ChatGPT's Summary of What the Wrong Answers on Miles's Multiple-Choice Exams are Like
Below is a taxonomy of Kimball-style distractors that applies across all question types in your exams. Each category describes:
the cognitive error the distractor embodies
why it is tempting
what kind of understanding it filters out
I. Directional-Reversal Distractors
(“The sign is wrong.”)
Description
The distractor states the opposite direction of effect from the correct logic.
Examples (across topics)
Expansionary policy → lower inflation
Higher saving → worse current account
Higher expected inflation → higher real interest rate
Higher markups → higher output
Why it’s tempting
Students remember variables are “related” but not how.
Direction is mentally glossed over.
Many intro courses don’t emphasize sign discipline.
What it tests
Whether the student has internalized causal direction, not just association.
This is the most common Kimball distractor, and the most unforgiving.
II. Short-Run / Long-Run Confusion Distractors
(“Right result, wrong horizon.”)
Description
The distractor gives a result that is true—but in the wrong time frame.
Examples
Monetary expansion permanently raises real output
Tariffs permanently improve the current account
Technology shocks affect growth rates forever
Monetary policy controls real exchange rates in the long run
Why it’s tempting
Many models blur SR/LR distinctions.
Students overgeneralize comparative statics.
“Permanent” sounds stronger and therefore plausible.
What it tests
Whether students can discipline themselves temporally, a hallmark of your teaching.
III. Control-Fantasy Distractors
(“Policy can do more than it can.”)
Description
The distractor assumes a policy authority has direct control over variables it can only influence indirectly—or not at all.
Examples
Fed controls real interest rates in the long run
Central bank sets unemployment directly
Fiscal policy determines productivity
Bank regulation eliminates recessions
Why it’s tempting
Intuitive, technocratic worldview
Policy as a set of levers
Common in journalism and political rhetoric
What it tests
Whether students grasp limits of control, a core Kimball theme.
IV. Mechanism-Free Intuition Distractors
(“Sounds right, but no channel.”)
Description
The distractor asserts an outcome without a coherent mechanism consistent with course logic.
Examples
Inflation rises because “the economy is overheated”
Exchange rates move because “trade competitiveness changes”
Output rises because “confidence improves”
Investment falls because “uncertainty is high”
Why it’s tempting
Vague explanations feel sophisticated
Students import outside narratives
Avoids committing to a specific model
What it tests
Whether students demand mechanism-consistent reasoning, not vibes.
V. Category Error Distractors
(“Wrong bucket entirely.”)
Description
The distractor invokes a mechanism from the wrong topic bucket.
Examples
Using Solow logic for short-run demand
Explaining exchange rates with markups
Treating banking fragility as productivity
Treating tariffs as monetary shocks
Why it’s tempting
Students know many concepts but misfile them
Over-integration without discipline
What it tests
Whether students can classify problems correctly before solving them.
VI. Partial-Truth Overextension Distractors
(“True… but pushed too far.”)
Description
The distractor starts from a correct idea but extends it beyond its domain.
Examples
Money is neutral → money never matters
Inflation is costly → zero inflation is always optimal
Banks are fragile → leverage should be zero
Expectations matter → models are useless
Why it’s tempting
Students reward simplicity
Overlearning one slogan
Preference for absolute statements
What it tests
Whether students can respect boundaries and qualifications.
VII. Accounting-Identity Violation Distractors
(“Impossible, but sounds economic.”)
Description
The distractor violates a hard accounting identity while sounding conceptually plausible.
Examples
Current account improves without changes in S or I
Investment rises without saving or capital inflows
Government debt rises without price level effects (given assumptions)
Why it’s tempting
Students treat identities as “theoretical”
Focus on narratives over constraints
What it tests
Whether students treat accounting as binding structure, not background.
VIII. Institutional-Naïveté Distractors
(“Ignores plumbing.”)
Description
The distractor assumes away institutional realities emphasized in the course.
Examples
Ignoring cash in negative rate discussions
Treating reserves like loans
Assuming banks can’t fail if regulated
Treating ELB as psychological
Why it’s tempting
Clean models are easier
Institutions feel like details
What it tests
Whether students have absorbed institutional realism, not just theory.
IX. Opposite-Philosophy Distractors
(“Someone else’s macro.”)
Description
The distractor reflects a coherent but non-Kimball macro worldview.
Examples
Fiscal dominance treated as baseline
Monetary policy always ineffective
Demand always equals supply
Growth solves all stabilization problems
Why it’s tempting
Students have seen these views elsewhere
These are respectable alternatives
What it tests
Whether students can recognize which framework the course is operating in.
X. Language-Triggered Distractors
(“Responding to tone, not logic.”)
Description
The distractor uses emotionally or rhetorically charged words that cue a reflex response.
Examples
“Stabilize,” “force,” “eliminate,” “guarantee”
“Always,” “never,” “solely”
Why it’s tempting
Students equate forceful language with correctness
Sounds confident and policy-relevant
What it tests
Whether students read analytically rather than rhetorically.