Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-4-2018
Abstract
I show how using response times as a proxy for effort coupled with an explicit process-based model 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.
Recommended Citation
Alekseev, A. (2018). Using response times to measure ability on a cognitive task. ESI Working Paper 18-16. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/esi_working_papers/254/
Comments
Working Paper 18-16
This working paper was later published as:
Alekseev, A. (2019). Using response times to measure ability on a cognitive task. Journal of the Economic Science Association. doi: 10.1007/s40881-019-00064-2