Default, time-pressured and incentivized deliberate reasoning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect time-pressure and incentives have on deliberate reasoning. A person’s tendency to engage in and enjoy processes that require reasoning, i.e., their need for cognition, and their algorithmic ability are factors that may moderate performance in reasoning tasks when they are under time-pressure or given monetary reward. Identifying how to increase deliberate reasoning is important in a great deal of societal challenges, e.g., immunity against fake news. This study was conducted online on Prolific in two sessions three weeks apart. The first day testing (baseline) was the same for all participants. In the second testing session, the reasoning items from the first session were counterbalanced and performed under two conditions - time-pressure and incentivized condition. Analysis from baseline showed that need for cognition and intelligence contribute to deliberate reasoning. There was a decrease in performance under time –pressure compared to baseline, and verbal ability seems to matter more than numerical ability. There was only little effect of incentive. Participants also reported how much effort they experienced during the reasoning tasks (measured with NASA Task Load Index), and the better the score in reasoning items, the less effortful the task was rated, and the higher a person’s NFC was. The results are discussed within the two-system framework.