Key Study: Alter et al. (2007)
Aim: To investigate the Dual Process Model via the effect of disfluency (operationalised using a difficult-to-read font) on S1 and S2 thinking
Participants: 40 undergraduate students from Princeton University in the USA, obtained via self-selecting (volunteer) sampling
Procedure: This was an independent measures design in which participants were given identical Cognitive Reflection Tests (CRT) to answer. The CRT comprised questions that were not inherently difficult, but which required some cognitive energy to solve e.g. A bat and a ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does each cost separately? The answer is that the bat costs $1.05 and the ball costs 5 cents but most people are likely to say that the bat costs $1 and the ball costs 10 cents as this is the quickest, easiest answer (even though it is incorrect) requiring no cognitive effort. To come up with the correct answer is not difficult but it requires mental effort and time to properly think it through
The participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions:
- The CRT questions presented in a fluent (easy-to-read) font (black, 12-point)
- The CRT questions presented in a disfluent (difficult-to-read) font (grey, italic, 10-point)
It was hypothesised that the disfluent font would require the participants to concentrate more on what was written which would then trigger S2 thinking which requires deeper processing than S1. The dependent variable was measured as the number of correct responses per condition
Results: Participants in the disfluent condition answered more CRT questions correctly than participants in the fluent condition.
Conclusion: The hypothesis was supported thus it appears that having to concentrate on a disfluent font may trigger S2 thinking as it requires more cognitive energy and effort than a fluent font requires
Evaluation of Alter et al. (2007)
Strengths
- Using CRT questions was a suitable means by which to test the DPM, as to answer them correctly requires S2 thinking over S1 thinking, which is what the study aimed to investigate, increasing internal validity
- The DV was measured quantitatively which means that the results are easy to compare and analyse statistically
Limitations
- The sample comprised students from an elite, prestigious university in the USA, making the results difficult to generalise to other populations
- It is possible that the participants were affected by demand characteristics e.g. they may have tried to answer the questions with more (or less) effort than they would normally expend in real life
Key terms:
- Dual Process Model
- Cognitive Reflection Test
- Disfluency