Measuring Reflective Cognitive Capacity: A Methodological Recommendation for Accounting Research of Feedback Effects

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether measures of reflective cognitive capacity can differentiate which participants are more or less likely to benefit from feedback intervention. The results from four separate experiments of feedback effects are reported. In each experimental task, participants had to override a specific cognitive bias in order to improve their performance post feedback. Across all four experiments, the results consistently show that measures of reflective cognitive capacity reasonably partitioned participants into two groups: those that were more likely, versus those that were less likely, to benefit from feedback intervention. Most notably, the fourth experiment replicates a study recently published in Behavioral Research in Accounting (Buchheit, Dalton, Downen, and Pippin 2012) and demonstrates that the study's primary finding was not generalizable to all participants. We recommend that future accounting studies examining learning and feedback effects include measures of reflective cognitive capacity, such as the Need for Cognition scale and the Cognitive Reflection Test. Data Availability: Please contact the first author.