Critical thinking classes can reduce common biases: Results from a field experiment.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• Critical thinking courses are common in U.S. higher education.
• Aims include enhancing reasoning skills, but empirical evidence is limited.
• Systematic evaluation of critical thinking's impact on cognitive biases is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally assess the effectiveness of a critical thinking class in reducing specific cognitive biases.
• To determine if these effects persist over time.

Main Methods:

• A field experiment was conducted with 397 undergraduates.
• Compared a dedicated critical thinking class within a philosophy department to other philosophy courses.
• Measured reduction in four key biases: sunk costs, causation from correlation, regression to the mean, and opportunity costs.

Main Results:

• The critical thinking class significantly reduced all four targeted cognitive biases.
• Debiasing effects were substantial (Cohen's d > 0.80).
• These improvements persisted for at least 16 months after the course concluded.

Conclusions:

• A well-designed critical thinking course can effectively mitigate common judgment and decision-making biases.
• The positive impact on reasoning skills is durable and long-lasting.
• Highlights the value of critical thinking instruction in academic curricula.