Do you think people can train themselves to think more carefully, or will they usually go with their first instinct? (make sure to include title/thesis and work cited)
For this experiment, I went with the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) from Kahneman. I kept it simple and tested seven people consisting of friends and coworkers. I told them to just answer quickly and not overthink it, and then I wrote down their answers and kind of paid attention to how fast they responded.
The results were pretty interesting but also kind of what I expected. On the bat and ball question, most people immediately said “10 cents” without hesitation. Only a couple of people got the correct answer (5 cents), and both of them took a second and actually paused before answering. That seemed like a clear example of System two kicking in.
The second question was easier for most people and didn’t trip them up as much. However, the third question got a lot of people again. Several said “24 days” pretty quickly, which is the intuitive answer, but not the correct one (47 days). Same pattern as the first question.
What stood out to me was how confident people were in their wrong answers. Nobody really second-guessed themselves unless they forced themselves to slow down. It made it pretty obvious how much we rely on quick, automatic thinking (System 1), especially when something feels easy.
Overall, this made Kahneman’s idea real. Even when people know they should take their time, most still go with their gut first. Slowing down actually takes effort.