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Abstract The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT; Frederick, 2005) is designed to measure the tendency to override a prepotent response alternative that is incorrect and to engage in further reflection that leads to the correct response. In this study, we showed that the CRT is a more potent predictor of performance on a wide sample of tasks from the heuristics-and-biases literature than measures of cognitive ability, thinking dispositions, and executive functioning. Although the CRT has a substantial correlation with cognitive ability, a series of regression analyses indicated that the CRT was a unique predictor of performance on heuristics-and-biases tasks. It accounted for substantial additional variance after the other measures of individual differences had been statistically controlled. We conjecture that this is because neither intelligence tests nor measures of executive functioning assess the tendency toward miserly processing in the way that the CRT does. We argue that the CRT is a particularly potent measure of the tendency toward miserly processing because it is a performance measure rather than a self-report measure.
Keywords Cognitive reflection test . Rational thinking . Intelligence . Heuristics and biases . Thinking dispositions
The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) is a three-item measure introduced into the journal literature by Frederick (2005). The task is designed to measure the tendency to override a prepotent response alternative that is incorrect and to engage in further reflection that leads to the correct response. The quintessential item from the CRT was first discussed by Kahneman and Frederick (2002) in an article that reframed the heuristics-and-biases literature in terms of the concept of attribute substitution. The problem is as follows: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
When they answer this problem, many people show a characteristic that is common to many reasoning errors: They behave like cognitive misers (Dawes, 1976; Simon, 1955, 1956; Stanovich, 2009b; Taylor, 1981; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). They give the first response that comes to mind-10 cents-without thinking further and realizing that this cannot be right. The bat would then have to cost $1.10, and the total cost would then be $1.20 rather than the required $1.10. People often do not think deeply enough to realize their...