Cognitive Sophistication and the Development of Judgment and Decision-Making

Dr. Toplak’s research spans cognitive science and clinical research. She studies cognitive science models of rational thinking and decision-making in typically developing samples and in developmental psychopathology. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters across the fields of decision-making and clinical research, including two books: Individual Differences in Judgement and Decision-Making: A Developmental Perspective (Psychology Press, 2016) and The Rationality Quotient: Toward a Test of Rational Thinking (MIT Press, 2018), the latter of which won the 2017 PROSE Award in Education Theory.

"Understanding what underlies the large individual differences in reasoning abilities is a critical question, for both theoretical and practical reasons. In this book, Maggie Toplak has provided a remarkably detailed and theoretically rich account of the development of rational reasoning skills, much of which is based on her own work. The impact of a variety of different components on reasoning is clearly detailed, and the consequences for real-world functioning are highlighted. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in understanding the complex web of factors that impact how individuals reason." --Henry Markovits, Professor, Psychology Department, Université du Québec à Montréal

• 1. Defining Cognitive Sophistication in the Development of Judgment and Decision-Making2. Foundations for the Development of Judgment and Decision-Making: Cognitive Abilities, Thinking Dispositions and Specific Knowledge3. Development of the Ability to Detect and Override Miserly Information Processing4. Recognizing the Diagnosticity of Statistical Information in Development: Base Rate Sensitivity5. Preference for Delayed Over Immediate Rewards in Development: Prudent Temporal Discounting6. Understanding Descriptive Invariance In Development: Framing Effects7. Correlations Between Judgment and Decision-Making Tasks in Developmental Samples8. Real-World Correlates of Judgment and Decision-Making Paradigms in Developmental Samples9. The Emergence of Rational Thinking in Development: Conclusions and Future Directions