scholarly journals Understanding of Numerical Information during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1230
Author(s):  
Laura Zamarian ◽  
Katharina M. -A. Fürstenberg ◽  
Nadia Gamboz ◽  
Margarete Delazer
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Numerical Competence ◽  
Numerical Information ◽  
Verbal Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Self Assessments

Media news during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic often entail complex numerical concepts such as exponential increase or reproduction number. This study investigated whether people have difficulties in understanding such information and whether these difficulties are related to numerical competence, reflective thinking, and risk proneness. One hundred sixty-three participants provided answers to a numeracy scale focusing on complex numerical concepts relevant to COVID-19 (COV Numeracy Scale). They also provided responses to well-established objective and subjective scales, questions about affective states, and questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher scores on the COV Numeracy Scale correlated with higher scores on the Health Numeracy Scale, in the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), and in self-assessments of verbal comprehension, mathematical intelligence, and subjective numeracy. Interestingly, scores on the COV Numeracy Scale also positively correlated with the number of consulted information sources about COVID-19. Accuracy in the CRT emerged as a significant predictor, explaining ca. 14% of variance on the COV Numeracy Scale. The results suggest that people with lower reflective thinking skills and lower subjective and objective numerical competence can be more at disadvantage when confronted with COVID-related numerical information in everyday life. These findings advise caution in the communication of relevant public health information that entails complex numerical concepts.

scholarly journals The Reflective Mind: Examining Individual Differences in Susceptibility to Base Rate Neglect with fMRI

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1011-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oshin Vartanian ◽  
Erin L. Beatty ◽  
Ingrid Smith ◽  
Kristen Blackler ◽  
Quan Lam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Thinking Styles ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Base Rate Neglect ◽  
Behavioral Dissociation

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.

scholarly journals What does the cognitive reflection test really measure: A process dissociation investigation.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon McPhetres
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Process Dissociation ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Serial Processing ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Alternative Measures

The cognitive reflection test (CRT) is a series of brain-teaser type questions believed to measure intuitive versus reflective thinking. However, those measures are confounded by the single-continuum scoring method whereby a decrease in reflective thinking also results in a simultaneous increase in intuitive thinking, making interpretation of the scores difficult. This confound also precludes testing of the relation between the two processes—whether intuition and reflection operate in serial or in parallel. The present studies directly address these limitations using process dissociation (PD) to quantify and manipulate each process independently. If the CRT measures both intuition and reflection then using PD to isolate each score should provide unique information about each process and allow for testing of models describing the relation between the two processes. However, results of four studies (two preregistered) call in to question whether the CRT actually measures intuition (studies 1-3) and provides some limited evidence for a serial processing model of cognition (studies 3-4). Moving forward, it is recommended that researchers 1) consider alternative measures of cognitive reflection, 2) are cognizant of the phrasing used when describing intuitions as inferred from the CRT, and 3) move towards various conceptual measures of intuition.

scholarly journals Cognitive reflection correlates with behavior on Twitter

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Mosleh ◽  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
Antonio Alonso Arechar ◽  
David Gertler Rand
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

We investigate the relationship between individual differences in cognitivereflection and behavior on the social media platform Twitter, using a sample of N=1,901 individuals from Prolific. We find that people who score higher on the Cognitive Reflection Test – a widely used measure of reflective thinking – were more discerning in their social media use: they followed more selectively, shared news content from more reliable sources, and Tweeted about weightier subjects (e.g., politics). Furthermore, a network analysis indicates that the phenomenon of echo chambers, in which discourse is more likely with like-minded others, is not limited to politics: people who scored lower in cognitive reflection tended to follow a set of accounts which are avoided by people who scored higher in cognitive reflection. Our results help to illuminate the drivers of behavior on social media platforms and challenge intuitionist notions that reflective thinking is unimportant for everyday judgment and decision-making.

scholarly journals The Cognitive Reflection Test : a measure of intuition/reflection, numeracy, and insight problem solving, and the implications for understanding real-world judgments and beliefs

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Niraj Patel
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Intuitive Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Paranormal Beliefs ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
And Performance

The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) has quickly become a popular measure of individual differences in propensity to reflect versus rely on intuition (Frederick, 2005). The test consists of three questions, and it has been found to be associated with many different every day beliefs, such as religious beliefs, and performance on heuristics and biases tasks. As such, it has dominated recent theorizing about individual differences in intuitive/reflective thinking propensities. However, it is unclear whether these questions primarily measure individual differences in reflective versus intuitive thinking propensities, versus numeracy, or even another cognitive skill such as cognitive restructuring (i.e. the ability to reframe problems). The present research examined the extent to which the CRT performance can be attributed to individual differences in intuitive/reflective thinking propensities, versus other factors such as numeracy and/or insight problem solving ability, by observing whether presenting the correct answers in multiple-choice format without the "intuitive" answers would make the problems trivially easy or if many participants would still be unable to solve the problems correctly. Furthermore, it sought to determine whether the CRT's associations with other judgments and beliefs (e.g. religiosity, paranormal beliefs, etc.) can be explained by its assessment of intuition/reflection or one of these other factors. Results indicate that performance on the CRT is multiply determined, with numeracy and insight problem solving ability also being primary factors. Furthermore, numeracy in particular could help explain some differences in everyday beliefs. Keywords: Cognitive Reflection, Intuition, Numeracy, Insight, Beliefs, Judgments

scholarly journals Cognitive reflection correlates with behavior on Twitter

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Mosleh ◽  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
Antonio A. Arechar ◽  
David G. Rand
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Reflective Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
News Sources ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractWe investigate the relationship between individual differences in cognitive reflection and behavior on the social media platform Twitter, using a convenience sample of N = 1,901 individuals from Prolific. We find that people who score higher on the Cognitive Reflection Test—a widely used measure of reflective thinking—were more discerning in their social media use, as evidenced by the types and number of accounts followed, and by the reliability of the news sources they shared. Furthermore, a network analysis indicates that the phenomenon of echo chambers, in which discourse is more likely with like-minded others, is not limited to politics: people who scored lower in cognitive reflection tended to follow a set of accounts which are avoided by people who scored higher in cognitive reflection. Our results help to illuminate the drivers of behavior on social media platforms and challenge intuitionist notions that reflective thinking is unimportant for everyday judgment and decision-making.

Cognitive Reflection Effects on Time Discounting

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Białek ◽  
Przemysław Sawicki
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Process Information ◽  
Time Discounting ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
The Way

Abstract. In this work, we investigated individual differences in cognitive reflection effects on delay discounting – a preference for smaller sooner over larger later payoff. People are claimed to prefer more these alternatives they considered first – so-called reference point – over the alternatives they considered later. Cognitive reflection affects the way individuals process information, with less reflective individuals relying predominantly on the first information they consider, thus, being more susceptible to reference points as compared to more reflective individuals. In Experiment 1, we confirmed that individuals who scored high on the Cognitive Reflection Test discount less strongly than less reflective individuals, but we also show that such individuals are less susceptible to imposed reference points. Experiment 2 replicated these findings additionally providing evidence that cognitive reflection predicts discounting strength and (in)dependency to reference points over and above individual difference in numeracy.

The cognitive reflection test and regional pathogen load

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kilian James Garvey ◽  
Laura Folse ◽  
Crystal Curry
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Pathogen Load

EXPRESS: Fooling System 1 in the field of perception: Failure to Intuitively Detect Attribute Substitution in the Flushtration Count Illusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110693
Author(s):  
Cyril Thomas ◽  
Marion Botella ◽  
André Didierjean
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Substitution Error ◽  
Perceptual Illusion ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Ball Problem ◽  
Perceptual Attribute ◽  
System 1 ◽  
The Relationship

To facilitate our interactions with the surroundings, the human brain sometimes reshapes the situations that it faces in order to simplify them. This phenomenon has been widely studied in the context of reasoning, especially through the attribute substitution error. It has however been given much less attention in the field of perception. Recent research on the bat-and-ball problem suggests that reasoners are able to intuitively detect attribute substitution errors. Using a perceptual illusion drawn from the field of magic, we investigate the extent to which a perceptual form of attribute substitution depends on executive resources and can be detected. We also investigate the relationship between susceptibility to attribute substitution error in the flushtration count illusion and in a French adaptation of the bat-and ball problem. Finally, we investigate the link between the intuitive cognitive style (assessed by the Cognitive Reflection Test) and the susceptibility to the flushtration count illusion. Our results suggest that participants do not detect perceptual attribute substitution error, that this phenomenon could be independent of the executive resources allocated to the task, and could rest on mechanisms distinct from those that produce errors in reasoning. We discuss differences between these two phenomena, and factors that may explain them.

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