Originally published by Rita Handrich.
We just posted on reflective versus non-reflective thinkers and this is the scale with which researchers identified who was reflective (initial intuition tempered by analysis) and who was not reflective (unquestioning reliance on intuition). And this is the three-item scale they used to group participants. Yes. That is not a typo. Three questions. You will likely recognize them when you see them and groan in frustration that this seems to be a math-based IQ test rather than a test of reflective or non-reflective thinking. You likely will not, however, recognize the questions as coming from the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT).
A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? ______ cents
If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets? _____ minutes
In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half the lake? _____ days*
The trick is that these questions often generate an intuitive, impulsive, and (unfortunately) incorrect response. Those who question or double-check their math, or generally rely on reasoning skills in their daily lives (and therefore answer correctly), are classified as reflective thinkers. Those who simply blurt out the intuitive and incorrect answer are classified as non-reflective thinkers. (If, for example, your answers to the above three questions are 10, 100 and 24—you are a non-reflective thinker. And math is likely not your strong suit.) Once the answers are explained, they are easily understandable but the initial impulsive response seems right until you realize (or are shown) that it is wrong.
The author defines cognitive reflection as having “the ability or disposition to resist reporting the response that first comes to mind”. Some believe the CRT offers a quick assessment of overall intelligence but the author says those scoring high and those scoring low on the CRT make different choices. But the question might better be asked “is the difference seen in the choice made, or the process used to arrive at the choice?”.
Men score significantly higher on the CRT than do women and the author says that may reflect men’s greater mathematical interest or ability. Lest you feel shamed by your performance on this test, this article reports that of 3,428 people participating in the research, 33 percent missed all three questions. Most people–83 percent–missed at least one of the questions.Even very educated people made mistakes. Only 48 percent of MIT students sampled were able to answer all the questions correctly.
From a litigation advocacy perspective, this is a quick way to assess the overall tendency to think or blurt and if that is useful in your case—you may want to consider using the CRT to identify one or the other (i.e., the thinker or the blurter). When you are looking for an edge—this sort of quick and dirty assessment of intellectual function (or analytical thinking or cognitive reflection or need for cognition or whatever it measures) may be a good tool to try. It would be worthwhile to determine whether a straightforward query about their problem-solving strategy (such as, “Do you enjoy solving puzzles, or do you find them frustrating?) Just make sure you really do know who responds better to your case—the thinker or the blurter.
Frederick, S. (2005). Cognitive Reflection and Decision Making Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19 (4), 25-42 DOI: 10.1257/089533005775196732. You can access this article free here: http://ift.tt/1BPwSfC.
*Just so you do not think us unreasonably cruel, the correct answers to the CRT questions are: 5 cents; 5 minutes; and 47 days.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
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