Cognitive Reflection CRT and Decision-Making Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A man has six sons, and each son has exactly one sister. How many children does the man have?
- 12
- 6
- 7 (Correct answer)
- 13
Correct answer: 7
The intuitive answer is 12 (6 sons + 6 sisters). However, all six sons share the same sister. Therefore, the man has 6 sons and 1 daughter, for a total of 7 children. This question requires overriding the initial impulse to perform a simple multiplication.
Question 2: A high score on the Cognitive Reflection Test is most strongly predictive of a person's tendency to:
- Rely on heuristics for quick problem-solving.
- Be more patient in decisions involving future rewards. (Correct answer)
- Make faster, more intuitive judgments under pressure.
- Be more susceptible to the framing of a problem.
Correct answer: Be more patient in decisions involving future rewards.
Research has shown that individuals with higher CRT scores, indicating a greater ability to override incorrect intuition, tend to exhibit more patience and are less prone to temporal discounting (preferring smaller, immediate rewards over larger, later ones). The other options are characteristic of lower CRT scores, which are associated with a greater reliance on System 1 (intuitive) thinking.
Question 3: A manager is given a highly complex 50-page business proposal. Instead of analyzing the data, they decide to approve it based on how confident and articulate the presenter seemed. This decision-making shortcut is a classic example of:
- Attribute Substitution (Correct answer)
- The Sunk Cost Fallacy
- Confirmation Bias
- The Dunning-Kruger Effect
Correct answer: Attribute Substitution
Attribute Substitution occurs when a person needs to assess a complex attribute (the viability of the business proposal) and instead substitutes it with a more easily evaluated one (the presenter's confidence). This is a core mechanism behind many intuitive errors that the CRT is designed to identify. The other biases do not fit the scenario as described.
Question 4: In the structure of a standard Cognitive Reflection Test question, what is the primary purpose of the incorrect answer that springs to mind immediately?
- To measure the test-taker's raw mathematical ability.
- To confuse and distract the test-taker from the main problem.
- To serve as an intuitive lure that must be actively inhibited by System 2 thinking. (Correct answer)
- To test for specific knowledge in the subject matter of the question.
Correct answer: To serve as an intuitive lure that must be actively inhibited by System 2 thinking.
The key feature of a CRT question is the presence of an obvious but wrong answer that arises from quick, intuitive System 1 processing. The test's purpose is to measure a person's ability to recognize this initial impulse as potentially flawed and engage more effortful, reflective System 2 thinking to find the correct solution.
Question 5: A clerk at a butcher shop is 5 feet 10 inches tall and wears size 10 shoes. What does he weigh?
- Approximately 170 pounds
- It's impossible to determine from the information given
- Meat (Correct answer)
- Customer orders
Correct answer: Meat
This is a riddle that plays on the test-taker's assumptions. The intuitive response is to focus on the physical description of the clerk and either guess his body weight or state that it's impossible to know. However, the question is a literal play on words related to his profession: a butcher weighs meat.
Question 6: An analyst is faced with a problem that has a very simple, compelling, and obvious answer. To avoid a decision-making trap, what is the most critical first step aligned with the principles of cognitive reflection?
- Accept the obvious answer to maintain efficiency.
- Ask a colleague for their immediate, intuitive answer to confirm.
- Trust their gut feeling as it is based on experience.
- Deliberately pause and question the validity of the initial answer. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Deliberately pause and question the validity of the initial answer.
The core of cognitive reflection is the act of stopping to question one's initial, intuitive response. Before seeking external validation or accepting the easy answer, the crucial first step is to engage in self-reflection and actively challenge the first solution that comes to mind, engaging System 2 processes.
Cognitive Reflection CRT and Decision-Making Questions and Answers 1
A man has six sons, and each son has exactly one sister.
How many children does the man have?