Fast logic and belief-bias: it’s less how smart you are than how you think

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Dual strategy model of reasoning, which distinguishes between Counterexample and Statistical strategies, predicts performance on a variety of forms of reasoning and judgment. At least part of the distinction between reasoning strategies has been shown to be attentional, suggesting that strategy use should be a strong predictor of the ability to reason logically under severe time constraint. Recent results have provided evidence that strategy use is a better predictor than IQ of the ability to make logically valid inferences with belief-biased syllogisms under severe time constraint. The following study extended this result to include other measures that correlate with reasoning ability, IQ, Cognitive Reflection Test and Acceptance of Open-minded Thinking. Results show that when given a very short time (5s), strategy use along with measures of CRT are strong predictors of logical reasoning, while IQ is not.