Cognitive Reflection Test / CRT
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A short instrument developed by Shane Frederick, consisting of three problems whose intuitive answers are wrong, such as the bat-and-ball question where a bat and ball cost 1.10 together and the bat costs one more than the ball. The core proposition is that the test measures the disposition to notice that an intuitive answer is available, pause, and verify it, rather than measuring reasoning ability alone. The key qualification is that scores reflect a tendency rather than a fixed capacity, and performance is sensitive to time pressure, fatigue, and how the problems are framed.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Intuition capture: record your first intuitive answer before checking it against anything. - Verification step: derive the answer properly and compare it carefully with the first. - State check: use the discrepancy to judge whether fast thinking is currently dominating your decisions.
Anchor fast decisions
Intuitive processing produces an answer quickly and with a feeling of correctness, so unless something signals a problem, deliberate processing is never engaged. The test items are constructed so the intuitive answer is plausible but wrong, which means only people who verify will get them right. Performance therefore indexes the disposition to interrupt fluency rather than raw computational ability, which is why it predicts susceptibility to framing and other errors of first impression.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_reflection_testverified
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