How cognitive ability and logical intuition evolve during middle and high school
Higher cognitive ability in adults typically predicts accurate gut instincts, but this mental shortcut takes time to develop. A new study involving middle and high school students reveals that young people rely heavily on slower, deliberate thinking to solve logical puzzles before their correct intuitions fully mature. The research was recently published in the journal Thinking & Reasoning. Psychologists often divide human thought into two distinct categories based on speed and effort. The first type of thinking is fast, automatic, and requires very little mental energy. The second type is slow, deliberate, and demands sustained attention to detail. For decades, researchers assumed that successfully solving a math or logic puzzle always required the second, slower type of thought. In this traditional view, our fast assumptions are often biased or flawed. To reach a mathematically sound conclusion, a person has to actively block their immediate instincts and spend time calculating the right answer. Recent studies on adult reasoning have challenged this assumption. Scientists have found that many adults can produce correct, logical answers almost instantly. They …







