scholarly journals The Affect Heuristic and Risk Perception– Stability across elicitation methods and individual cognitive abilities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenny Skagerlund ◽  
Mattias Forsblad ◽  
Paul Slovic ◽  
Daniel Västfjäll

The reliance on feelings when judging risks and benefits is one the most fundamental valuation processes in risk perception. While previous research suggest that the affect heuristic reliably predict an inverse correlation between risk and benefit judgments, it has not yet been tested if the affect heuristic is sensitive to elicitation method effects (joint/separate evaluation) and to what extend individual differences in cognitive abilities may mediate the risk-benefit correlation. Across two studies we find that 1) the risk-benefit correlation is stable across different elicitation methods and for different domains (e.g., social domain, thrill-seeking domain, health domain, economic domain etc.), and 2) the strength of the inverse correlation is tied to individual cognitive abilities - primarily cognitive reflection ability.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Midori Tokita ◽  
Sumire Hirota

This study explores whether and how different tasks associated with approximate number system (ANS) ability are related to numeracy and cognitive reflection in adults. We conducted an online experiment using a sample of 300 Japanese adults aged 20–39. Participants were given three ANS tasks (numerosity comparison, numerosity estimation, and proportion estimation) as well as Rasch-based numeracy scale and cognitive reflection test, and we tested the correlation among the measures of these tasks. We explored the hypothesis that the typical measures used to gauge ANS ability, numerosity comparison and numerosity estimation may mediate different cognitive mechanisms in adults. We also introduced a task measuring proportion estimation, added because such estimation requires numerosity perception and the ability to map symbolic numerals. Our findings suggest that there is a weak, but significant correlation among the three ANS-related tasks. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between each of these measures and the numeracy and CRT score, suggesting that the ANS-related ability may be associated with higher cognitive abilities such as numeracy and cognitive reflection. In addition, we found that performances on the numerosity and proportion estimation are more clearly related to CRT score than the numerosity comparison task.


Author(s):  
Zlatica Jursová Zacharová ◽  
Miroslava Lemešová ◽  
Lenka Sokolová

In recent years there has been increased attention to the problem of teachers' competences. The need for developing critical thinking in schools turns the focus also on the teachers' cognitive skills including not only intelligence but also cognitive reflection and implicit theories of intelligence. This study aimed to analyse pre-service teachers' (N = 344) cognitive profiles covering data from cognitive reflection test (CRT), implicit theories of intelligence test and Mannheim intelligence test (MIT, measuring verbal, numerical and spatial abilities). Significant correlations were found between cognitive reflection and other cognitive abilities. However, the implicit theories of intelligence seemed to be independent of cognitive abilities. Significant differences between senior and junior pre-service teachers were found in cognitive reflection and two MIT items. Based on the presented results, we discuss the assessment of pre-service teachers’ competences and the development of critical and higher order thinking in pre-gradual teacher education. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1011-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oshin Vartanian ◽  
Erin L. Beatty ◽  
Ingrid Smith ◽  
Kristen Blackler ◽  
Quan Lam ◽  
...  

Performance on heuristics and bias tasks has been shown to be susceptible to bias. In turn, susceptibility to bias varies as a function of individual differences in cognitive abilities (e.g., intelligence) and thinking styles (e.g., propensity for reflection). Using a classic task (i.e., lawyer–engineer problem), we conducted two experiments to examine the differential contributions of cognitive abilities versus thinking styles to performance. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT)—a well-established measure of reflective thinking—predicted performance on conflict problems (where base rates and intuition point in opposite directions), whereas STM predicted performance on nonconflict problems. Experiment 2 conducted in the fMRI scanner replicated this behavioral dissociation and enabled us to probe their neural correlates. As predicted, conflict problems were associated with greater activation in the ACC—a key region for conflict detection—even in cases when participants responded stereotypically. In participants with higher CRT scores, conflict problems were associated with greater activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and activation in PCC covaried in relation to CRT scores during conflict problems. Also, CRT scores predicted activation in PCC in conflict problems (over and above nonconflict problems). Our results suggest that individual differences in reflective thinking as measured by CRT are related to brain activation in PCC—a region involved in regulating attention between external and internal foci. We discuss the implications of our findings in terms of PCC's possible involvement in switching from intuitive to analytic mode of thought.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422199674
Author(s):  
Stefania Bortolotti ◽  
Thomas Dohmen ◽  
Hartmut Lehmann ◽  
Frauke Meyer ◽  
Norberto Pignatti ◽  
...  

This study sheds light on the relationship between cognition and patience by documenting that the correlation between cognitive abilities and delay discounting is weaker for the same group of individuals if choices are incentivized. This study conjectures that higher cognitive effort, which induces higher involvement of the cognitive system, moderates the relationship between patience and cognition. For 107 participants drawn from the adult population in Tbilisi, this study examines the relationship between various measures of cognitive ability and that of patience. Specifically, we consider the relationship between the Cognitive Reflection Test, a numeracy test, self-reported math ability measure, enumerators’ assessments, and incentivized and hypothetical trade-offs between smaller-sooner and larger-later payments.


Author(s):  
Ayşegül Engin

AbstractThe cognitive reflection test (hereafter, CRT) is a widely used tool in studies that deal with human decision-making and problem-solving. However, the interpretation of the results of the test remains an open discussion in extant literature. Despite the high predictive power, the characteristics of a decision-maker measured by the CRT remain unclear. This article suggests a novel and inclusive framework that relates the CRT to the cognitive experiential theory (hereafter, CET), which is a well-established dual-process theory. The framework explains the observed phenomena (e.g., individual decision-maker differences) using data from five laboratory experiments. The framework is inclusive because it provides possible explanations for the results in the published literature. The overall results support the argument that the CRT measures the efficiency of the resources of an individual’s working memory. In contrast, the rationality experientiality inventory (hereafter, REI) (a measurement tool of the cognitive experiential theory) captures an individual’s cognitive ability. The efficient use of the working memory leads to the full potential of decision-makers’ cognitive abilities in analytical tasks, thereby indicating that cognitive ability and working memory form a viable framework for studies in the disciplines behavioral operational research (hereafter, OR) and decision sciences.


2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Frederick

This paper introduces a three-item “Cognitive Reflection Test” (CRT) as a simple measure of one type of cognitive ability—the ability or disposition to reflect on a question and resist reporting the first response that comes to mind. The author will show that CRT scores are predictive of the types of choices that feature prominently in tests of decision-making theories, like expected utility theory and prospect theory. Indeed, the relation is sometimes so strong that the preferences themselves effectively function as expressions of cognitive ability—an empirical fact begging for a theoretical explanation. The author examines the relation between CRT scores and two important decision-making characteristics: time preference and risk preference. The CRT scores are then compared with other measures of cognitive ability or cognitive “style.” The CRT scores exhibit considerable difference between men and women and the article explores how this relates to sex differences in time and risk preferences. The final section addresses the interpretation of correlations between cognitive abilities and decision-making characteristics.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Sobkow ◽  
Angelika Olszewska ◽  
Miroslav Sirota

General and specific cognitive abilities predict normatively (ir)rational thought. However, substantial overlap exists between individual measures of these cognitive abilities (i.e., numeracy, cognitive reflection, intelligence). The present research had two main aims: 1) to investigate the generalizability of the effects of Verbal CRT (a novel measure of cognitive reflection that is less confounded with numeracy and math attitudes than traditional CRT) outside US/UK samples, and 2) to test the factor structure of cognitive abilities. In Studies 1a and 1b, we adapted and tested the validity and psychometric properties of Polish versions of tasks and scales. Next, using a large and diverse sample of Polish adults, we tested five models of the factor structure of cognitive abilities (Study 2). The most parsimonious and best-fitted model contained three latent variables: Verbal CRT, Numeracy (composed of the items from the Berlin Numeracy Test, and classical – numerical – CRT), and Fluid intelligence. We argue that researchers investigating individual differences in rationality should focus on understanding mechanisms underlying specific – rationality-related – cognitive abilities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12416
Author(s):  
Lingling Wang ◽  
Tsunemi Watanabe ◽  
Kyohei Wakui

In Japan, graduates who become independent professionals in society have the right to choose energy providers given the liberalization of the electricity market in the country. This issue renders student perceptions regarding various types of energy generation a critical factor for decision making. Accordingly, we explored the risk and benefit perceptions of undergraduates regarding Japan’s main energy resources, namely, liquid natural gas (LNG), coal, hydropower, solar and nuclear resources, and petroleum. We also assessed energy acceptance among the target population and its influencing factors, such as student age and gender, school department, hometown, knowledge and experience of main power sources in Japan, and trust in government and power plant operation. These objectives were accomplished through field surveys and empirical characterizations of energy acceptance determinants. Compared with risk perception, benefit perception regarding all kinds of power generation was significantly predicted by knowledge. Experience explained only the perception of benefit from coal power generation, and benefit perception more strongly predicted energy acceptance than did risk perception. The findings suggested the necessity of university energy education programs for increased student knowledge of energy sources. Energy companies should increase energy benefits from economic, environmental, and energy security and safety perspectives to enhance energy acceptance among students. On the basis of the results, we classified energy sources in Japan into obscure (LNG and petroleum), well-known (coal and nuclear), and exploratory (hydropower and solar) resources—a first in the energy field and contributory to energy education design.


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