Developing a Japanese version of the 4-Component Thinking Styles Questionnaire

Abstract

This study develops a Japanese version of the 4-Component Thinking Styles Questionnaire （4-CTSQ-J） to measure intuitive-analytical thinking styles. Two studies were conducted to investigate the scale’s factor structure, reliability, and validity. The results indicate that 4-CTSQ-J has a factor structure that is similar to the original 4-CTSQ comprising four subscales: Actively Open-Minded Thinking, Close-Minded Thinking, Preference for Effortful Thinking, and Preference for Intuitive Thinking. The 4-CTSQ-J demonstrated good internal consistency. The scale correlates with performance on the Cognitive Reflection Test and is related to epistemically-unwarranted beliefs, reasoning-task performance, subjective well-being, and empathy, although some subscales are more strongly related to specific outcomes than others. These results suggest that individual differences across multiple dimensions of intuitive-analytic thinking styles may influence various beliefs and behaviors. The study discusses cultural differences in thinking styles and the scale’s validity within non-WEIRD contexts.