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Research to date on human thinking suggests that our judgment is often biased because we are intellectually lazy, or so-called cognitive misers. We intuitively substitute hard questions for easier ones. What is less clear is whether or not we realize that we are doing this and notice our mistake.
Using an adaptation of the standard 'bat-and-ball' problem, the researchers explored this phenomenon. The typical 'bat-and-ball' problem is as follows: a bat and ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? The intuitive answer that immediately springs to mind is 10 cents. However, the correct response is 5 cents.
The authors developed a control version of this problem, without the relative statement that triggers the substitution of a hard question for an easier one: A magazine and a banana together cost $2.90. The magazine costs $2. How much does the banana cost?
A total of 248 French university students were asked to solve each version of the problem. Once they had written down their answers, they were asked to indicate how confident they were that their answer was correct.
Only 21 percent of the participants managed to solve the standard problem (bat/ball) correctly. In contrast, the control version (magazine/banana) was solved correctly by 98 percent of the participants. In addition, those who gave the wrong answer to the standard problem were much less confident of their answer to the standard problem than they were of their answer to the control version. In other words, they were not completely oblivious to the questionable nature of their wrong answer. The key reason seems to be that reasoners tend to minimize cognitive effort and stick to intuitive processing.
The authors comment: "Although we might be cognitive misers, we are not happy fools who blindly answer erroneous questions without realizing it."Indeed, although people appear to unconsciously substitute hard questions for easier ones, in reality, they are less foolish than psychologists might believe because they do know they are doing it.
Reference
De Neys W et al (2013). Bats, balls, and substitution sensitivity: cognitive misers are no happy fools. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review; DOI 10.3758/s13423-013-0384-5
Signomi, Excuse me... but isn´t more obvious the fact, that we just don´t want to hassle with "stupid" questions made with purpose less understandable, than they could be sentenced.
Control test Nr.2
When I ask you - Bat+Ball cost 1.10, and Bat costs 1 dollar more than Ball, how much cost each.
or
When I ask you - Bat+Ball cost 1.10, and the Bat costs 1.05, how much costs the Ball?
Which formula of the question do you prefer you to be asked?
The thing and trick is, that we are suspicious about the purpose of question whose answer is known and we subconsciously refuse to answer it correctly, as we "feel" by intuition there is some "tricky shit" inside of it... a complication just for the complication, the spiteful trouble made to make us uncomfortable.
When you really want to know the answer, ask simply, and don´t FUCK WITH ME... that is the reason people are "lazy" .... it is not laziness, it is residuum of self-care, automatic subconscious reaction to idiots willing to make you cause feel bad just because they know how and do want to enjoy themselves with that.
So once again - these people aren´t lazy, they just have saved glimples of natural despect and refusal to idiots.