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Using response times to measure ability on a cognitive task

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2025

Aleksandr Alekseev Open the ORCID record for Aleksandr Alekseev [Opens in a new window]
Aleksandr Alekseev*
Affiliation:
Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, One University Drive, 92866 Orange, CA, USA
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

I show how using response times as a proxy for effort can address a long-standing issue of how to separate the effect of cognitive ability on performance from the effect of motivation. My method is based on a dynamic stochastic model of optimal effort choice in which ability and motivation are the structural parameters. I show how to estimate these parameters from the data on outcomes and response times in a cognitive task. In a laboratory experiment, I find that performance on a digit-symbol test is a noisy and biased measure of cognitive ability. Ranking subjects by their performance leads to an incorrect ranking by their ability in a substantial number of cases. These results suggest that interpreting performance on a cognitive task as ability may be misleading.

Keywords

Cognitive abilityTest scoresResponse timesDrift-diffusion modelChoice-process data

JEL classification

C41: Duration Analysis • Optimal Timing Strategies C24: Truncated and Censored Models • Switching Regression Models • Threshold Regression Models C91: Laboratory, Individual Behavior D91: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡ J24: Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity
Type
Original Paper
Information
Journal of the Economic Science Association , Volume 5 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Choice-Process Data in Experimental Economics , August 2019 , pp. 65 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Economic Science Association 2019

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Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40881-019-00064-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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