The moderate correlations suggest that all five tests likely reflect common factors,
but may also measure distinct characteristics, as they purport to. I have proposed
that the CRT measures “cognitive reflection”—the ability or disposition to resist
reporting the response that first comes to mind. The need for cognition scale
(NFC) is advanced as a measure of someone’s “tendency to engage in and enjoy
thinking” (Cacioppo and Petty, 1982), but relies on self-reports rather than observed
behavior. The Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) is intended to measure a
person’s general cognitive ability, and the ACT and SAT are described as measures
of academic “achievement.”