Cognitive Reflection Enhances Rationality Without Changing the Underlying Cognitive Processes

This study (N = 249) examines the influence of cognitive reflection on rational decision making in tasks that require the—potentially rapid—integration of multiple pieces of information but are not designed such that intuitive (System 1) responses mislead people. Cognitive reflection was measured using the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT). Choice behavior was analyzed in 250 probabilistic inference tasks and 16 risky-decision tasks completed by each participant. In both tasks, individuals with higher CRT scores made more rational choices. This superior performance was not attributable to qualitative differences in cognitive processes. For individuals low and high in cognitive reflection, the same Parallel Constraint Satisfaction Model best explained their choice behavior. High-reflective individuals appeared to use the same coherence-based processes more efficiently and consistently. The absence of qualitative process differences across individuals varying in their tendency to engage in deliberate processing supports an integrative account of dual-process models, particularly those grounded in interactive activation frameworks.