Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT, Frederick)
Psychology: Cognition & EducationReliability: item-level; behavioural test3 sample items
About this scale
A 3-item performance test of the disposition to override an intuitively appealing but incorrect answer with deliberate analytical thinking. Strongly predicts decision-making quality.
Sample item(s)
“A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?”
“If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?”
“In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: item-level; behavioural test. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Free for academic use; CRT-7 (Toplak et al. 2014) extends to 7 items.
Source & citation
Frederick, S. (2005): Cognitive reflection and decision making. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 25–42.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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