EQ and the CRT

If you have 5 minutes try answering these three questions:

1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
2. If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
3. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?

You have just taken the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT).  It is a three-item questionnaire designed to measure a person’s ability to find a difficult answer in lieu of an easy one.

About 2/5^th of the test takers get all the answers wrong, 1/5^th 1? Correct, 1/5^th 2? Correct and 1/5^th all 3 correct.  Those in the last group are associated with better job performance and training ability.  Supposedly the CRT is a better predictor of job performance that IQ or EQ tests.

The CRT supposedly taps into a type of intelligence, known to psychologists as “System 2” thinking popularised by Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking Fast and Slow.  I blogged about this book back in 2013: Why the Stick beats the Carrot.

My limited sense of modesty allows me to disclose that I got all three questions correct.  (You can discover the correct answers here.)  However how much of this is due to System 2 and how much of this is due to my being fortunate to receive good mathematical training at school and university I don’t know.

The first question is solved by simple algebra, the second by logic and for the third you need to understand the difference between and arithmetic and geometric progressions.

What I think is much more useful is to know how the dominant EQ components affect your decision making and that of others.

In the Practical Emotional Intelligence for Salespeople (A$50.investment) I discuss which commitment technique you should use with each component.

In the Practical Emotional Intelligence for Leaders and Managers (A$75) you will learn how each EQ component affects your management style and decision making.

The feedback I have received from both training and coaching clients on both of these elements has been overwhelmingly positive.