Data gathering ability contributes to visual organization and probabilistic reasoning

Abstract

Individuals use data gathering methods to inform judgments and behaviors. Effective interaction with the environment depends on these having high accuracy and low noise, but when they become abnormal, aberrant thoughts and perceptions can occur. In this study, we examined if data gathering methods were consistent across tasks that relied on different cognitive abilities, specifically visual perception and probabilistic reasoning. Thirty-four non-clinical participants engaged in the Ebbinghaus Illusion and the Jumping to Conclusions tasks, while also completing questionnaires concerning aspects of delusion formation. A significant, positive correlation was observed between performance on the Ebbinghaus Illusion and the Jumping to Conclusions tasks. Both tasks were negatively correlated with the General Conspiracy Belief Scale. The results suggest an underlying mechanism for data gathering that is consistent across behavioral domains and exists on a continuum in the general population.

Contemporary trends in psychological research on conspiracy beliefs. A systematic review

“…In turn, Wagner-Egger et al (2018) found the relationship between CBs and teleological thinking. The endorsement of conspiracy theories was also positively connected with cognitive biases: jumping to conclusion bias ( Pytlik et al, 2020 ; Kuhn et al, 2021 ; Sanchez and Dunning, 2021 ), liberal acceptance bias, bias against disconfirmatory evidence ( Georgiou et al, 2021b ; Kuhn et al, 2021 ), possibility of being mistaken ( Kuhn et al, 2021 ), and negatively associated with data gathering ability ( Bernadyn and Feigenson, 2018 ) and evidence integration ( Georgiou et al, 2021b ). People with high and low conspiracy mentality had different reactions to cues of epistemic authoritativeness ( Imhoff et al, 2018 ).…”