Whatever the cost? Information integration in memory-based inferences depends on cognitive effort

Abstract

One of the most prominent models of probabilistic inferences from memory is the simple recognition heuristic (RH). The RH theory assumes that judgments are based on recognition in isolation, such that other information is ignored. However, some prior research has shown that available knowledge is not generally ignored. In line with the notion of adaptive strategy selection-and, thus, a trade-off between accuracy and effort-we hypothesized that information integration crucially depends on how easily accessible information beyond recognition is, how much confidence decision makers have in this information, and how (cognitively) costly it is to acquire it. In three experiments, we thus manipulated (a) the availability of information beyond recognition, (b) the subjective usefulness of this information, and (c) the cognitive costs associated with acquiring this information. In line with the predictions, we found that RH use decreased substantially, the more easily and confidently information beyond recognition could be integrated, and increased substantially with increasing cognitive costs.

Use of the recognition heuristic depends on the domain’s recognition validity, not on the recognition validity of selected sets of objects

“…Knowledge validity was significantly larger in the high-than in the low-alpha set condition. Participants in the high-alpha set condition could thus have more often employed their knowledge, reducing RH use in turn (see Bröder & Eichler, 2006;Glöckner & Bröder, 2011Hilbig et al, 2015;Hilbig, Pohl, & Bröder, 2009;Newell & Fernandez, 2006;Richter & Späth, 2006). This is, however, unlikely here for two reasons.…”

“…From that domain and based on previous data (Hilbig, 2010;Hilbig et al, 2010;Hilbig, Erdfelder, & Pohl, 2012;Hilbig, Michalkiewicz, Castela, Pohl, & Erdfelder, 2015), we selected one set of 25 cities featuring a high recognition validity of approximately .80 (high-alpha set condition) and a second set of 25 cities featuring a low recognition validity of approximately .50 (low-alpha set condition; see Table 3 in Appendix A). Note that α is at chance level in the latter condition, so that recognition is not a valid cue at all.…”

“…We selected items such that knowledge validity would be similar across sets and moreover similar to the typical knowledge validity in the underlying domain (β ≈ .65, cf. Hilbig et al, 2010Hilbig et al, , 2012Hilbig et al, , 2015. Finally, to avoid an influence of the specific choice of as few as just two specific sets, we created 15 different sets for each of the two conditions (while ensuring that they fulfilled the specific requirements with respect to recognition validity, recognition proportion, and knowledge validity).…”

The limited use of the fluency heuristic: Converging evidence across different procedures

“…For example, use of the recognition heuristic increases under time pressure (Hilbig, Erdfelder, & Pohl, 2012;Pachur & Hertwig, 2006), deliberative thinking (Hilbig, Scholl, & Pohl, 2010), and depletion of cognitive control (Pohl, Erdfelder, Hilbig, Liebke, & Stahlberg, 2013), and as the cognitive effort o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n t e g r a t i o n i n c r e a s e s ( H i l b i g , Michalkiewicz, Castela, Pohl, & Erdfelder, 2015).…”

Individual differences in use of the recognition heuristic are stable across time, choice objects, domains, and presentation formats

“…In general, RH use increases, the greater the importance of a quick decision (Hilbig, Erdfelder, & Pohl, 2012;Pachur & Hertwig, 2006) and the higher the validity of the recognition cue (Castela, Kellen, Erdfelder, & Hilbig, 2014;Hilbig, Erdfelder, & Pohl, 2010;Pachur, Mata, & Schooler, 2009;Pohl, 2006;Scheibehenne & Bröder, 2007). By contrast, integration of further knowledge increases as knowledge becomes more easily available and easier to integrate (Bröder & Eichler, 2006;Glöckner & Bröder, 2011;Hilbig, Michalkiewicz, Castela, Pohl, & Erdfelder, 2015; Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.3758/s13421-015-0567-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Hilbig, Pohl, & Bröder, 2009;Newell & Fernandez, 2006;Richter & Späth, 2006).…”