The Development of Rational Thought: A Taxonomy of Heuristics and Biases

Abstract

Publisher Summary The most well-known indicators of cognitive functioning—intelligence and cognitive ability tests—do not assess a critical aspect of thinking, which is the ability to think rationally. To think rationally means adopting appropriate goals, taking the appropriate action given one's goals and beliefs, and holding beliefs that are commensurate with available evidence. Standard intelligence tests do not assess such functions. Although intelligence tests assess the ability to focus on an immediate goal in the face of distraction, they do not assess whether a person has the tendency to develop goals that are rational in the first place. Likewise, intelligence tests are good measures of how well a person can hold beliefs in short-term memory and manipulate those beliefs, but they do not assess whether a person has the tendency to form beliefs rationally when presented with evidence. Similarly, intelligence tests are good measures of how efficiently a person processes information that has been provided, but they do not assess whether the person is a critical assessor of information as it is gathered in the natural environment.