Neural Correlates of Belief-Bias Reasoning as Predictors of Critical Thinking: Evidence from an fNIRS Study

This study examined the neural characteristics of belief-bias reasoning in order to reveal the neurocognitive basis of critical thinking. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was utilized to capture the real-time brain hemodynamic activity of 74 college students while they performed a belief-bias syllogistic reasoning task. Values of oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) and deoxy-hemoglobin (deoxy-Hb) in regions of interest were analyzed in relation to critical thinking skills assessed by established tests. The results reveal significant activation in both the opercular part of the right IFC and the left DLPFC when participants encountered situations where their prior beliefs contradicted logical validity during the completion of the belief-bias syllogistic reasoning task. Crucially, individuals with lower levels of critical thinking skills demonstrated heightened activation in the opercular part of the right IFC compared to those with higher levels of critical thinking skills. Furthermore, variations in hemodynamics, quantified by oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb concentration values (area under the activity curve as absolute value), during the execution of belief-bias reasoning tasks accounted for a substantial proportion of the variability in critical thinking skills. Additionally, the hemodynamic data to a large extent explained the connection between belief-bias reasoning and critical thinking. These results provide a neural explanation for the relationship between belief-bias reasoning and critical thinking, and advance theoretical models of critical thinking by illuminating the brain’s mechanisms engaged in unbiased reasoning and metacognition.