Fast thoughts and metacognitive feelings: The role of cognitive styles

This study explores the features that characterize the rational or experiential thinking styles. Specifically, we examined whether these styles are linked to different response times, degrees of accuracy, and confidence in the solution of Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) problems, controlling for gender differences. Participants (N = 120) performed the Rational-Experiential Multimodal Inventory, which measures the prevalent thinking style, and a modified version of the CRT designed to measure a person's tendency to override an incorrect intuitive response and engage in further reflection to find a correct answer. The results showed that higher preference for rationality was predictive of higher confidence as well as greater accuracy in solving CRT problems and shorter response times for incorrect answers. On the other hand, higher preference for experientiality was predictive of shorter response times and confidence for giving correct answers as well as lower accuracy in solving CRT problems. Moreover, confidence (higher in males than in females) fully mediated the relationship between thinking styles and performance in CRT problems. Collectively, these findings reveal pervasive differences between the two thinking styles at various levels of cognitive and metacognitive functioning and they were discussed considering the literature on dual-process theories.