Host: The Japanese Society for Cognitive Psychology
Previous studies on empirically suspect beliefs (ESB) have suggested that the beliefs were negatively associated with the analytic and reflective cognitive style, hence the analytic individuals were less likely to have such beliefs. However, it was also exhibited that the intuitive cognitive style rather than analytic style was a better predictor of the ESB; and that the analytic style sometimes foster ESB among the Japanese participants. The present study aimed to investigate the predictability of cognitive ability (e.g., logical reasoning and numeracy), cognitive style, other thinking dispositions, and personality trait on ESB for both the Japanese and the Western participants. The present results indicated that the intuitive cognitive style was strongly (and positively) associated with the beliefs compared to the analytic style and other mediating variables. In addition, the present study also suggested a significant cultural difference in a way that such styles affected the ESB.
