Reading Instructions More Than Once May Be The Secret To Critical Thinking

University of Gothenburg researchers found that reading simple instructions multiple times helps people better evaluate political arguments. The study tested 1,219 Swedish adults who reviewed six political arguments on topics from economic policy to immigration. Participants who received repeated reminders about asking critical questions showed modest but consistent improvement in spotting weak arguments. Lead researcher Henrik Friberg-Fernros and colleagues taught participants to ask whether cited experts had relevant knowledge and if predicted consequences were likely to occur. Those who saw instructions repeatedly became especially tough on weak arguments while remaining somewhat critical of strong ones. The effect appeared across all political topics tested, including non-ideological issues and divisive subjects like crime and immigration. (Story URL)