning cap for Inland Empire raised to 6 Learning cap for Shivers raised to 6	How Obtained: Keep bringing up the Apocalypse (Apocalypse Cop copotype).
Date of Birth Generator (7h 15m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: Learning cap for Logic raised to 4 -1 difficulty to all FYS passives	How Obtained: Learn from Klaasje that the hanged man was 42. Then with 4 Visual Calculus, a thought orb should appear over your head. Clicking on it will lead to the thought.
Detective Costeau (2h 30m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Conceptualization	Completion Bonus: +1 Savoir Faire +1 Esprit de Corps	How Obtained: Keep referring to yourself as Detective Costeau. This requires you to fail a Conceptualization check when you first meet Kim and he asks for your name.
Fairweather T-500 (3h 30m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Savoir Faire	Completion Bonus: +2 Hand/Eye Coordination against enemies in FT-500 armor	How Obtained: Find and equip a piece of the hanged man's armor.
Fifteenth Indotribe, The (5h 55m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: +10 cents for every green orb clicked Learning cap for Savoir Faire raised to 6	How Obtained: Talk to Joyce (at her boat in Martinaise East) about Wild Pines, specifically about the conglomerate shipping 8 percent of the world's cargo.
Finger on the Eject Button (2h)
	Researching Bonus: +2 Authority +2 Suggestion	Completion Bonus: A suicide idea appears every evening	How Obtained: [Unverified by us.] Supposedly gained by talking about suicide three times, and then promoting suicide to Lilienne's twins during the task Ask Lilienne's Twins about the Island.
Finger Pistols (9mm) (1h)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Savoir Faire	Completion Bonus: +1 Reaction Speed Having both hands empty gives +1 Suggestion	How Obtained: The first time you meet Siileng, he'll shoot his finger-pistols into the air. If you pass a passive Composure check, you'll be able to shoot yours off, too. This will unlock the thought.
Guillaume Le Million (4h 30m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Logic	Completion Bonus: +1 Pain Threshold All PSY learning caps raised by 1	How Obtained: Pass an Encyclopedia check when you first look in your mirror at the Whirling-in-Rags.
Hardcore Aesthetic (1h 50m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Interfacing	Completion Bonus: +1 Endurance +1 Volition	How Obtained: Complete the task Sync Sines with Noid. Then ask Noid about his suspicions, true life, and hard core life, and pass a "godly" Conceptualization check.
Hobocop (4h 20m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Composure	Completion Bonus: Reveals extra special collector's edition tare bottles on the map Earn twice as much when redeeming tare Learning cap for Shivers raised to 6	How Obtained: Click on the thought orb after discussing your bill with Garte in the Whirling-in-Rags.
Homo-Sexual Underground (8h)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: Stop obsessing about sexuality (this will unlock new dialogue with Kim)	How Obtained: Complete the task The Smoker on the Balcony, and then pass a Composure check with the smoker in the Whirling-in-Rags.
Indirect Modes of Taxation (1h 45m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Empathy	Completion Bonus: Ultraliberal dialogue options give +1 real -1 Empathy	How Obtained: Repeatedly support capitalism, including the taking of bribes. Wear Black Monkstraps.
Inexplicable Feminist Agenda (3h 45m)
	Researching Bonus: +2 Authority against men	Completion Bonus: +1 Empathy -1 Electrochemistry	How Obtained: When interviewing Garte in the Whirling-in-Rags, press him about Sylvie and claim to be a feminist (requires Rhetoric).
Insulindian Miracle, The (7h 45m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: All White Checks unlocked	How Obtained: Tell Joyce Messier about Evrart Claire's plan for a war while she's in Martinaise West (that is, after triggering the task Ask about Ruby in the Village and before completing the task Return to the Whirling-in-Rags). She'll respond by telling you about the discovery of the Insulindian isola, which will unlock the thought.
Jamais Vu (Derealization) (3h 25m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: +1 XP for every orb clicked All INT learning caps raised by 1	How Obtained: Talk to Lena (in the Whirling-in-Rags) to trigger the task Get a Reality Lowdown. Then talk to Joyce (in Martinaise East) about her boat, then ask her for a reality lowdown, and finally ask her, "Where *are* we?"
Jamrock Shuffle, The (1h 5m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Esprit de Corps	Completion Bonus: Find better loot in locked containers	How Obtained: Open enough locked doors (like the communard's apartment door in the Capeside Apartments, and the warded back room door in the Doomed Commercial Area).
Kingdom of Conscience (1h 25m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Half Light	Completion Bonus: Moralist dialogue options heal +1 Morale Learning cap for Volition raised to 5 Learning cap for Logic raised to 5	How Obtained: Stay neutral or moderate during political discussions.
Litany of Contact Mike, The (15m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Logic -1 Conceptualization -1 Drama	Completion Bonus: All FYS White Checks unlocked	How Obtained: Talk to Acele in Martinaise West about Contact Mike.
Lonesome Long Way Home (6h 5m)
	Researching Bonus: +1 Encyclopedia	Completion Bonus: Learning cap for Perception raised to 5 Speed gives +1 PSY	How Obtained: Click on the thought orb after discussing your bill with Garte in the Whirling-in-Rags.
Magnesium-Based Lifeform (1h 15m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Shivers	Completion Bonus: +2 Volition -1 Logic	How Obtained: After noticing magnesium in Cuno's shack, ask him about it. You can also gain this thought from increasing your Composure to 5.
Mazovian Socio-Economics (3h 10m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Visual Calculus	Completion Bonus: Left-wing dialogue options give +4 XP -1 Visual Calculus -1 Authority	How Obtained: Keep promoting communism.
Motorway South (8h 10m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Visual Calculus	Completion Bonus: All INT White Checks unlocked +1 Inland Empire	How Obtained: Complete the task Talk to Joyce about the Pale without Kim, and then talk to Paledriver about the Pale.
One More Door (45m)
	Researching Bonus: +1 Half Light	Completion Bonus: -1 Half Light All PSY White Checks unlocked	How Obtained: Attempt to open the depot door in Martinaise West (north of the church). If you have at least 4 Conceptualization, then you'll unlock this thought.
Opioid Receptor Antagonist (55m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Electrochemistry	Completion Bonus: No positive effects from drugs No negative effects from alcohol	How Obtained: When you talk to Klaasje, ask her about her room and her drugs, and then tell her that "narcomania is nothing to be proud of."
Overproductive Honor Glands (20m)
	Researching Bonus: -4 Drama	Completion Bonus: +25,000 honor points Learning cap for Authority raised to 5	How Obtained: Do honorable things like refusing bribes and speaking the truth.
Precarious World, The (4h)
	Researching Bonus: All Red Checks fail	Completion Bonus: Critical success and failure thresholds lowered by 1 (so success on 11 and 12, failure on 2 and 3)	How Obtained: Ask the novelty dicemaker about the failed businesses in the Doomed Commercial Area, and then pass a Shivers check with her.
Regular Law Official (1h 20m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Inland Empire	Completion Bonus: -1 Shivers -1 Inland Empire All learning caps raised to 3	How Obtained: Repeatedly say boring things (Boring Cop copotype).
Remote Viewers Division (5h 25m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Perception	Completion Bonus: -1 difficulty to all PSY passives -1 Drama	How Obtained: [Unverified by us.] Learn about the Remote Viewers Division from Kim when opening the locked trash container behind the Whirling-in-Rags. Then repeatedly select supranatural dialogue options.
Revacholian Nationhood (9h 10m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Composure	Completion Bonus: Nationalist dialogue options damage -1 Morale Alcohol gives +2 FYS	How Obtained: Repeatedly say fascist things.
Rigorous Self-Critique (6h)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Authority	Completion Bonus: INT and PSY Red Check failures heal +1 Morale FYS and MOT Red Check failures heal +1 Health Learning cap for Pain Threshold raised to 6	How Obtained: Apologize a lot (Sorry Cop copotype).
Searchlight Division (3h 15m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: +2 Perception	How Obtained: Ask three people (Lena, Lilienne, the working class woman in front of the bookshop) if they're missing someone. For Lilienne, you'll need ask her about three people you're looking for (Morell, Ruby, the working class husband), and when she makes a joke, ask her if she's missing someone.
Some Kind of Superstar (1h 10m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Logic	Completion Bonus: -1 Logic Learning cap for Visual Calculus raised to 6 Learning cap for Suggestion raised to 6 Learning cap for Electrochemistry raised to 6 Learning cap for Composure raised to 6	How Obtained: Keep referring to yourself as a superstar (Superstar Cop copotype).
Suicide of Kras Mazov, The (4h 45m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Rhetoric	Completion Bonus: White Check failures heal all Morale +1 Rhetoric	How Obtained: Examine the trash container behind the Whirling-in-Rags but don't open it. Talk to Garte about the trash container. With 1 Rhetoric and 3 Encyclopedia, you'll pass the necessary passive checks, which will allow you to chastise him for guarding leftovers, and suggest that maybe you're Kras Mazov. Afterwards, go to the communard's apartment in Capeside Apartments, examine the bust of Kras Mazov there, and convince Kim that you might be him.
Torque Dork (25m)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Conceptualization	Completion Bonus: +2 Interfacing All Interfacing White Checks unlocked	How Obtained: [Unverified by us.] Repeatedly identify vehicles (such as Kim's car and the crane in the harbor).
Volumetric S**t Compressor (30m)
	Researching Bonus: None	Completion Bonus: All Endurance White Checks unlocked Learning cap for Endurance raised to 4	How Obtained: Fail twice to approach the hanged man behind the Whirling-in-Rags.
Waste Land of Reality (20h)
	Researching Bonus: -2 Physical Instrument	Completion Bonus: -1 Physical Instrument -1 Inland Empire -1 Suggestion +1 PSY No positive effects from alcohol	How Obtained: If you subscribe to Measurehead's race theory, then you'll unlock the thought Advanced Race Theory. After researching and internalizing the thought, when you return to Measurehead, if you tell him that you're going to give up alcohol, and if you stick to your guns when he doubts you, then you'll unlock this thought. You can also unlock the thought with Tiago (the crab-man). When he points out that you have a drinking problem, just say, "For some reason I feel like you have a point there."
White Mourning (5h)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Authority	Completion Bonus: +20% zoom out distance All MOT learning caps raised by 1	How Obtained: Read the card hidden in your Damaged Ledger (requires Interfacing). You'll unlock the thought when you pass out.
Wompty-Dompty Dom Centre (42m)
	Researching Bonus: -1 Suggestion	Completion Bonus: Encyclopedia passives give +10 XP and +2 real -2 Suggestion	How Obtained: Talk to Trant Heidelstam next to the Feld Building in Martinaise West, and ask him about Feld Electrical and tape computers. With Encyclopedia 2, you'll get a dialogue option about the Wompty-Dompty Dom Centre, which will unlock this thought.