Better but still biased: Analytic cognitive style and belief bias

Belief bias is the tendency for prior beliefs to influence people's deductive reasoning in two ways: through the application of a simple belief-heuristic (response bias) and through the application of more effortful reasoning for unbelievable conclusions (accuracy effect or motivated reasoning)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Thinking & reasoning 2015-10, Vol.21 (4), p.431-445
Main Authors: Trippas, Dries, Pennycook, Gordon, Verde, Michael F., Handley, Simon J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bias
Cognitive ability
Cognitive style
Motivation
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Summary:Belief bias is the tendency for prior beliefs to influence people's deductive reasoning in two ways: through the application of a simple belief-heuristic (response bias) and through the application of more effortful reasoning for unbelievable conclusions (accuracy effect or motivated reasoning). Previous research indicates that cognitive ability is the primary determinant of the effect of beliefs on accuracy. In the current study, we show that the mere tendency to engage analytic reasoning (analytic cognitive style) is responsible for the effect of cognitive ability on motivated reasoning. The implications of this finding for our understanding of the impact of individual differences on belief bias are discussed.
ISSN:1354-6783
1464-0708
DOI:10.1080/13546783.2015.1016450